The extra day invites off-the-hook art adventures in and out of the sunshine. Choose yours here…
Noelle Phares and Chelsea Kaiah, Tracking Time
Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art (BMoCA), 1750 13th Street, Boulder
May 23 through September 2
Thursday, May 23, 6 to 8 p.m.
A duet of new commissioned work by Noelle Phares and Chelsea Kaiah, Tracking Time, opens for the summer at BMoCA, with both artists approaching the changing human footprint on nature from personal points of view. Phares, a landscape painter, looks to environmental science through seven views of the Colorado River, while Kiah turns to Ute and Apache symbology and human connections to nature by juxtaposing natural leather and man-made materials as art mediums referencing Indigenous hunting practice. Both artists will interact more personally with the public during the show’s run: Phares will lead a gallery tour and talk on June 20, and Kiah goes hands-on for a Rawhide Painting Class on July 20, assisted by Akalei Brown.
Genevieve Waller and Paloma Jimenez, Phantom Potpourri
Art Gym, 1460 Leyden Street
May 23 through June 23
Opening Reception: Thursday, May 23, 6 to 9 p.m.
Genevieve Waller and Paloma Jimenez share a fondness for making art that glorifies the ordinary, from Waller’s sponge tapestries and soft-sculpture pretzel arrangements to Jimenez’s clay towers of clementines and Magic 8 Balls or gutter trash enshrined on pedestals and shelves. The pieces all flow from the duo’s thoughts about queer feminism and the idea of hiding the true beauty of who they are beyond the commonplace. It’s work that’s both fun and thoughtful while offering solace for the unseen.
Joon Tajadod, Heritage Garden
Ramble Hotel, 1280 25th Street
Thursday, May 23, 5 to 10 p.m.
Joon Tajadod, formerly known by her painter/muralist tag Ashley Joon, has accepted the Iranian heritage she once hid to create “Heritage Garden,” a new installation of the floral painting she’s known for set in a Persian-carpeted space at the Ramble Hotel. For Tajadod, it’s a way to express her reconnection with family to others, who are also invited to check out the hotel’s summer-night hideaway: a rooftop patio called the Garden, where more of her work will be on display.
Supporting Members Annual Exhibition
Spark Gallery, 900 Santa Fe Drive
May 23 through June 16
Artist Reception: Saturday, May 25, noon to 5 p.m.
Last Look: Sunday, June 16, 1 to 4 p.m.
Spark hands over the gallery through the middle of June to its supporting members, who are allowed to contribute a work or two to a group show once a year. It’s a good situation for artists who aren’t able to prepare for a full solo exhibition or afford the regular member fee but still like the exposure.
Collective Nouns: MSU Denver Department of Art Faculty & Staff
Art Unbound, in the 965 Project Gallery
Center for Visual Art MSU Denver, 965 Santa Fe Drive
May 24 through July 20
Opening Reception: Friday, May 24, 6 to 8 p.m.
Closing Celebration: Friday, July 19, 5:30 to 6 p.m.
The artists who teach artists hold the light of creation in their hand; it’s up to them to detect the seed of talent in every student and help sprout that promise. That's a little like having to be psychic in order to do the job, and in the meantime still make your own work — but dedicated art instructors would rather look out at a class and see a garden to tend. As for their own work, see CVA’s Collective Nouns, an MSU Denver art faculty exhibition where the instuctors can stand in the spotlight for a change. Ogle art by 25 teaching artists at the opening, or stop by before July 20.
Phil Bender, Mary Shivers and Special Guest, The 229 Show
Pirate: Contemporary Art, 7130 West 16th Avenue, Lakewood
May 24 through June 9
Opening Reception: Friday, May 24, 6 to 10 p.m.
Phil Bender, Pirate’s fearless leader — and founding member in 1980 — takes pride in his longevity as the co-op’s longest-lasting and oldest member. Associate member Mary Shivers has been around, too. By including a mystery guest artist who has not been named, the ages of the artists showcased in Pirate’s latest exhibition add up to 229 — hence they’ve named it The 229 Show (or, secondarily, the Elders Show). With Bender’s found-object grids, Shivers’s animal-skewed paintings in the colors of Fauvism, and mystery works by the mystery guest, you might expect to see the blossoming of some really mature work.
Void World Closing Party
The Storeroom, 1700 East 17th Avenue
Friday, May 24, 7 to 9 p.m.
Kathryn Batsel’s wacky installation at the Storeroom window gallery is coming to an end this weekend, but not without a final toast — which is easier now that the adjoining Vine Street Pub is having a soft opening after a four-year closure since the start of the pandemic. Folks are invited to enjoy a last look at Batsel’s adorable Day-glo feline fantasy (where individual pieces are for sale) before entering Vine Street for a pour.
