This week the galleries are giving equal time to the art of popular culture, co-ops and smart showcases for buzz-worthy artists. Whether you choose to forage for collectible vinyl toys at Lowbrow’s yard sale or see the world through a refugee’s eyes and words at the Colorado Photographic Arts Center, there’s plenty to do and see in Denver’s art world. Here are nine shows to get your weekend rolling.
Daisy Patton: This Is Not Goodbye
CU Art Museum, 1085 18th Street, University of Colorado at Boulder
July 19 through November 17
Opening Reception: Thursday, July 19, 6 to 8 p.m.
Right on the heels of an exhibit that opened last weekend at Art Gym (it runs through August 3), prolific painter Daisy Patton unveils another direction in her highly recognizable work with This Is Not Goodbye, a solo show opening on July 19 at the CU At Museum. While Patton continues in her trademark vein of blowing up and painting over found photographs, her subject matter for this exhibit is American post-mortem photography, resulting in a tribute to the anonymous dead overwhelmed by eerie details from their ornate funeral-parlor surroundings.
Mile High Mixtape, Vol. 1
Sally Centigrade, 445 South Saulsbury Street, Unit E, in Lakewood
Opening Reception: Thursday, July 19, 5 to 10 p.m.
For Mile High Mixtape, Scott and Myah Bailey of Sally Centigrade enlisted Colorado Public Radio host Alicia “Bruce” Trujillo to help them round up twenty local urban artists to pair with twenty local bands. Their task: To create imaginary gig posters for their assigned combos. The resulting show, a visual mixtape of sorts, represents a diverse swath of talent, ranging from well-loved veterans to fresh newcomers, in the Denver music and the art scenes. Hit the opening, enjoy the art and get down to a solo set by Dressy Bessy’s Tammy Shine.
Stephanie Kantor and Noah Pollack
Gildar Gallery, 82 South Broadway
July 20 through August 18
Opening Reception: Friday, July 20, 6 to 10 p.m.
Gildar Gallery hosts ceramicist Stephanie Kantor and mark-maker Noah Pollack in an interesting duet pairing Kantor’s feminized vessels and functional pieces built upon the remnants of family keepsakes and trophies with Pollack’s patterned, intuitive, puzzle-like stamped drawings. Though the art might not seem outwardly connected, each maker takes similar imaginative leaps, drawing them together and resulting in separate bodies of work unlike anything you’ve seen before. Smart show by people going places.
Dear Younger Me: Postcards From New Americans to Their Past Selves
Colorado Photographic Arts Center, 1070 Bannock Street
July 20 through August 25
Opening Reception: Friday July 27, 6 to 9 p.m.
For this latest project, Picture Me Here, a local storytelling program for refugees and immigrants, sponsored by CPAC, asked American newcomers from around the world to create photographic postcards telling their past selves how their lives have changed. Hear more about their personal stories and storytelling process at the opening reception, where the artists will be present, and come back later to get lost in the exhibit, a combination of art and personal writing.
Boombox
Bitfactory Gallery, 851 Santa Fe Drive
July 20 through August 9
Opening Reception: Friday, July 20, 6 to 10 p.m.
Bitfactory gets summery with a group show of graffiti, street and pop art from a handful of local urban artists, including Emit, Tuke One, Keith Jive, Mike Graves, Topher Straus and Art by 13. It’s just for fun, and a sharp look at where Denver’s wall writers are in 2018.
Candace Shepard and Faith Williams: Naturally Inclined
Edge Gallery, 7001 West Colfax Avenue, Lakewood
July 20 through August 5
Opening Reception: Friday, July 20, 5 to 10 p.m.
Edge hands over the galleries to Candace Shepard and Faith Williams, who use mixed media to explore our environmental footprint and connections to the natural world. If you haven’t checked out the 40 West Cultural District in the West Colfax corridor, where Edge co-exists with fellow co-ops Pirate and Next, give it a whirl.
Louis Recchia Solo Show
Zip 37 Gallery, 3644 Navajo Street
July 20 through August 5
Opening Reception: Friday, July 20, 6 to 9 p.m.
Dedicated co-op artist Louis Recchia just keeps on doing what he does so well, whipping out colorful pop-art and neo-expressionist canvases and collages of dreamy scenarios. He’ll unveil a new batch for his annual turn at Zip 37, where art ownership is more than possible for collectors on a budget.
Stitched: Sewn Creations by Jill Mustoffa
Kanon Collective, 766 Santa Fe Drive
Through July 29
Artist Reception: Friday, July 20, 6 to 9 p.m.
Handy wonder woman Jill Mustoffa has a thing for retro fabric and vintage design, something that will become immediately obvious to anyone who walks in to Kanon for this show of handcut fabric collages with cute mid-century antique-store designs, which she sews together using a big mutha of an industrial walking-foot sewing machine. While the show’s officially been up since First Friday, Mustoffa is not only hosting an Art District on Santa Fe Collectors’ Night reception, but she’s also throwing a batch of brand-new pieces into the show for the occasion.
The Lowbrow Summer Yard Sale
Lowbrow Denver, 38 Broadway
Saturday, July 21, noon to 7 p.m.
The ladies at Lowbrow are cleaning house this week and will be tossing six years’ worth of now-discontinued art toys and collectible vinyl on the deep-discount table for a last-chance yard sale on Broadway. It’s up to you whether or not you want to call it art (in our opinion, it is), but it’s definitely fun, and it goes well with the complimentary adult beverages that Lowbrow will be pouring. Incidentally, if you have some vinyl toys of your own to unload, Lowbrow invites you to rent a table or a half for $20 to $35. Table space is limited; call 303-722-1797 for details.
Interested in having your event appear in this calendar? Send the details to [email protected]. For more events this weekend, see our 21 Best Things to Do in Denver.