Starry Night

As the international splash of grand-opening shows fades at the new (and still sparkling) Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver, director/curator Cydney Payton is getting down to the business of going local by featuring Denver artist Jeff Starr as the venue's first regional artist-in-residence in the Project Gallery, a hands-on space intended to spotlight Colorado's own as well as the internal workings of the creative process. So The Wrath of Grapes, currently on display through May 25, is more than an exhibition heavy on Starr's often fantastical paintings (a medium he's returned to recently after an equally successful dabble in sculpture); it also includes a faithful replica of his working studio in one corner of the space.

How does the facsimile measure up to the real thing? "It's very close," Starr says, "only cleaner and less cluttered" — and, he adds, the real one is something of a health hazard. But the important thing is how well it represents his time spent at work.

Starr and fellow artist/raconteur Bill Amundson shared a few personal words about that process on March 7 at 6 p.m., during a First Friday pair of urbane new programs at the MCA, Top 10 and WITY Cocktails (WITY stands for "What's It to You?"). In this ongoing series, a short talk focusing on ten art innovations tied to exhibit themes gives way to witty WITY conversation in the museum cafe; Open Shelf Films on Fridays, a weekly series with a March theme of Psyche, Self and Architecture, follows with a screening of Michelangelo Antonioni's 1960 film L'Avventura at 7:30 p.m.

All events are gratis with regular museum admission of $5 to $10 (members are admitted free). The museum, at 1485 Delgany Street, stays open until 10 p.m. on Fridays. Visit www.mcartdenver.org or call 303-298-7554.
Feb. 26-May 25, 2008