Adding Up

Although he doesn't like to favor one show over another, Plus Gallery owner and curator Ivar Zeile expects jaws to drop at this month's exhibition. Zeile deems it an array of "intelligent representational art," and the display of works from two Colorado painters and one photographer is sure to provoke thought from even the most staunchly nonchalant. The two featured artists, Riva Sweetrocket and Peter Illig, both work in the realm of detailed imagery and surreal juxtapositions. Each composition in Sweetrocket's Handle With Care series portrays a set of vivid hands. The subject, often the gauge of an artist's technical caliber, alludes to Sweetrocket's painstaking care for craft: Although her works may look like oil paintings, delicate pastels claim responsibility for the surprisingly lifelike depictions. Peter Illig, whose ideas often manifest themselves in large-scale, monochromatic paintings that stretch across entire walls, shrunk his grand visions to more commercially accessible sizes for Full Fathom Five, which juxtaposes classical under-paintings with modern discordant forms. The March lineup also includes work by photographer Bill Adams, whom Zeile calls "the most unrecognized talent in Denver." A gallery reception is scheduled for Thursday, March 13, from 6 to 9 p.m.; the shows stay up through April 12. For more information, call 303-296-0927 or go to www.plusgallery.com.
March 8-April 12, 2008