Al Wynne. Al Wynne is one of the greatest artists to have ever worked in Colorado, and his accomplishments rank right up there with those of acknowledged masters such as Vance Kirkland and Herbert Bayer. And Black Forest Magic: Paintings & Sculpture by Al Wynne proves it. The Colorado native's career stretches back sixty years. For most of that time, he's lived and worked in the Black Forest north of Colorado Springs, where he and his wife, Lou, a ceramicist, operated an art school for many years. This exhibit reveals Wynne's signature abstract-expressionist style; he uses an automatist approach, in which lyrical forms, the result of unconscious painterly gestures, dance across the surface. In addition, there's a smaller group that features hard-edged shapes laid on flat grounds, resulting in paintings that are connected to the color-field movement, itself an outgrowth of abstract expressionism. Despite this stylistic bifurcation, Wynne is a tremendously consistent artist with a high standard of work. Through October 10 at Z Art Department, 1136 Speer Boulevard, 303-298-8432, [email protected]. Reviewed September 17.
Currents. Traditional American Indian art is a well-established genre, and many Native American artists still practice the old forms of weaving, pottery-making, metalwork and basket-making. But there are also contemporary artists among the tribes, and this latter group is the focus of Currents: Native American Forces in Contemporary Art. The groundbreaking exhibit was organized by Cecily Cullen, the Center for Visual Art's assistant director, who chose seven artists – Norman Akers, Nicholas Galanin, Jeffrey Gibson, Jaune Quick-To-See Smith, Marie Watt, Will Wilson and Melanie Yazzie — working in a range of mediums and styles. Some, such as Watt, comment on traditional Indian art, while others, notably Wilson, are more clearly socio-political in their aesthetic aims. Most, though, only vaguely and subtly reference their ethnic heritage. This exhibit defies stereotypes and at the same time reinforces the idea that it's possible to have both a Native American identity and be part of the international context of contemporary art. Through November 7 at the Metro State Center for Visual Art, 1734 Wazee Street, 303-294-5207, www.metrostatecva.org.
Floyd Tunson and Andrea Modica. William Biety, director of the van Straaten Gallery, has come up with an interesting pairing — Floyd Tunson: Remix and Andrea Modica: Platinum/Palladium Prints. Though the work of each artist is distinct, both are associated with Manitou Springs; Tunson lives there, while Modica, who resides in Philadelphia, used to be a resident. Tunson is a painter and multimedia artist who often tackles the topic of race relations. For Remix, he's inserted racist cartoons into copies of paintings by the likes of Picasso and Matisse. The idea is that these French modernists looked to African art, so he's turning that concept on its head, or, as it turns out, on its side. Modica is a world-class photographer who does in-depth, years-long photo shoots with members of selected families, making her models true collaborators in her pieces. The van Straaten show includes images from her famous series based on people living in Fountain, a farm town in southern Colorado, as well as other works. Through October 17 at the van Straaten Gallery, 760 Santa Fe Drive, 303-573-8585, www.vanstraatengallery.com.
Jimmy Sellars. These narrative photos from Jimmy Sellars's "Enigmas and Ambiguities" series, done in pigmented inkjet prints on canvas, have a peculiar quality because the artist employs some very strange models to make them: G. I. Joe action figures. The G. I. Joes are posed to illustrate various situations; in the past, they've been called into service not only to make war, but to make love. The idea is simple and it really works, forcing viewers to do double takes. At first glance, the photos seem like real portraits of real people instead of still-life compositions of dolls. For these latest photos, Sellars has chosen to take close-up portraits of the G.I. Joes dominated by their handsome faces. It could be said that they are staring straight into the camera — that is, if they weren't inanimate objects. The photos are closely associated with one another, providing a marvelous consistency within the entire presentation, a circumstance enhanced by Sellars's decision to put everything in white-painted frames. Through September 30 at Sellars Project Space, 4383 Tennyson Street, 1D, 720-475-1182, http://sellarsprojectspace.squarespace.com.Reviewed August 27.
Monroe Hodder and Michael Clapper. The main space at Havu is hosting two solos installed together as a stunning duet. Monroe Hodder: Painting Metabolism! Is made up of recent paintings by this great abstractionist, who spends time in both London and Steamboat Springs. Her gorgeous post-minimal paintings of stripes are extremely simple formally and yet very complex in their painterly qualities. The Hodder abstracts provide the perfect backdrop for Michael Clapper: Recent Sculptures, which includes pieces on the floor and on stands; there's even one outside the front door. These sculptures reveal the artist's taste for juxtaposing materials like buff marble and patinated steel, as in the magnificent "Silencio," the show's tour de force. In addition, representational paintings by Armin Mühsam and Debra Salopek are in the Salon, with photos by Fred Hodder on the mezzanine. Through October 31 at William Havu Gallery, 1040 Cherokee Street, 303-893-2360, www.williamhavugallery.com.
Rex Ray. The Promenade Space on the second floor of MCA Denver is both a passageway and an exhibition hall. Given its limited size and unconventional plan — the main wall runs diagonally to the windows opposite it — the Promenade has been used exclusively for single installations. The latest example is an untitled mural by San Francisco artist Rex Ray, who used to live in Colorado. Ray has a national reputation based not just on his fine art, but as a designer of everything from books to coffee mugs. Ray created the mural specifically for this show and specially designed the fabulous wallpaper that surrounds it. The mural is signature Ray, with shapes that rise from the base in the manner of a still-life or landscape. The shapes have been made from cut-outs of painted papers that have been laid against a stunning blue ground, and were inspired by organic forms, or at least abstractions of them, as seen in mid-century modern design. The wallpaper has a spare, all-over pattern on a white ground, complementing the mural without competing with it. Through January 31 at MCA Denver, 1485 Delgany Street, 303-298-7554, www.mcadenver.org.
