Red, White and Dreamy

Soviet socialist realism meets dada at the birth of America for a look at the "founding father" myth in the Komar & Melamid: American Dreams exhibition. The show features eight large paintings and a series of forty works on paper that recast strikingly familiar patriotic imagery of both the U.S. and the Soviet Union in new contexts. The images are both funny and emotionally resonant.

These works, originally conceived as the accompaniment to an opera, represent a "near-perfect summation" of the unique partnership of artists Vitaly Komar and Alexander Melamid, according to Simon Zalkind, director of the Singer Gallery in the Mizel Center for Arts and Culture. Zalkind views Melamid and Komar's work as being "characterized by iconoclastic wit and gleeful fearlessness in subverting the pomposities of ideologues everywhere." An opening reception for American Dreams takes place this afternoon from 3 to 5 p.m., followed by a lecture by Komar; admission is free. The exhibit runs through November 11 at the Singer, 250 South Dahlia Street. Call 303-316-6360 or visit www.mizelcenter.org or www.komarandmelamid.org for more information.
Sept. 16-Nov. 11, 2007