The Metro Gallery at Reno City Hall is proud to host “Fat Chance,” an exhibition of work by longtime Nevada artist Joan Arrizabalaga. The exhibition will run from February 27 to April 14, 2023 in Reno City Hall, Metro Gallery. The public is invited to attend the artists’ reception on Thursday, March 30, 2023 from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Arrizabalaga works in many media making wood, clay, metal, and fabric sculptures, as well as ceramics, and costumes for the stage. She has work in local collections and has completed commissions for works on display in casinos in both Reno and Las Vegas. Her work is inspired by everything around her and all of her experiences. She enjoys creating Nevada casino imagery, combined with a fascination of what we worship, our superstitions, and the search for luck. Her homage to the old masters comes in part from their knowledge of what God looks like. Arrizabalaga was born in East Ely, NV and raised in Fallon, NV. She later moved to Reno and attended the University of Nevada, Reno where she received her B.A. in Art. She has also studied at Pond Farm Pottery with Marguerite Wildenhain in Guerneville, CA. She once made an artistic slot machine for Liberace, which appeared in a movie about his life. In addition to her own art practice, Joan worked many years as a backstage Wardrobe Mistress at Harrah’s Reno Casino.
