New York, New York

The time was right, says Plus Gallery’s Ivar Zeile, to listen to the advice of others and build his gallery by breaking into “the blue chip market” — the works of New York-based artists of renown. The opportunity then fell into his lap at the suggestion of Plus artist Naomi Cohn, whose own sharp eye and ties to the New York scene made her the perfect curator for such a show. They put their heads together and came up with Take Five, which opens tonight with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m.

“We approached it from the standpoint of my wish list versus her connections,” Zeile explains. “And then we whittled it down.” The five artists they settled upon — Joe Fyfe, Judith Linhares, John Newman, Joanna Pousette-Dart and Jessica Weiss — aren’t superstars on the level of a Damien Hirst, he notes, but they’re no less important. From Pousette-Dart’s large Modernist abstractions to Newman’s eccentric sculptures, the diverse offerings make a strong statement about what’s hot on the coast.

“I’ve always been a proponent of any curated efforts that introduce something to people that they might not get a chance to see otherwise. Usually, for me, that’s meant showing emerging artists,” Zeile says. “But now I see lots of opportunities for that in Denver. This kind of show not only solidifies the stable that we represent here, but it also offers a look at what it takes to really build an art career.”

See Take Five at Plus Gallery, 2501 Larimer Street, through February 27; for information, go to www.plusgallery.com or call 303-296-0927.

Jan. 21-Feb. 27, 2010