There are three sharp-looking shows at Spark Gallery (900 Santa Fe Drive, 720-889-2200, www.sparkgallery.com) that feature abstraction, hyper-realism and animation-inspired imagery.
Sue Simon: Trajectory is an elegant show in which multi-panel paintings combine linear abstractions with mathematical equations. The point is that everything in the universe is in motion, even if many things — like these paintings — appear to be static. I've always liked Simon's work, but this group is especially nice. Among the standouts is "My Subatomic Particles Are Jiggling," in which Simon orchestrates a constructivist composition of black and sand over which she has painted dashes in a range of bright colors.
Susan Rubin: Five, a Sensory Garden is completely different in its aims. The "Five" in the title refers to the senses — sight, touch, taste, sound and smell — but the actual topic of these drawings is plant life. The titles of the individual pieces bring the sensual content to the forefront. As an example, a drawing of an aloe plant is called "Soothe," while one of a fish-hook barrel cactus is called "Ouch." The drawings are so unbelievably detailed that they look like photos.
Jimmy Sellars: My Year as a Rabbit is made up mostly of small works done in digital prints on fibrous paper, which sort of gives them the appearance of pages from a comic book — as do the images themselves, which are flat and simplified. They also read somewhat as hand-done drawings instead of computer-generated images. Many of the pieces are set in Japan, like "Tokai" (pictured), which shows a pair of Sumo wrestlers getting it on in front of Mount Fuji, with a high-speed train zipping by in the background. The prints — many of which include figures wearing rabbit ears — are charming, but leave it to Sellars to add just enough frisson to put the viewer on notice that there's more here than meets the eye.
All three shows close on June 19.
