Whatever you choose to see, you can't go wrong. Add some of these to your calendar right now:
Erin Hyunhee Kang: A Home in Between
Kevin Hoth and George P. Perez: Plane of Action
Kristopher Wright: Just As I Am
Thursday, September 29, through February 19
Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, 1750 13th Street, Boulder
Opening Reception, Fall Exhibitions 2022: Thursday, September 29, 6 to 8 p.m.
BMoCA is taking art seriously this fall by rolling out several exhibitions, including some still to come in a few of the museum’s satellite locations. But this weekend is all about a big seasonal change at ground zero: the main museum near the banks of Boulder Creek. Three shows debuting Friday will hold at BMoCA through February, beginning with a showcase of Erin Hyunhee Kang, who takes on last winter’s Marshall fire (her home was gravely damaged in the conflagration) and its wake in a series of digitally collaged images sourcing photographic documentation. For Plane of Action, Kevin Hoth and George P. Perez also work with photographs by altering and distorting the images both digitally and in the old-fashioned way, using collage techniques, while Kristopher Wright begins with found photographs, overlaying them with diagrams in paint and ink, for Just As I Am, in the East Gallery.
Dylan Griffith, "End of the Night,” 2022, acrylic, Flashe, spray paint and sand on panel.
Courtesy of Dylan Griffith
Union Hall, The Coloradan, 1750 Wewatta Street, Suite 144
Thursday, September 29, through October 29
Opening Reception: Thursday, September 29, 6 to 8 p.m.
A spooky new six-artist group exhibition, One Foot in the Grave, ushers in the season of Halloween and Día de los Muertos by mining the unknown territory of the afterlife in a variety of media and cultural twists. It’s also the first show pulled together by Esther Hz — a master herself of performance and storytelling through art — since becoming Union Hall’s chief curator. Cutting-edge? Excuse the catch-all phrase, but you’ll be seeing plenty of that here. Count on it.
Street Wise Artivism Mural Festival 2022
Festival Headquarters: 1909 Broadway, #100, Boulder
Thursday, September 29, through Sunday, October 2
Under the visionary watch of founder Leah Brenner Clack, Street Wise has righteous goals when it comes to mural festivals, simply by requiring themes of activism from its artists — to not only please its audiences with beautiful walls, but to also take a stand and give back to the world in tangible ways. The nitty gritty of Street Wise starts now, with muralists finishing and making final touch-ups to their work, as well as a final slate of of key events, including mural tours to see how things are shaping up (twice daily, through Sunday). At Junkyard Social on Saturday, October 1, there is a ticketed art party, and Supernova Denver drops by the Boedecker Theater at the Dairy Arts Center on Sunday, October 2, with a best-of-the-fest screening. Most of the events are free (donations are optional), but some require registration; find the complete lineup, with information and links, at the Street Wise website.
Street Wise Art Exhibit Opening and Artist Happy Hour
Street Wise Headquarters, 1909 Broadway, #100, Boulder
Friday, September 30, 6 to 9 p.m.
As a Street Wise postscript, here’s the perfect time to meet Street Wise artists and see (and buy!) more of their work. The Friday night art show reception and artist happy hour happens at Street Wise Headquarters by the Pearl Street Mall. Groove to curated music by the Vibrarian, check out the art and artists, and drink up on the new hard kombucha “Strainge Beast,” Liquid Death Waters and more, courtesy of Sierra Nevada.
Lora Webb Nichols, “Ted Higby at Skyline Rodeo,” 1928.
© Lora Webb Nichols, courtesy of CPAC
Colorado Photographic Art Center (CPAC), 1070 Bannock Street
Friday, September 30, through November 19
Opening Reception: Friday, October 7, 6 to 9 p.m.
Panel Discussion: Saturday, October 8, 2 p.m.
