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Best new concession item

Italian sodas

Getting thirsty during hour three of that cinema epic about four generations of North Dakota wheat farmers? Slide on out to the concession stand at the Chez Artiste and order up an icy Italian soda (aka "phosphate") -- sparkling water flavored with the syrup of your choice. Among the flavors: coconut, peach, hazelnut, black currant and almond. Available since March, these coolers have become hot sellers at $2.50 and represent a happy alternative to the usual colas and lemonades. Ask the clerk to add a shot of milk and -- presto! -- you've got an "egg cream."

Best new concession item

Italian sodas

Getting thirsty during hour three of that cinema epic about four generations of North Dakota wheat farmers? Slide on out to the concession stand at the Chez Artiste and order up an icy Italian soda (aka "phosphate") -- sparkling water flavored with the syrup of your choice. Among the flavors: coconut, peach, hazelnut, black currant and almond. Available since March, these coolers have become hot sellers at $2.50 and represent a happy alternative to the usual colas and lemonades. Ask the clerk to add a shot of milk and -- presto! -- you've got an "egg cream."

Best New York school show

Carl Andre and Melissa Kretschmer

Among the pleasures of Rule Modern and Contemporary Gallery on Broadway are the many New York artists featured there. True, most are little known, but occasionally director Robin Rule is able to snag one of the greats, as she did when an acknowledged master of minimalism was a part of a duet at her venue last summer. The impressive Carl Andre and Melissa Kretschmer combined the classic modular floor sculptures that made Andre a legend in art history with some extremely fine tar paintings done on stacks of glass by his current girlfriend, the much-younger Melissa Kretschmer. Though Andre is considered one of the greatest living sculptors in America (if only for his contributions from the 1960s, when he helped invent minimalism), he is also controversial -- and in a way most artists aren't. He was tried and ultimately acquitted of murder in the death in 1985 of his wife, feminist artist Ana Mendieta. The scandal quotient surely helped spike attendance at the show, but the real stars were the three somber sculptures that Andre had arranged on the floor.

Best New York school show

Carl Andre and Melissa Kretschmer

Among the pleasures of Rule Modern and Contemporary Gallery on Broadway are the many New York artists featured there. True, most are little known, but occasionally director Robin Rule is able to snag one of the greats, as she did when an acknowledged master of minimalism was a part of a duet at her venue last summer. The impressive Carl Andre and Melissa Kretschmer combined the classic modular floor sculptures that made Andre a legend in art history with some extremely fine tar paintings done on stacks of glass by his current girlfriend, the much-younger Melissa Kretschmer. Though Andre is considered one of the greatest living sculptors in America (if only for his contributions from the 1960s, when he helped invent minimalism), he is also controversial -- and in a way most artists aren't. He was tried and ultimately acquitted of murder in the death in 1985 of his wife, feminist artist Ana Mendieta. The scandal quotient surely helped spike attendance at the show, but the real stars were the three somber sculptures that Andre had arranged on the floor.

Best place this side of the Ozarks to see carved wood

North American Sculpture Exhibition

Famous California artist Alison Saar served as this year's juror for the biennial North American Sculpture Exhibition at Foothills Art Center in Golden. For better or worse, Saar, a wood-carver, mostly chose other sculptors working in wood; standouts here were a number of Colorado artists including Alex Harrison, Bryan Andrews and Craig Robb, all of whom work with logs or lumber. Also nice were the sculptures created in other materials by Colorado artists Peter Durst, Tai Pomara, Carol Sharpe and Sue Quinlan. The size and weight of many sculptures means that they're rarely the subject of group shows, so it's nice that we can count on the NASE at Foothills to fill the bill every two years.

Best place this side of the Ozarks to see carved wood

North American Sculpture Exhibition

Famous California artist Alison Saar served as this year's juror for the biennial North American Sculpture Exhibition at Foothills Art Center in Golden. For better or worse, Saar, a wood-carver, mostly chose other sculptors working in wood; standouts here were a number of Colorado artists including Alex Harrison, Bryan Andrews and Craig Robb, all of whom work with logs or lumber. Also nice were the sculptures created in other materials by Colorado artists Peter Durst, Tai Pomara, Carol Sharpe and Sue Quinlan. The size and weight of many sculptures means that they're rarely the subject of group shows, so it's nice that we can count on the NASE at Foothills to fill the bill every two years.

Best upstart exhibition organizer

Jason Thomas, director

Six months ago, Jason Thomas was working as a security guard, his fine-art degree in the pocket of his uniform. Then Guiry's, the commercial paint and fine-art supply business that's been around Denver since the nineteenth century, opened a new store in an old building on Market Street in the Ballpark neighborhood and hired the ambitious twentysomething to run its gallery there. Over the past year, Thomas, using his many connections in the art world -- he'd been an intern at Rule Modern and Contemporary Gallery before he took up the badge and gun -- booked Guiry's with one good show after another, alternating group displays of local modern masters with solos devoted to young, untried talents. Thanks to Thomas, Guiry's also hosted the Invisible Museum exhibits, featuring some of Denver's biggest names in sculpture, photography and interactive art. As a result of his efforts, Thomas has lured nearly everyone interested in art in Denver through Guiry's doors to see some of the best shows in town.

Best upstart exhibition organizer

Jason Thomas, director

Six months ago, Jason Thomas was working as a security guard, his fine-art degree in the pocket of his uniform. Then Guiry's, the commercial paint and fine-art supply business that's been around Denver since the nineteenth century, opened a new store in an old building on Market Street in the Ballpark neighborhood and hired the ambitious twentysomething to run its gallery there. Over the past year, Thomas, using his many connections in the art world -- he'd been an intern at Rule Modern and Contemporary Gallery before he took up the badge and gun -- booked Guiry's with one good show after another, alternating group displays of local modern masters with solos devoted to young, untried talents. Thanks to Thomas, Guiry's also hosted the Invisible Museum exhibits, featuring some of Denver's biggest names in sculpture, photography and interactive art. As a result of his efforts, Thomas has lured nearly everyone interested in art in Denver through Guiry's doors to see some of the best shows in town.

Best combination of funky and fancy

Shows organized by Jim Robischon and Jennifer Doran

There's no question about it: Robischon has been the preeminent contemporary gallery in Denver for more than twenty years. And it's kept its top-rank reputation not by resting on its laurels, but by being unpredictable. More often than not, the shows at Robischon are going to be weird -- like last summer, when sculptor Tom Nussbaum's figures were on display, or when the gallery presented those really strange and falsely naive-looking Fay Jones paintings. Sometimes the space even exhibits artists who are officially associated with the funk movement of the late twentieth century, such as the Manuel Neri and Robert Hudson shows last fall and winter. This interest in work that pushes our concepts of beauty reflects the taste and judgment of the gallery's co-directors, the husband-and-wife team of Jim Robischon and Jennifer Doran.

Best combination of funky and fancy

Shows organized by Jim Robischon and Jennifer Doran

There's no question about it: Robischon has been the preeminent contemporary gallery in Denver for more than twenty years. And it's kept its top-rank reputation not by resting on its laurels, but by being unpredictable. More often than not, the shows at Robischon are going to be weird -- like last summer, when sculptor Tom Nussbaum's figures were on display, or when the gallery presented those really strange and falsely naive-looking Fay Jones paintings. Sometimes the space even exhibits artists who are officially associated with the funk movement of the late twentieth century, such as the Manuel Neri and Robert Hudson shows last fall and winter. This interest in work that pushes our concepts of beauty reflects the taste and judgment of the gallery's co-directors, the husband-and-wife team of Jim Robischon and Jennifer Doran.

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