Ironton Studies and Gallery (3636 Chestnut Street, 303-297-8626, wwwirontonstudios.com) is definitely one of the best spots in the art district along the Platte River north of downtown known as RiNo (www.rivernorthart.com).
The gallery portion is an informal place that’s accessed through the complex’s kitchen, but exhibition director, Jill Hadley Hooper, makes sure the shows there are, for the most part, top notch. The latest effort, Passages, which clearly fits this description, opens tonight, Friday, April 18, with a reception slated for 6 to 9 p.m.
The exhibit juxtaposes the contemporary realist paintings by Sharon Feder with neo-modernist sculptures by John Ferguson.
Feder looks for romance in industrial settings and finds it in “Train Yard #1,” which shows railroad tracks that have been dreamily lit and rendered.
Ferguson uses steel, sometimes supplemented by other materials like stone, to suggest -- but not depict -- the human figure as in “Holding On” (pictured).
On May 2, which is First Friday, they’ll be another reception for the show, this one scheduled for 6 to 10 p.m. and with the added attraction (distraction?) of live music to be provided by Andy Monley and the High Horses. Passages runs through May 17. -- Michael Paglia