The best of a historically significant collection of Western documentary photography fell into the lap of CPAC, surfacing as Lora Webb Nichols: Photographs Made. The exhibition is gleaned from the 24,000 negatives Nichols shot over decades while growing up in and revisiting the copper-mining town of Encampment, Wyoming, beginning around the turn of the last century. Both a portrait of the rare, early-twentieth-century-era female photographer as well as a portrait of time and place, the exhibition is a stunner. A panel moderated by CPAC’s Samantha Johnston with Nicole Jean Hill, co-curator of the Lora Webb Nichols Collection, and Jennifer Sanchez, photo archivist/digital reproductions manager at the University of Colorado Boulder, will offer additional insights on Saturday afternoon.
Ále Campos, film still, cinematography by Claire Staples, at Lane Meyer Projects.
Ále Campos, courtesy of Lane Meyer Projects
Lane Meyer Projects, 2528 Walnut Street
Friday, September 30, through November 13
Opening Reception: Friday, September 30, 8 p.m. to late (performance at 9:30 p.m.)
Chicago-based Salvadoran artist Ále Campos arrives at Lane Meyer Projects for an exhibition combining works of photography and two-channel video. The opening reception will include poetry and a live drag performance by the artist as “Celeste.” A theme of seen and unseen personalities, with a nightclub vibe projected by the character of Celeste, runs through the show, identified by queer, BIPOC performance.
Terry Seidel, Water
Seidel City, 3205 Longhorn Road, Boulder
Friday, September 30, 6 to 10 p.m.
Seidel City’s relationship to Mr. Pool, Inc. — a pool maintenance and construction business in Boulder — influences the recurrence of wet themes in shows hosted by Mr. Pool founder Terry Seidel. Water, a new group exhibition by six Colorado artists opening Friday, follows in that watery vein with few restrictions and lots of creativity. The local and international group of artists includes Dan Asher, San Canessa, Julia Lunk, Liz Quan, Natascha Seideneck and The Big Picture, featuring work by Neil Craver.
Christine Nguyen, Cosmologies Within
Bell Projects, 2822 East 17th Avenue
Friday, September 30, through November 27
Opening Reception/Stow Miller Closing Reception: Friday, September 30, 7 to 10 p.m.
Bell Projects has a busy weekend as it bids farewell to Stow Miller’s compelling show, Bricks and Mortars, while introducing its new project space, the Living Room, on Friday. Cosmologies Within, a show from an ongoing drawing series by the dynamic installation artist Christine Nguyen, christens the room that same evening with delicate works from two series: "Mountain Air" and "Blossom Islands." On Saturday, Bell will host the Art Social, a company that curates pop-up exhibitions, with an open art night titled Sweet Superpositions, which showcases artists from New York and Colorado. Indie-pop artist Ashlei Brianne will entertain over wine and chocolate from OneHope Wine and m2 Confections.
Open Studios Preview Exhibition
The Artists of Voces Vivas
Museum of Boulder, 2205 Broadway, Boulder
Friday, September 30, through October 16
Opening Reception: Friday, September 30, 5:30 to 8 p.m.
In advance of Boulder County’s annual Open Studios event beginning this weekend, the Museum of Boulder is hosting a reception covering a preview show for the studio-hopping public, as well as The Artists of Voces Vivas, a smaller adjunct exhibition to the year-long historical exhibit Voces Vivas (currently closed through October 20) that focuses on art as activism created by Boulder’s Latinx community.
Juan Fuentes, Pride on Your Side
Aurora Public Library, 14949 East Alameda Parkway
Opening: Friday, September 30
Denver photographer Juan Fuentes’s passion is photographing his community, so it hasn’t been much of a stretch for him to also work with community members for a new Pride on Your Side show opening this week at Aurora’s main library. Fuentes first led two photography workshops at the library, encouraging participants to document neighborhood life through a personal lens; now they’ll display their own work alongside his for a new exhibition.
Sammy Lee, “A Very Proper Table Setting,” ongoing series, 2017 to present. Molded Hanji (Korean mulberry paper).
