Filters of the Twentieth Century. Over the last couple of decades, there's increasingly been a problem with making neat and tidy distinctions between photojournalism and fine-art photography. Art is exactly what's in store for viewers of Filters of the Twentieth Century: Margaret Bourke-White, Carl Mydans on display at Cherry Creek's Gallery M. True, Bourke-White and Mydans were photojournalists, but their works are examples of fine-art photography anyway. Bourke-White did Life magazine's first cover, "Fort Peck Dam," in 1936; an estate print of it is included at Gallery M. The exhibit also has photos Bourke-White took for Erskine Caldwell's 1939 book, You Have Seen Their Faces, which was her personal response to photos of the rural poor taken for the Farm Service Administration. Like Bourke-White, Mydans was one of the first generation of Life photographers, and before that he worked for the FSA. The show could be criticized for being way too crowded, but considering what it's crowded with -- stunning images by Bourke-White and Mydans -- who cares? Through January 31 at Gallery M, 2830 East Third Avenue, 303-331-8400. Reviewed October 14.
herbert bayer. Trained at Germany's famous Bauhaus, multimedia artist Herbert Bayer is one of the most famous creative talents ever to have been associated with Colorado. After fleeing Nazi Germany, Bayer wound up in Aspen in the 1940s, living there until his death in the 1980s. Hugo Anderson, director of Denver's Emil Nelson Gallery, knew the modern master and still has access to his work. As a result, the city's coziest little art space is presenting herbert bayer: maquettes, a museum-quality show that focuses on Bayer's models for sculptures, most of which were never built -- unlike his "Articulated Wall" at the Denver Design Center. Most of the pieces date from the late 1960s into the '70s, and nearly all are composed of identical shapes lined, stacked or piled up into a single form in bright colors. The simplicity -- and the repetition of identical shapes -- reminds us that Bayer's first claim to fame was as a graphic designer. Supplementing these gorgeous sculpture maquettes are drawings, prints and posters. Through November 27 at the Emil Nelson Gallery, 1307 Bannock Street, 303-534-0996.
photographs by Emmet Gowin, Elijah Gowin. A father and son are highlighted in the handsome exhibit photographs by Emmet Gowin, Elijah Gowin, on view at the Colorado Photographic Arts Center. The father, Emmet, is a famous photographer who teaches at Princeton University, while his son, Elijah, is an up-and-coming photographer who teaches at the Kansas City campus of the University of Missouri. Both served as keynote speakers at the regional meetings of the Society for Photographic Education held in Denver last month, with CPAC being the main exhibition venue. Surely Elijah learned the craft at his father's tripod, but their respective oeuvres are still easy to distinguish. Emmet does highly romanticized and lyrical black-and-white portraits of his wife, Edith, whereas Elijah creates black-and-white pictures of family members that are more enigmatic than romantic. Through November 27 at the Colorado Photographic Arts Center, 1513 Boulder Street, 303-455-8999.
The Quest for Immortality. With the rise of archaeology in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, scientists began excavating Egyptian tombs and discovering a wide array of gorgeous artifacts. This tomb art is what makes the blockbuster currently on display at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science absolutely fabulous. A traveling exhibit about midway through its coast-to-coast tour, The Quest for Immortality was organized by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in collaboration with Copenhagen's United Exhibits Group and Cairo's Supreme Council of Antiquities. An army of scientists, curators and scholars worked on it, headed up by Betsy M. Bryan, a professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. The heart of the exhibit includes objects found in the tomb of Thutmose III, as well as an astounding digital re-creation of the tomb itself. The show is jammed with visitors, but don't let all the people -- or the steep ticket prices -- dissuade you: This is one show that you've really got to see to believe. Through January 23 at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Boulevard, 303-322-7009. Reviewed October 7.
Rex Ray: Recent Work. The gorgeous Rex Ray: Recent Work, currently at Rule Gallery, is clearly one of the best shows in memory. On the south wall of the space is an installation called "Wall of Sound," which is made up of nearly 500 different collages on small sheets of paper hung end to end. These paper collages are essentially sketches for the ones on board and canvas. Across from the installation are scores of collages on board that are displayed salon style on the north wall and on the short walls; Ray calls these large pieces on canvas "landscapes." In both types, Ray uses papers he decorated with paint and transfer printing. Most of these works have a mid-century-modernist feel, but rather than looking retro, they have a neo-modern character. Ray has an instinctual sense for composition, and his skill as a colorist is remarkable. Through November 20 at Rule Gallery, 111 Broadway, 303-777-9473. Reviewed October 21.
TIWANAKU. In the Helen Bonfils Stanton Galleries on the first floor of the Denver Art Museum is the unusual show TIWANAKU: Ancestors of the Inca. Tiwanaku was a large city on the shores of Lake Titicaca in the mountains of Bolivia that existed from 200 to 1100 A.D. The people who lived there, called Tiwanaku, were not really ethnically related to the Incas, though the Incas adopted them as their cultural forebears and believed they were gods. Margaret Young-Sánchez, the DAM's pre-Columbian curator, put together the show, which is groundbreaking as a scholarly endeavor. There are nearly a hundred objects, including ritual pieces, ceramics, gold jewelry, pottery and a selection of remarkable textiles. Interestingly, much of the material is not from Tiwanaku, coming instead from the surrounding towns. After all, the Incas -- and then the Spanish -- had looted the place centuries ago, so there's little left. Through January 23 at the Denver Art Museum, 100 West 14th Avenue Parkway, 720-865-5000.