That's just the start! Get right to the heart of the matter at art galleries this weekend.
Confidence Omenai, Did You Die Though?
Leon Gallery, 1112 East 17th Avenue
Through March 4
Honoring Our Ancestors: Curated Story Time: Wednesday, February 8, 6 to 8 p.m.
Bury Our Dead: Wednesday, February 22, 6 to 8 p.m.
Ekphrastic Writing Workshop and Book Signing: Wednesday, March 1, 3 to 8 p.m.
A poet, wordsmith and activist, Confidence Omenai explores ritual death and evolutionary rebirth from a Black woman’s point of view in her multidisciplinary, mixed-media installation at Leon Gallery. A community altar is central to the exhibition, with a series of photos of Omenai assuming various female roles circling the gallery. Each image is accompanied by a recorded poem read by the artist (you’ll need to bring earphones or buds). Omenai will also host a series of rituals on three Wednesdays: a shared storytime invoking personal ancestors, a healing circle and an ekphrastic writing workshop and artist reading to wrap up the run. Details here.
Andrew Beckham, A Cloud of Unknowing: Apparitions and Manifestations
Michael Warren Contemporary, 760 Santa Fe Drive
Wednesday, February 1, through March 11
Opening Reception: Thursday, February 2, 5 to 8 p.m.
It will be hard to tell the photographic images from the charcoal drawings at photographer Andrew Beckham’s new show at Michael Warren Contemporary. Beckham, an experienced technical mountaineer, starts with views from the highest pinnacles that few people ever will get to see in person, photographed in highly detailed black and white. His drawings are equally textured, capturing mountaintop mists, changes in light and rocky slopes. On top of that, he scatters mica dust to capture the sparkle of sunlight between the shadows on treacherous peaks above the treeline. The effects are inspirational.
Thomas Elias Lockhart III, ”The Mothership," mixed media on canvas.
Thomas Elias Lockhart III, courtesy of the Dairy Arts Center
Various locations and dates, Boulder County
Off Broadway Gallery at Pine Street Church, 1237 Pine Street, Boulder
Artist Panel Discussion and Reception: Thursday, February 2, 5 to 9 p.m. (panel at 6:30 p.m.)
The Gallery @ Bus Stop Apartments, 4895 Broadway, Boulder
First Friday reception: Friday, February 3, 5 to 9 p.m.
Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut Street, Boulder
Exhibit through March 4
East Simpson Coffee, 201 E. Simpson Street, Lafayette
Exhibit through March 4
Reception: Saturday, February 4, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Celebrate Black History Month in Boulder County by looking to the future through contemporary art. The exhibition series Black Futures in Art: We're Not Just History, organized by artist and curator Adderly Grant-Lord, spreads the love all over, from north Boulder to Lafayette, with small collections in different locations making up a large representation of Black artists working in the area. Some shows included in the mix started early and have ended, but we’ve listed shows that are hosting events or running through March 4. Find details and RSVP at Eventbrite.
Sally Elliot and Tom Linker, Past and Present
Scott Lancashire, Reflected Image, in the North Gallery
Spark Gallery, 900 Santa Fe Drive
Thursday, February 2, through February 26
Opening Reception: Saturday, February 4, 1 to 5 p.m.
Last Look: Sunday, February 26, 1 to 4 p.m.
Spark members Sally Elliott and Tom Linker share a theme of Past and Present in February, offering Elliott’s dream-sourced garden views and Linker’s happy expressionistic abstracts that swirl with color. In the North Gallery, Scott Lancashire presents selfie portraits, an ongoing painting project that grew out of the COVID pandemic.
UCCS Visual Art Faculty Triennial Exhibition
Marie Sharpe Walsh Gallery, Ent Center for the Arts, 5225 North Nevada Avenue, Colorado Springs
Thursday, February 2, through March 18
Opening Reception: Thursday, February 2, 5 to 8 p.m.
Winter/spring faculty exhibitions are often on the bill at places of higher education, but at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, it only happens every three years. Artists who teach on the college level usually have practices of their own, leading double lives of a sort — they deserve the attention just for being able to miraculously split themselves between making and mentoring. This is their big chance to show students what they do when they’re not in the classroom, and given the names on this show’s list of educators, it ought to be spectacular.
Detail from Diego Florez-Arroyo's installation Mensajes Mestizos at Alto Gallery.
Diego Florez-Arroyo
Alto Gallery, RiNo ArtPark, 1900 30th Street, Suite B
Friday, February 3, through February 25
Opening Reception: Friday, February 3, 6 to 10 p.m.
Young, multi-talented artist Diego Florez-Arroyo — a musician with the local Chicano funk band Los Mocochetes, muralist, educator, philosopher, activist and artist — delivers a rich solo installation show of new paintings about history, place and cultural heritage, enhanced by objects and personal writings. Admission is free, but RSVP to attend.
Viera Smith, "Azul 1."
Viera Smith, Bell Projects
Bell Projects, 2822 East 17th Avenue
Friday, February 3, through February 26
Opening Reception: Friday, February 3, 6 to 10 p.m.
Artist Viera Smith creates a timeline of her own transformation during her first year of hormone replacement therapy for the solo exhibition Puberty, but instead of using a typical surface, she paints portraits on clothing as a way of raising consciousness about trans life. In addition to a series of self-portraits from different intervals of her HRT treatments, Smith has also painted portraits from her direct community of non-gender-conforming people. The images are painted on T-shirts, diaphanous dresses, pinafores, bomber jackets and all manner of garments, emphasizing humanity and the found nature of her chosen “canvases.”
