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Keep things casual at outdoor art markets, timed-entry gallery events, virtual receptions and view-by-appointment exhibitions. Artists and galleries continue to be creative about public viewing opportunities.
It’s a win-win for everyone on this holiday weekend, because the variety of art on display in socially-distanced ways continues to grow. Go see for yourself, and have some fun.
Julie Puma, Urgent Importance
Emmanuel Gallery, 1205 Tenth Street Plaza, Auraria Campus
Through October 9
Contemporary portraitist Julie Puma documents the momentary connections achieved through Snapchat or FaceTime and rendered straight off her phone, weighing how they change the quality of personal communications. Urgent Importance takes Puma’s investigation further by focusing on health workers caught in-the-moment on screen in moments of exhaustion; you’ll also see a series of more typical Snapchat poses. To visit the gallery in person, send a reservation request in advance to jeff.lambson@ucdenver.edu, and learn more about required visitation protocols online.
EXPANDNathan Abels, Tent Shadows
Angela Faris Belt, The Nascent
Michael Warren Contemporary, 760 Santa Fe Drive
Through September 5
Summer pop-ups continue at Michael Warren Contemporary with shadowy paintings and cyanotypes by, respectively, Nathan Abels (courtesy of Rule Gallery) and Angela Faris Belt, who are pitching their tent inside the gallery during a week-long takeover.
Night Lights Denver/Supernova Launch
The D&F Clocktower, 16th and Arapahoe streets
Tuesdays through Sundays, through September 30, after-dark until 11 p.m. nightly (see website for changing start times in September)
Denver Digerati’s Supernova digital animation festival is back, bending to the times with three weeks of free COVID-friendly programming both live and virtual. Follow the light nightly
except Mondays through the end of the month. Learn more about the rest of Supernova at the website.
EXPANDJohn Torreano: The Big Picture – Painting From the Universe
Nyeema Morgan: THE STEM. THE FLOWER. THE ROOT. THE SEED.
Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, 1750 13th Street, Boulder
Through January 17
BMoCA segues into fall with two new solo exhibitions: New York City-based artist John Torreano’s explorations of the cosmos, including paintings on plywood embellished with dimensional plastic gems and wooden balls standing in as heavenly bodies; and Chicagoan Nyeema Morgan’s more earthly commentary on feminist gender politics, played out in sculptural wall pieces, drawings and other works. Visit bmoca.org for information about related events and discussions.
Tiffany Matheson, Lullaby
Suzy Savoy, Offerings
Ray Muñoz in the Treasure Chest
Pirate: Contemporary Art, 7130 West 16th Avenue, Lakewood
Through September 20
Pirate members Tiffany Matheson and Suzy Savoy take over the gallery for solo showcases. We’re not sure what Matheson, an installationist with an immersive flair, has cooked up for hers, but Savoy continues with her studies of roadkill and bones rendered on glass panels. Ray Muñoz, co-curator at Alto Gallery and a boardmember of the Birdseed Collective, is certain to prove a thought-provoking guest artist in the Treasure Chest.
Penny Bidwell, Through November 1
Gabe Wells, Through September 27
Valkarie Gallery, 445 South Saulsbury Street, Belmar, Lakewood
Ceramics artist Penney Bidwell and surrealist painter and muralist Gabe Wells guest at Valkarie this month. You can also browse works online as well as make purchases and set up payment plans.
Margaret Kasahara, Poems & Fragments
The Modbo, 17C East Bijou Street, Colorado Springs
Through September 25
Margaret Kasahara, fresh off a solo show at Michael Warren Contemporary, brings her culturally inflected work — inspired by her contradictory Japanese-American heritage — to the Modbo in Colorado Springs, where she lives.
Emergence
Masked Penguin Pop-up Gallery, Historic Penguin Building, 7265 Lowell Boulevard, Westminster
Through September 12
Ongoing Hours: Saturdays, September 5 and 12; Sunday, September 6; and Friday, September 11; 2 to 6 p.m. daily
The Masked Penguin Pop-up Gallery, a pop-up space in Westminster’s partially vacant historic Penguin Building, has cobbled together Emergence, a showcase for artists whose exposure has suffered during a time of sequestration. It’s a sort of celebration as well as a show: Opening night includes food-truck fare, but the show and art market are there to the bitter end.
Anna Kaye, Heatwave
Sandra Phillips Gallery, 47 West 11th Avenue
September 5 through October 24
Open by appointment, 303-931-2991
The detail-conscious watercolorist and draftsperson Anna Kaye finds inspiration in nature and ecosystems, including such downsides as wildfires, which surprisingly also slowly bring new life to forests. Note that the gallery is only open by appointment, details above.
Yard Art
100 Gaylord Street
Saturday, September 5, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, September 6, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Here’s another way that Denver artists in isolation are breaking out to show easily accessed new work: Denver encaustic painter Annie Decamp, who specializes in portraits, opens up her yard to eleven other local artists with recognizable names for an outdoor COVID-responsible pop-up gallery over Labor Day weekend. What’s new under the sun? Drop by to chat and browse as you find out.
The Terrordome
Black Book Gallery, 3878 South Jason Street, Englewood
September 5 through October 3
Saturday, September 5, 4 to 8 p.m.
Saturdays, September 12, 19 and 26, 8 to 11 p.m.
Admission: $5, reserve in advance for timed tickets
Black Book Gallery goes big in September with an international show celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of Public Enemy’s groundbreaking album Fear of a Black Planet, on which cuts like “Fight the Power” still ring true three decades later. Co-curated by Chuck D himself (he also contributes some art), The Terrordome not only brings work by some of the biggest names in street art to Denver, but it also includes the local artist Raverro Stinnett, who’s been in the headlines recently after being assaulted by private security guards while waiting for a light-rail car at night at Union Station, resulting in permanent brain damage. The gallery is only open for four Saturday-evening viewings. Find more details and sneak previews online.
Bazaar Art Market
Denver Central Market, 2669 Larimer Street
Saturday, September 5, 2 to 8 p.m.
Another version of art going outdoors drops at the Denver Central Market in RiNo on Saturday, with a combined bazaar and affordable fine-art exhibition. Wear sunglasses and a mask, and browse the wares of twenty artists and artisans, including zines, prints, jewelry and more. DJ sets, live music and comedy will provide entertainment for the whole afternoon and evening.
Shadows Gather
LMP PDA, Lane Meyer Projects, 2528 Walnut Street
September 7 through 20
LMP PDA, the temporary window gallery at Lane Meyer Projects, gives 24/7 access to photographs by Shadow, who documents nightlife in Denver and L.A., bringing back sweet memories of the after-dark crowd for those who have missed it.
Richard Eisen, The Deconstructed
Michael Warren Contemporary, 760 Santa Fe Drive
September 7 through 12
Artist Reception: Friday, September 11, 4 to 8 p.m.; sign up online for a timed ticket
Artist Tour: Saturday, September 12, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; reserve a time slot at the link above.
Richard Eisen takes over MWC beginning Monday, September 7, where he’ll be working throughout the week, but will also have some finished work to sell during the reception or artist walk-through. Eisen’s photographic still lifes from the natural world are embellished with color digitally in a shimmering act of alchemy. It’s pretty cool. Note that public events require timed reservations.
Interested in having your event appear in this calendar? Send the details to editorial@westword.com.
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