Art Attack: Ten Ways to See Art Live or Otherwise This Week

What’s up in the art scene as August draws to a close? We’ve got pop-ups, outdoor art exhibits, art happenings, window art, prismatic art ruled by the sun’s rays and art that rolls through the streets for all to see. Add a big helping of art inspired by current events, and we’ve got a not-to-miss weekend of artful activities.

Slap on a mask and hop to it at these ten shows and events.

Margaret Lawless, Absurd Art for Absurd Times pop-up
Michael Warren Contemporary, 760 Santa Fe Drive
Through August 30
Michael Warren is trying something different for the next three weeks by hosting a trio of weekly pop-ups through mid-September. Currently in the house is Margaret Lawless, who’s turned the space into a fun performative “happening” that’s also a work-in-progress.

Art of the Moment
Reach Art Studio, RedLine Contemporary Art Center, 2350 Arapahoe Street
RedLine’s Reach community art studio for people who are homeless or in transition from homelessness focuses on current events for Art of the Moment, a direction precipitated by the COVID crisis, which has kept studio-mates away during a time wracked by social unrest. But the artists continued to communicate during weekly Zoom calls and have responded with artwork motivated by social justice concerns. The works are on view indefinitely this summer, by appointment.

LMP PDA: Patty Ortiz
Lane Meyer Projects, 2528 Walnut Street
Through September 6
While the Lane Meyer Projects indoor space remains closed, art perseveres in a curated window, viewable from the sidewalk. All works are for sale, with proceeds going directly to the artist, who will donate a portion to a cause of her own choice. A work by artist Patty Ortiz will be displayed through September 6; coming up on September 7: work from instagrammer Shadow.

Charles Ross: Prisms
Rule Gallery, 808 Santa Fe Drive
Through September 12
Rule Gallery recently opened a show dedicated to prismatic light-throwing sculptural installations by Charles Ross, with hours timed to prime viewing periods. Ross was a mathematics major before turning to sculpture, lending a scientific aura to the work. Visit Rule on Tuesdays through Saturdays from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. for the duration of the show.

Pink Progression: Poetry Reading
Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities, 6901 Wadsworth Boulevard, Arvada
Thursday, August 27, 7 to 9 p.m.
Tickets are pay-what-you-can at the box office, 720-898-7200
Some of the artist teams showcased in the current Pink Progression exhibition at the Arvada Center include poets, a group of which will read work inspired by the struggle for women’s suffrage, which continues around the world 100 years after women won the right to vote here in the U.S. Nine poets will hit the podium outdoors on the center’s “front porch.” Reserve a timed ticket to see the matching artworks earlier in the day.

ArtFindsUs
Citywide arts activation
Thursday, August 27, 2 to 8 p.m.
Free
ArtFindsUs, a continuing citywide art activation hosted by K Contemporary Gallery and the Athena Project, will be sending mobile billboards of art by Melissa Furness, Suchitra Mattai, Daisy Patton and Nina Tichava out to Denver’s eleven city council districts from 2 to 8 p.m. August 27. In addition, a mobile stage in the Baker neighborhood will host performances from the Handsome Little Devils, Bella Diva Dance and comedian Shanel Hughes, and musicians from the K Street Band will play tunes while traveling through Capitol Hill in pedicabs. Find route details online.

False Choice
Foothills Art Center, 809 15th Street, Golden
August 28 through November 1
Foothills also throws its hat into the ring of current events for False Choice, for which local artists Michael Dixon and Katherine Payge join the Canadian artist known as Ambivalently Yours to comment on issues of identity, race, and questioning our assumptions. Who are we, really, in relation to our neighbors? Here’s a show that will get you talking.

Breaking Point
Blake A. Chamness, Calculated Risk
Next Gallery, Pasternack’s Art Hub, 6851 West Colfax Avenue, Lakewood
August 28 through September 13
Next member Blake Chamness turns to bare bones — i.e., skulls and skeletons — as a metaphor for the way current events ask all people to strip down self-image in order to equalize the racial playing field. Taking a different tack in the age of the coronavirus, Chamness will put the paintings up for bidding online by silent auction (that’s the “calculated risk”). Check Chamness’s Instagram for more news. Also on view: Breaking Point, a group show juried by Corrina Espinosa and inspired by the challenging times we’ve all been facing.

Gregg Deal, Modern Indigenous
Joy and Pain: A Mo(ve)ment
Art Students League of Denver, 200 Grant Street
August 28 through October 31
Joy and Pain Opening Reception and Performance: Saturday, August 29, 4 to 6 p.m.
The Art Students League of Denver rolls out a pair of fall exhibitions showcasing BIPOC artists and performers that also both happen outside of the building. On August 28, ASLD unveils Modern Indigenous, an outdoor installation by Denver-based artist Gregg Deal, a member of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Nation. Deal reflects on the disconnect between the modern American indigenous community’s self-view and the overarching stereotypical views of the majority population. Following on August 29, ASLD hosts an opening reception for Joy and Pain: A Mo(ve)ment, a multi-disciplinary combination of words, visual art and performance curated by Suzi Q. Smith and Holly-Kai Hurd and prompted by eight aspects of Black life in America: personal, emotional, spiritual, historical, political, familial, artistic and cultural. To kick it off, Smith and Jeff Campbell will contribute spoken-word performances during the reception at 5 p.m.

Interested in having your event appear in this calendar? Send the details to [email protected].