Hyperlink, Fan Mail 2.0
Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut Street, Boulder
Friday, February 3, through April 1
Opening Reception: Friday, February 3, 5 to 8 p.m.
The Dairy opens its doors to Hyperlink, a loose artist collective that promotes collaborations and exchanges between communities in different cities through the internet and in person. Fan Mail 2.0, an extension of a continuing idea, features works from artists chosen virtually by Colorado-based members, creating a community connection in real life.
From: Future
North Boulder Arts Center, 4929 Broadway, #E, Boulder
Friday, February 3, through February 25
Opening Reception: Friday, February 3, 6 to 9 p.m.
Sasha de Koninck, a current Graduate Creative Fellow at CU Boulder’s Atlas Institute and head of the Research Lab of Ambiguous Futurology, mixes performance and fiber art by collecting peoples’ thoughts on what the future will be like and then creating each participant a garment, or “Future Heirloom.” The leftover scraps are used to make quilts, which remain at the lab as artifacts of the exchanges. The exhibition From: Future comprises six completed quilts, as well as her five newest garments. And there’s a participatory activity table where you can contribute to the next step by answering the question: “What do you expect of your garments in the future?”
Cultural First Friday: Celebrating Afro-Latinx Identity
Museo de las Americas, 861 Santa Fe Drive
Friday, February 3, 5 to 9 p.m.
See what’s happening at the Museo on First Friday for free, and take part in special activities under the banner of Celebrating Afro-Latinx Identity. See the exhibition Luis Barragan: A Legacy. New Works Undressing the Mexican Soul before it leaves in a couple of weeks, and kick up your heels during a Brazilian dance class with Samba Colorado; an array of local vendors and a bar will complete the package.
RMCAD Biennial Faculty and Staff Exhibition
Philip J. Steele Gallery, Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design, 1600 Pierce Street
Friday, February 3, through March 17
Opening Reception: Friday, February 3, 4 to 7 p.m.
RMCAD honors more than seventy faculty and staff members with a biennial exhibition, opening on First Friday in the Philip J. Steele Gallery in the 40 West Arts District. It’s a great way to get to know what these hardworking artists and designers do on their own time, and the rest of 40 West is ready to greet you with festivities, too.
Eiko Otake: I Invited Myself, Vol. II
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 30 West Dale Street, Colorado Springs
Friday, February 3, through July 30
Exhibition Opening and Performance: Friday, February 3, 5 to 8 p.m.; RSVP here.
Meet the Artist: Saturday, February 4, and Sunday, February 5, in the gallery
Some notable out-of-town shows opening this weekend include one of the most fascinating anywhere: Eiko Otake: I Invited Myself, Vol. II. Otake, known as part of the Japanese multimedia dance performance duo Eiko and Koma, will present a solo venture that focuses on the video and media aspects of her work as they relate to movement and choreography. Along with the exhibition, several elements will be part of her time at CSFAC, including a performance at the First Friday opening, meet-and-greets in the gallery on February 3 and 4, and a series of public talks on February 9 and 10. Find more information here.
Trine Bumiller and Erika Osborne, Out of Ashes
Pikes Peak State College Art Gallery at Studio West, 22 North Sierra Madre Street, Colorado Springs
Through March 3
Opening Reception: Friday, February 3, 5 to 8 p.m.
Also opening on First Friday in Colorado Springs is Out of Ashes, a joint show by painters Trine Bumiller and Erika Osborne, whose large-scale, nature-based works focus on changes in the landscape in the aftermath of a wildfire. The opening includes an artists' talk at 5:30 p.m. and a reading by local poets Deidre Schoolcraft, Amie Sharp, Gary Walker and Dana Zimbleman on the same subject as the artwork.
Johanna Mueller brings fresh prints to Trinidad.
Johanna Mueller, Kuehl Fine Art Gallery
Kuehl Fine Art Gallery, A.R. Mitchell Museum of Western Art, 150 East Main Street, Trinidad
Opening Reception: Friday, February 3, 5 to 8:30 p.m.
Even farther south, Kuehl Fine Art Gallery, situated inside Trinidad’s A.R. Mitchell Museum of Western Art, will host an opening for Greeley-based printmaker Johanna Mueller, a perennial favorite on the Front Range for her lovely prints and mixed-media works depicting native animals in Southwestern habitats. A host of work by other gallery artists will hang alongside.
Kodi Delaney: A Death in the Family
RemainReal Fine Art, 901 Santa Fe Drive
Friday, February 3, through March 2
Opening Reception: Friday, February 3, 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Newcomer Kodi Delaney’s first solo show in Denver, A Death in the Family, opens on First Friday at RemainReal Fine Art in the Art District on Santa Fe, with a vibe of art as therapy for Delaney, a young artist dealing with personal trauma and tragedy. Delaney will give a spoken-word performance at the opening, and is organizing a benefit for SafeHouse Denver at the gallery on February 17. Learn more here.
Moda Pink Pop-Up Gallery Boutique by Velart
Dairy Block, 1800 Wazee Street, Suite 110
Wednesday, February 1, through May 31
First Friday Opening Celebration: Friday, February 3, 6 p.m.
Fashion Show: Sunday, March 5, 6 p.m.
A. Michel Velazquez and Nicole Gonzales of Velart Denver Co. are popping up at the Dairy Block for a spring residency through May 31. They’ll be bringing a mixture of Velazquez’s mixed-media paintings and Gonzales’s decorative garments, accessories and artisanal jewelry to the temporary gallery, which they’ll show off to full advantage with a fashion showcase planned for early March. The gallery opens at 10 a.m. daily, closing at 6 p.m. Sundays through Wednesdays and 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays.
Interested in having your event appear in this calendar? Send the details to [email protected].
