CORE Matters

Mark Penner-Howell and Anne Thulson return to their roots.

Comments (0) By Susan Froyd Thursday, Jan 24 2008

Two new shows opening today at CORE New Art Space couldn't be more different: One artist's works are small and full of all the space and mystery of Giorgio de Chirico's metaphysical worlds; the other's are large, funny and bluntly colorful mixtures of popular and found imagery. But they're similar, too, in more ways than you might imagine. Both artists are visual storytellers; this is the first CORE show for each; both found their way back to making art after taking professional detours; and they are the best of friends.

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Grade-school art teacher Anne Thulson rediscovers (or, as she puts it, "re-enchants") sometimes-forgotten landmarks and people — from the long-razed Chappell House that once stood at 13th Avenue and Logan Street to regional WPA artists who now seem like footnotes to an era — in dreamy style for her gallery offering, One Hundred Famous Views of Denver. In contrast, Mark Penner-Howell, who toiled in the advertising business for twenty years before quitting to redefine his artistic ambitions, mixes everything from Dick and Jane textbook illustrations to SPAM e-mail titles after first collaging the images in Photoshop for his paintings, on display in Destinesia. "I might be new talent, but I'm really not so new," Penner-Howell says of his delayed entry into the art world. One look at his canvases will have you asking why it took so long.

Both shows stay up at CORE, 900 Santa Fe Drive, through February 10; attend an opening reception Saturday, January 26, from 6 to 9 p.m. For details, visit www.corenewartspace.com or call 303-297-8428.
Jan. 24-Feb. 10, 2008