Something to Consider

 Something to Consider is a wonderful summer show filled with fresh-looking contemporary paintings and ceramic sculptures at Sandy Carson Gallery (760 Santa Fe Drive, 303-573-8585). I'm not sure the title means anything, but I am sure that the show is a knockout. Is it just me, or is Denver abstract painter and University of Colorado at Denver art professor Quintín González getting better and better at his craft? Here's a hint: It's definitely not me. Though some of the González pieces in this exhibit date back to last year, many have been done in the past few months, and they represent a great advancement in his style, which could be called post-abstract expressionist.

The square, smallish paintings are done in acrylic on panel and resemble carnival spin-art, but they actually haven't been spun at all. González begins by covering the panel in a smooth, flat coat of paint in a bright hue. On top of that, he pours different colors, sometimes one on top of another, so that he can combine multiple shades. A remarkable feature is the way González is able to bring together different colors yet keep them separate and unblended. All of these paintings are exquisitely beautiful, but none more so than the positively baroque "Origin of Fervor" (above).

The thoroughly non-objective González paintings have nothing to do with Rebekah Bogard's ceramic sculptures that are also on display at Sandy Carson, but somehow the two artists look perfect together. Bogard, who teaches at the University of Nevada at Reno, bases her odd, whimsical three-dimensional sculptures on imaginary insects that have a novel and childlike character. Done in glazed earthenware in segments that are assembled after firing, they represent a technical tour de force. I marvel at her skill in the hard-to-control medium.

This summer, there is an astounding array of first-rate offerings at the city's galleries, art centers and museums, but my advice is to get over to Something to Consider at Sandy Carson Gallery before it closes on July 29. -- Michael Paglia