And there are more shows on the horizon. Find our rundown of gallery openings and new exhibits below:
Wednesday Kim, “The Mental Athlete,” video projection for Night Lights Denver.
Wednesday Kim, courtesy of Night Lights Denver
Daniels & Fisher Tower, 1601 Arapahoe Street
Nightly, from sunset to midnight, through February 29
Night Lights takes a thematic turn toward health and wellness from a digital point of view in February, cycling ten minutes of projected video imagery by five artists on the side of the Daniels & Fisher Tower after dark. That includes Surabhi Saraf’s dancing blobs; Wednesday Kim’s brain-boosting personal trainer as well as “subliminals,” characters whose surreptitious messages will improve life; Sara Ludy’s AI-driven video narratives; and LaJuné McMillian’s meditational movement tutorials. The loop runs continuously through midnight each evening through February 29, and is free to view.
Kristina Davies, Tiffani Erdmanczyk, Shadae Hunt and Jessica Loving, Chromatic Visions: Explorations in Contemporary Abstraction
SeeSaw Gallery, Five West Radcliff Avenue, Englewood
Thursday, February 8, through April 21
Opening Reception: Thursday, February 8, 5 to 8 p.m.
RSVP: [email protected]
Four artists known in the local co-op community band together at See-Saw Gallery to share their 21st-century solutions for using color in abstract compositions. Included are Kristina Davies’s crowded, gestural color play; architect/watercolorist Tiffani Erdmanczyk’s organic experiments with manipulated materials; fellow experimenter Shadae Hunt’s ink and mixed-media works driven by the emotional power of color; and Jessica Loving’s atmospheric mixed-media paintings shot with light.
Firehouse resident artist Amy Lummus created ten interactive kinetic sculptures at the Firehouse Art Center.
Amy Lummus, courtesy Firehouse Art Center
Lindy Bush in the South Gallery
Kodi Delaney in Studio 64
Firehouse Art Center, 667 Fourth Avenue, Longmont
Friday, February 9, through March 3
Opening Reception: Friday, February 9, 6 to 8 p.m. (artist remarks at 6:30 p.m.)
Amy Lummus Artist Talk: Sunday, February 25, 3 to 5 p.m.
Workshop With Amy Lummus: Kinetic Sculptures 101, 3 to 5 p.m.; $30 to $40 at Eventbrite
Firehouse's main focus in February is on resident artist Amy Lummus, who has been creating work and interacting with the public during open hours in the South Gallery for the last three months. The resulting show, Spit and Splinters, comprises ten wood-and-canvas kinetic sculptures inspired by the traumatic experiences of female models pictured in her work. Directed by viewer interaction to express and share narratives, the sculpture asks people to literally turn the crank while gaining understanding. As a resident, Lummus also had a chance to try her hand at curation, choosing fellow artist Lindy Bush, whose tiny plein-air paintings are displayed inside tin boxes, for a concurrent show in the South Gallery.
5 True West
BRDG Project, 3300 Tejon Street
Friday, February 9, through March 2
Opening Reception: Friday, February 9, 6 to 10 p.m.
In its fifth installment, BRDG Project’s True West group exhibit shows the purpose of painting outside the box when defining the meaning of the “West.” Curator Michael Dowling asks artists to express the ideas of exploration, pioneering and breaking ground insinuated by the geographical concept, and opening up the subject matter to new connotations. The breadth of both subject matter and mediums promises to be thought-provoking, whether it’s strict cowboys and Indians, landscape-oriented or out of this world entirely.
Dragon Spirit
Valkarie Gallery, 445 South Saulsbury Street, Lakewood
Through March 3
Opening Reception: Saturday, February 10, 5 to 8:30 p.m.
