Continental Drift. To create Continental Drift, MCA Denver curator Nora Burnett Abrams and Aspen Art Museum curator Jacob Proctor looked at the work of more than 300 Colorado artists who had submitted portfolios. Abrams and Proctor then winnowed the hundreds of submitters down to a mere twenty and scheduled them for studio visits. Only seven of those were selected for the exhibit, with the theme of "place" emerging as the tissue that connects the diverse work of each. At the MCA — the show travels to the AAM later this fall — Continental Drift has been installed in several spaces, with one of the galleries quite far from the others. It thus has the character of a set of shows as opposed to a singular endeavor, an impression that is reinforced by the fact that the various artists' work is so disparate and disconnected. Continental Drift therefore reads as two solos (Jeanne Liotta and Christina Battle); a duet (Adam Milner and Yumi Janairo Roth); and a trio (Edie Winograde, Scott Johnson and Sarah McKenzie). Through September 23 at MCA Denver, 1485 Delgany Street, 303-298-7554, www.mcadenver.org. Reviewed August 23.
Linhas Polimórficas. The Denver Art Dealers Association, known as DADA, recently asked its members to participate in "Introductions," a citywide event in which artists who are either new to the galleries or new to Denver are being featured. Tina Goodwin, owner of Goodwin Fine Art, has selected Rosane Volchan O'Conor for her entry in Introductions, with the exhibit titled Linhas Polimórficas. Putting the show's title in Portuguese is not an affectation for O'Conor, as she was born and raised in Brazil. She moved to Boulder last year after having spent more than twenty years in Houston. The exhibit is divided into two parts: an installation in the front, and several works on paper, mostly monotypes and silk screens, in the main display area. The relationship between the two sections is fairly obvious, with the installation being something like a walk through one of the prints. Earlier in her life, O'Conor was interested in science, but she later switched to music; referents to both of these pursuits appear in her work. Through September 1 at Goodwin Fine Art, 1255 Delaware Street, 303-573-1255, www.goodwinfineart.com. Reviewed August 16.
Solitude. Though the title of this summer show at the William Havu Gallery might suggest a solo, it's actually a packed group effort. Gallery director Bill Havu has selected paintings and works on paper by more than a dozen artists, all of whom are interested in depicting the landscape or some other natural subject. The artists, several of whom live and work in Colorado, are from Havu's stable; a number of them are newcomers to the gallery and are making their debuts in this show. Stylistically, the work reflects a wide range of interests, including the neo-traditionalism of Jeff Aeling, Jean Gumpper and Ray Knaub, the neo-transcendentalism of Lui Ferreyra and Tracy and Sushe Felix, the expressionism of James Cook, Stephen Dinsmore, Jane Abrams and Debra Salopek, and the contemporary realism of Michael Burrows, Lloyd Brown, Rick Dula and Mary Mito. The installation has been done so that each artist is given his or her own space and each artist's vision gives way to the next. Through September 15 at the William Havu Gallery, 1040 Cherokee Street, 303-893-2360, www.williamhavugallery.com. Reviewed August 2.
The Surface Beneath. The artists in The Surface Beneath — Dirk De Bruycker, Brandon Bultman, Ian Fisher and Gary Emrich — create disparate works, but each is given his own space in the exhibit. It begins with a solo given over to De Bruycker, who has written that the sights of the tropics, with their abundant insect, bird and animal life, provided inspiration for these visually rich color-field paintings. Next up is Bultman, an emerging Colorado conceptualist interested in translating his personal experiences into works of art. His not-to-be-missed installation is made up of found elements, the most remarkable of which is a 1959 Buick station wagon that's been flipped onto its roof and has plants growing out from the underside. Shifting gears is a nearby section devoted to some of Fisher's signature cloud paintings. A contemporary realist, Fisher precisely records the look of the passing clouds, without no reference to the land underneath. The last of the four, Emrich, is represented by his multi-channel video installation, "Contact," which compares bees landing on flowers to men landing on the moon. Through September 1 at Robischon Gallery, 1740 Wazee Street, 303-298-7788, www.robischongallery.com. Reviewed August 9.