Seven Things for Art Lovers to Do and See This Weekend in Denver

New beginnings, anniversary celebrations, parties, performances, car shows and sad endings at a wake for Zip 37 gallery all figure into this week’s metro-Denver art gallery offerings. Whatever the case, it won’t be boring. Read on.

Jodi Stuart, Super Synthetic, Mariani Gallery, August 23 through October 6
Andrew Bablo and Pat Milbery, "A New Light," mural installation in the Crabbe Hall lobby
Guggenheim and Crabbe halls, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley
UNC Galleries Fall Kick-Off Party and Reception: Thursday, August 23, 4 to 8 p.m.
It’s back-to-school time at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, meaning it’s also time to greet a new season of art exhibits in UNC’s galleries. Join the fall kickoff by celebrating a culminating show by UNC summer artist-in-residence Jodi Stuart, a Denver installationist working with brightly 3-D-printed materials woven together into airy, whimsical shapes, and another leg of the decorative mural “In A New Light,” an indoor redo begun last summer by Andrew Bablo and Pat Milbery in the Crabbe Hall lobby, which also has an underlying 3-D theme. Wander back and forth between Guggenheim and Crabbe halls to take in all the art and enjoy food, drinks and music along the way at this free party.

The Stranger: Spacegoth Solo Show
Just Peachy Group Show
Sally Centigrade, 445 South Saulsbury Street, Lakewood
Opening Reception: Thursday, August 23, 5 to 9:30 p.m.
Sally Centigrade wraps up the summer with a double whammy: a solo from Spacegoth, an L.A. artist known for her dark-hearted goth/grim reaper-themed cartoons and artwork, and a group show of artworks tied together by peachy hues, guest-curated by Denver artist Kaitlin Ziesmer. Should be a good time, with lots of affordable works.

Zip 37 Closing Wake and Sale
Zip 37 Gallery, 3644 Navajo Street
Closing Wake and Sale: Friday, August 24, 6 to 9 p.m.
Closing Forever Sale continues: Saturday and Sunday, August 25 and 26, noon to 5 p.m. daily
In the months since Pirate, Edge and Next galleries deserted the block-long Navajo Street Art District for Lakewood, chased from Denver by rising rents, it’s been rough for feisty little co-op Zip 37, which remained alone on the street despite a diaspora of art-walkers away from north Denver. Zip 37’s woes have now gone from rough to rougher, with members left in debt due to the terms of a risky lease they signed to keep their space. Long story short, Zip 37’s doors will shut after this weekend, but not before a proper wake and a blowout sale of art and miscellany. Members past and present, gallery friends and curious bystanders are all welcome to join in to commiserate and pay last respects on Friday night, and then to come back over the weekend to find some deals.

Walter Barton, Mythos and Logos
Ruminate: New Work by Chrissy Espinoza
Pirate: Contemporary Art, 7130 West 16th Avenue, Lakewood
August 24 through September 9
Opening Reception: Friday, August 24, 6 to 10 p.m.
Meanwhile, at Pirate gallery, it’s business as usual, with new work from member Walter Barton, a sculptor whose latest pieces might diverge a little from the pieced-together found wood and metal assemblages he’s known for, and associate member and video artist Chrissy Espinoza, who shares large-scale photographic prints of surreal vignettes. Let’s keep our rapidly disappearing co-op culture alive by stopping by Pirate and other Lakewood co-ops often.

Outliers
Leon Gallery, 1112 East 17th Avenue
August 24 through September 15
Opening Reception: Saturday, August 25, 2 to 11 p.m.
Para o Herói: Experimentos Sem Nenhum Caráter
Saturday, August 25, 7:30 p.m.
The Erics, Dallimore and Nord, of Leon Gallery will celebrate an exhilarating seven years on East 17th Avenue with Outliers, a look back at the gallery’s breathtaking artist track record and a hint at where and with whom they hope to head next. The show is a grand pastiche of work by 25 artists who’ve exhibited experimental and gutsy work in all mediums at Leon. Drop by in the afternoon to peruse the show; in the evening, Leon will also present Para o Herói: Experimentos Sem Nenhum Caráter (For the Hero: Experiments Without Any Character), an avant-garde performance by Paula Carneiro and Marcos Steuernagel that references Macunaíma, a shape-shifting Brazilian trickster.

RedLine Artist Studio Sale
RedLine Denver, 2350 Arapahoe Street
Saturday, August 25, 1 to 4 p.m.
August marks the changing of the guard at RedLine, when artists completing their two-year studio residencies bid the program adieu to make space for a new crop of promising creatives. The RedLine Artist Studio Sale, which also includes offerings from artists who are halfway through their residencies, is a win-win housecleaning event to make moving out easier, as well as a chance to chat with vacating folks about what’s next in their careers; art and materials deals might also be part of the equation.

Vitrine
Foolproof Contemporary Art, 3240 Larimer Street
Saturday August 25, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Artist Laura Phelps Rogers, whose Foolproof Contemporary Art gallery in RiNo operates on an unusual model by vetting and inviting artists to buy into wall space and a chance to take away a bigger chunk of art profits than they’d get in a traditional gallery situation. Part of her blueprint also makes room for pop-ups and other short-term opportunities for artists. Vitrine falls into that category; running in conjunction with the Evil Souls Car Club’s annual scholarship fundraiser, the Carnage on Larimer Car and Bike Show in RiNo, the exhibit runs with the car theme by presenting installations inside of vehicles by artists Eric Anderson, Kara Brown, Joseph Short, Kenzie Sitterud and Sabree Kathy Woodward. While auto-themed installation art isn’t a new idea, it promises to be a fun twist on classic car shows.