People Pleasers

Among its many interests, the Royal Bank of Canada operates RBC Wealth Management, which has established an art collection made up of some 400 works. The organizing theme is the depiction of the figure, which makes the collection unusual in the corporate world: Big companies tend to prefer abstraction in...

By Michael Paglia

April 26, 2012

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Among its many interests, the Royal Bank of Canada operates RBC Wealth Management, which has established an art collection made up of some 400 works. The organizing theme is the depiction of the figure, which makes the collection unusual in the corporate world: Big companies tend to prefer abstraction in order to limit unintended messages conveyed by representational imagery. William Biety, a Denver-based at-large curator, used his art-world connections to tap into RBC for The Human Touch, a new exhibit at RedLine. The show is filled with pieces by a roster of internationally famous artists.

"The 48 works I selected -- from the much larger RBC Wealth Management collection -- represent an amazing group of artists," explains Biety. "They have different cultural views and ethnicities, but with the common denominator of the figure linking them." Biety goes on to describe how the collection creates its own unique narrative through the shared subject.

The exhibit is being unveiled at RedLine, 2350 Arapahoe Street, this evening from 7 p.m. (6 for members) to 9 p.m. Call 303-296-4448 or go to http://redlineart.org for additional details. The Human Touch runs through April 27
March 17-April 27, 2012

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Michael Paglia is an art historian and writer whose columns have appeared in Westword since 1995; his essays on the visual arts have also been published in national periodicals including Art News, Architecture, Art Ltd., Modernism, Art & Auction and Sculpture Magazine. He taught art history at the University of Colorado Denver.

Contact: Michael Paglia