Albuquerque artist Ted Laredo did a lot of thinking about Denver as he prepared for Ted Laredo: 93 million miles from the sun, the current holiday show at Michael Warren Contemporary. “Denver is known as the mile high city," he writes in his artist's statement. "I wanted to reference a cosmic measurement between ourselves, the earth, our sun and the universe…it takes about eight minutes for light traveling from the sun to reach earth, and illuminate our world. All of the art works presented here have, at their genesis, a desire for light and color in all its manifestations.”
Laredo’s paintings are superficially minimalist, extremely simple in their compositions. Many are monochromes, and a few done with stripes or other repeated shapes. But his handling of the surfaces — covered with glass microbeads and micaceous iron oxide flakes that, when mixed with the acrylic paints he uses, causes them to glisten and glow — creates too much of a visual punch for doctrinaire minimalism. It also gives the paintings a scabrous surface, and that kind of expressionism isn’t a less-is-more approach, either.

“1 cubic foot (pyramid configuration),” by Ted Laredo.
Courtesy Michael Warren Contermporary, photo by Mike McClung

“SWEEPS | cosmic latte,” by Ted Laredo.
Courtesy Michael Warren Contermporary, photo by Mike McClung
Minimalist works are often based on conceptual formulas, and that’s certainly true for Laredo’s pieces. But by jacking up the visual charge with all of those reflective materials, he comes up with something distinctly different from the usual monochromatic fare. As a result, the show has a contemplative quality, and the paintings are visually engaging at the same time that they have an icy charm.
Ted Laredo: 93 million miles from the sun runs through January 19 at Michael Warren Contemporary, 760 Santa Fe Drive. Call 303-635-6255 or go to michaelwarrencontemporary.com for more information.