Courtesy of Sammy Lee
Seeing Red: Botanical Art & Illustration: Saturday, October 1, through January 16
Freyer-Newman Center, Denver Botanic Gardens, 1007 York Street
Fall Exhibitions Reception/Sammy Seung-min Lee Artist Talk: Friday, October 7, 5 to 7:30 p.m. (artist talk: 6 p.m.)
The beautiful practice of Korean artist Sammy Seung-min Lee, who lives and works in Denver, combines age-old Korean paper-making traditions with community-oriented performance, often around the theme of breaking bread with friends and family. She’s brought some core pieces of work in this vein to the gardens this fall, including her key molded-paper installation "A Very Proper Table Setting" and an interactive "Street Art Cart." Also opening this week in the Freyer-Newman Center: Seeing Red: Botanical Art & Illustration, a color-themed exhibition by students and instructors in the DBG’s School of Botanical Art & Illustration.
Joel Swanson, The Distance Between Words
New Collection, The Vault, 3758 Osage Street, #102
Saturday, October 1, through February 28
Artist Reception: Saturday, October 1, 2 to 7 p.m.; free, RSVP at Eventbrite
Joel Swanson, known for his use of language and script in installations, digital prints and even animations, is in the spotlight this weekend at New Collection, an arts initiative providing artists with the tools and support needed to proceed with experimental forms. His latest works are derived in response to the 1929 edition of Webster's dictionary. How he incorporates the theme is always the twist in Swanson’s work, something he does with sophistication, humor, sight gags, wordplay and some kind of secret sauce that pulls it all together.
Memento Amore: Works by Vinni Alfonso
RedLine Contemporary Art Center, 2350 Arapahoe Street
Saturday, October 1, through November 6
Opening Reception: Saturday, October 1, 6 to 9 p.m.; $5 suggested donation
Outgoing RedLine resident Vinni Alfonso kills two birds with one stone by offering a roundup of works put together for Alto Gallery, but showing in RedLine’s project space. It’s the result of a tradeoff between the venues: While Alfonso’s show, including impressionistic paintings of violent wrestling-ring brawls and thoughtful installations, opens at RedLine, RedLine will be hosting its annual benefit art sale and gala at Alto. And of course, a show within its walls is a nice way for Alfonso to bid RedLine farewell.
Collin Parson, Mergers
Liz Hickok, Inflorescence and The Theory of Metamorphoses
Michael Warren Contemporary, 760 Santa Fe Drive
Through October 29
Opening Reception: Saturday, October 1, 5 to 8 p.m.
Collin Parson, in Conversation With Sue Oehme: Saturday, October 22, 10:30 a.m. to noon
Michael Warren unveils two fine shows. One is by light-and-space genius Collin Parson, who contributes prints made at Oehme Graphics in Steamboat Springs along with reflective wall pieces, acrylic sculpture printed with moire patterns and more. The other is by photographer Liz Hickok, who alters garden photographs into wavy, color-saturated, watercolor-like visions.
Art, Tacos & Friends
Pattern Shop Studio, 3349 Blake Street
Saturday, October 1, 5 to 8 p.m.
When Rex and Sharon Brown first moved into the 1906 Pattern Shop building in 1991, the surrounding landscape of what’s now known as the RiNo Art District was quiet and barren. There were no breweries, galleries or restaurants — just warehouses, some of them empty, as far as the eye could see. But they stuck it out, turning the shell of their building into a lovely home and gallery space — a first in RiNo — where people would eventually flock on First Friday, along with galleries nearby that have come and gone: Hinterland, the Dry Ice Factory, Rule Gallery, Ironton, Weilworks, Andenken, Sliding Door and Studio Aiello, to name a few. That gallery heyday is in the past, but the Browns are still there after thirty-plus years, and ready to welcome guests for the fall art season. Want to party? Come to Art, Tacos & Friends this weekend and get reacquainted.
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