Fin Art

It’s a well-known fact that behind every great artist’s print, there’s usually a great printmaker to serve as master technician, problem-solver and perhaps as a muse, as well. We Coloradans have been lucky enough to count one of them, Bud Shark of Shark’s Ink studio in Lyons, as one our own since he first set up shop in Boulder more than thirty years ago, after cutting his teeth at Tamarind in New Mexico. But there’s more to what makes Shark so special: He’s also a friend to his clients, who stay at his home, listen to his music and savor his quips whenever they come here to work.

Now, the Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver and ten major artists who’ve partnered with Shark over the years will pay tribute to his printmaking skills and collaborative spirit with Shark’s Ink: The Legend of Bud Shark and His Indelible Ink, a collection of 85 prints that opens today in MCA/Denver’s Paper Works Gallery. Featuring work by John Buck, Enrique Chagoya, Bernard Cohen, Red Grooms, Don Ed Hardy, Jane Hammond, Robert Kushner, Hung Liu, Hollis Sigler and Betty Woodman, the show continues through the end of June; the museum will host a public reception from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, February 6. MCA/Denver is at 1485 Delgany Street; go to www.mcadenver.org or call 303-298-7554.
Tuesdays-Sundays. Starts: Feb. 3. Continues through June 28, 2009