80-Something
Niza Knoll Gallery, 915 Santa Fe Drive
May 24 through June 23
Artist Reception: Sunday, May 26, 1 to 4 p.m.
Another take on elder art opens Friday at Niza Knoll Gallery, with a reception following during the Art District on Santa Fe’s Sundays on Santa Fe mid-day art crawl. 80-Something, curated by Damon McLeese, who oversees the neighboring Access Gallery, consists solely of work by a handful of octogenarian Denver artists who are all still making quality art. But then, as it’s been said, “Age is just a number.”
"Celebrating the Unexpected" in the Dairy Block Alley.
Charlo
Dairy Block Alley, 1800 Wazee Street
Friday, May 24, 6 to 8 p.m.
Mexican-born artist and muralist Charlo, now working in Denver creating his densely patterned, trademark black-and-white visuals, is finishing up a new mural, “Celebrating the Unexpected,” in the Dairy Block Alley. Meet the artist Friday as he works during an outdoor alley cocktail party with live music.
Saskia Fleishman, "Storm King (September 2020)," 2024, acrylic and locally sourced sand on digitally printed chiffon.
Saskia Fleishman, David B. Smith Gallery
David B. Smith Gallery, 1543 A Wazee Street
May 25 through July 13
Opening Reception: Saturday, June 1, 5 to 8 p.m.
Desire Lines, a new group exhibition curated by Kate Mothes, a national booster of emerging artists, channels an overall metaphysical glow and the sensation of being just born. It’s perhaps best characterized by Jessica Cannon’s stylized decorative landscapes painted in tiny gradient dots of pastel paint and shimmered up with iridescent pigments, though all the work in this show is easy on the eyes and focused on nature as it interrelates with culture and dreams. Needing to look at something caught in the glint of beauty? This is your ticket.
Andy Lio, American Matai
Leon Gallery, 1112 East 17th Avenue
May 25 through June 22
Opening Reception: Saturday, May 25, 5 to 9 p.m.
As Asian Pacific American Heritage Month draws to an end in 2024, Leon Gallery covers the Pacific-American piece of that historical pie with American Matai, a solo exhibition by Samoan artist Andy Lio, whose work comprises the Indigenous tattoo art and traditional pyrography (wood-burning) of Polynesian culture. Lio, who was born in the island of Samoa but grew up in San Francisco, now lives in Colorado Springs after three tours with the U.S. Army. American Matai is his story of reconnecting with his heritage by returning to Samoa after more than three decades to claim his title as a matai, or chief. Through displays highlighting his tattoo and pyrography expertise, as well as clips from a documentary project-in-progress, his adventure unfolds; the reception will include a traditional Samoan Kava Ceremony, with tastes of Samoan cuisine and live music.
Pastel Society of Colorado, Mile High International Pastel Exhibition
Moose Cain-Rodenfels: Sjón: A Solar System of Vision
John Taylor Wagner
Foothills Art Center Astor House, 822 Twelfth Street, Golden
Public Opening: Saturday, May 25, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; RSVP here
Ready for a first look at the Foothills Art Center’s new galleries in Golden's refurbished Astor House? Shows officially opening to the public on Saturday include an international juried pastel show from the Pastel Society of Colorado; abstract paintings on wood by a young vision-impaired artist, Moose Cain-Rodenfels; and John Taylor Wagner’s colorful personal explorations of growth and mental health struggles through art.
BODY / SOUND / WORD / IMAGE
St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 2201 Dexter Street
Saturday, May 25: 7:30 p.m. doors, 8 p.m. performance
Denver Digerati’s performance series BODY / SOUND / WORD / IMAGE moves from the Evans School to St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Park Hill with a lineup including body movement and video by Rachel Halmrast and Deven Verma; sound, video and literary triple-collaboration between Sierra Cosmidis-Grove, Nali Koca, and Mpw (aka Mark Warm); and a multimedia performance collaboration between Kenzie Sitterud and Alston Tyndall. Learn more about the artists here.
2024 Street Wise Art Battle at the Boulder Creek Festival
Boulder Creek Festival Art Zone, 1750 Tenth Street, Boulder
Saturday, May 25, and Sunday, May 26, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Street Wise Arts returns to the Boulder Creek Festival for a reprise of its muralist art battles of past years. Ten artists were selected for this year’s event; they’ll be painting custom-designed Adirondack chairs all day Saturday and Sunday; the public is invited to join the action by placing a vote and bidding on their favorites. Voting and auction both end on Monday, May 27, at 2 p.m.
Interested in having your event appear in this calendar? Send the details to [email protected].
