Artbeat

The small but smart-looking Fresh Art Gallery (208 South Broadway, 720-570-2255) is currently presenting encaustic evolution, which officially includes four artists and unofficially includes another five, all of whom use encaustic to create their paintings and sculptures.

The gang of four is made up of Andrew Speer, Rachel Urioste, John Clark and Larry Pritchard. It was Pritchard who defined the parameters of the show and composed an essay on the history of encaustic painting. Simply put, “encaustic” refers to the mixing of pigments with wax, which is most often used in a molten state. Pritchard’s painted works are abstractions based on classically rendered figures, as seen in “Offering” (above). He often uses collage elements such as torn bits of paper, found images and Polaroid photos, too.

Among the five unofficial participants in the show are several who stand out, notably Miani Carnevale and Carol Redman, the latter the subject of a recent solo show at Fresh.

As usual, this show was put together by gallery director Jeannie King. An unexpected King-created treat is the use of biographical wall notes, each complete with a head shot of the exhibiting artist. There’s a different show presented every month at Fresh; this one is set to close on March 24.