One of Valkarie’s most iconic annual shows, Dragon Spirit celebrates the Lunar New Year with imagery of the Wood Dragon, this year’s representative of the Chinese zodiac, by dozens of guest and gallery artists. Painted on eight-by-eight-inch wood panels, each showcasing its artist’s unique style, the artwork often falls within the affordable range, and one can also easily choose from past zodiac animal artworks in Valkarie’s current retrospective of Lunar New Year art from previous years. Can’t make the opening? Valkarie always offers the opportunity to buy work online; view the complete Dragon Spirit collection here.
Benefit CHAC and take home a hand-painted heart.
Shantel Lucero
VFW Post 501, 4747 West Colfax Avenue
Saturday, February 10, 1 to 4 p.m.
Another local tradition, CHAC Gallery's annual fundraiser Milagros del Corazón is also happening on Saturday. This year’s family-friendly party and art auction of wooden hearts — each hand-decorated by more than seventy gallery artists and community donors — is dedicated to former CHAC executive director and vice chair Lucille Ruibal Rivera, who passed away in November, a victim of domestic violence. Auction proceeds will help CHAC establish a new educational art program to help families affected by domestic violence.
Eric Anderson, The Reasonable Obscenity of the Spirit
Leon Gallery, 1112 East 17th Avenue
Saturday, February 10, through March 23
Opening Reception: Saturday, February 10, 6 to 11 p.m.
Artist Eric Anderson brings a luminous body of new drawings, paintings and sculpture to Leon Gallery during an opening that also celebrates the nonprofit gallery’s successful $20,000 capital campaign to keep its doors open. It’s a good matchup for a happy occasion, given Leon’s reputation as a gallery devoted to providing artists with the freedom to develop visual ideas and room to show experimental work not supported by commercial galleries. Anderson’s work fits the bill completely, with style.
Endings and Continuations: Small Works
Ryan Joseph Gallery, 2647 West 38th Avenue
Saturday, February 10, through March 6
Opening Reception: Saturday, February 10, 5 to 11 p.m.
Ryan Joseph Gallery wakes up in February for a small-works show of psychedelic, pop and urban art. Snap it up before it’s gone.
Third Annual Little Bit of Love Art Show
Spectra Gallery, 1836 South Broadway
Opening Reception: Saturday, February 10, 5 to 10 p.m.
Spectra steps into the Valentine game with its version of a heart-shaped show, backed up by tarot readings, beverages, giveaways and live music. In addition to the artist-painted heart-shaped canvases for sale, this year’s show will include more dimensional offerings, such as jewelry, fiber art and handmade plushies. The hearty party is also an opportunity to visit Spectra’s latest immersive adventure, Spookadelia: Doubts Echo. While admission to the opening is free, anyone can tuck in the immersive show, too, for a discounted donation of $15 or $20. RSVP or make your donation at Eventbrite.
Enjoy mimosas and shopping with fashion designer Mona Lucero at D'art Gallery.
Courtesy Tammy Abramovitz
D’art Gallery, 900 Santa Fe Drive
Sunday, February 11, 1 to 4 p.m.
The delightful exhibition Invitation to Linger at D’art, which pairs artwork by Karla Raines, Jenny Wilson and James-Allan Holmes with fabulous wearable art by designer Mona Lucero, comes to an end this weekend with Mimosas with Mona, an afternoon soiree that includes a fashion accessories pop-up by Lucero and a small painting sale by the artists, just in time for Valentine gift-shopping. Just the thing for the sweetheart who loves higher culture.
Gay Love Letters Readings/Artist Talk
Old Masonic Church, 136 South Main Street, Breckenridge
Wednesday, February 14, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Admission: Pay-What-You-Can here
In conjunction with Breck Create’s current exhibition In Plain Sight: Queer Rural Narratives From the Water and the Land, the arts organization will collaborate with the Close Friends Collective to host a Valentine’s evening of talks by exhibiting artists Ben Cuevas and Janie Stamm, followed by a reading of letters and poems by queer authors of this century and last.
Interested in having your event appear in this calendar? Send the details to [email protected].
