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

There’s a kind of Crush in the air this weekend as the RiNo neighborhood gears up for another Crush Walls mural fest. This year’s COVID-conscious, pared-down celebration starts Monday, September 14, when artists will hit the streets, spray cans in hand, preparing their walls for the big finale next weekend. In the meantime, there are workshops, talks and kid-friendly events to sign up for at the Crush Walls website, and this weekend, Crush sideshows are already popping up in the galleries and on the streets.

Boulder's streets are full of action, too, since Street Wise Boulder runs through Sunday, September 13.

Here’s the haps — and so much more:

Jaime Carrejo, Plant Life
Alto Gallery, 4345 West 41st Avenue
Through September 26
Jaime Carrejo turns Alto Gallery into a garden of sorts with a series of polymer-on-paper works superimposing branches and other flora over wallpaper-style patterns.

Open Source, Fighting to Preserve Colorado’s Chicano/A Mural Tradition
Virtual event presented by MCA Denver
Thursday, September 10, 4 to 5 p.m.
Free, register in advance at Eventbrite
MCA Denver’s Open Source, a new series devoted to programs culled from public proposals, turns to a focus on the endangered walls belonging to Colorado’s Chicano/a mural tradition. Led by Lucha Martinez de Luna of the Chicano/a Murals of Colorado Project, a panel will discuss the cultural importance of the murals and preservation efforts being made in a fast-changing city overrun by new development.

Reduce Your Use
Art Gym Denver, 1460 Leyden Street
September 10 through October 4
Opening Reception: Thursday, September 10, 5 to 8 p.m.
It’s never too late: Art Gym joins the body of galleries reopening their doors in the age of COVID with a trio of shows addressing Earth Day’s fiftieth anniversary in April. In the main gallery, the group show Reduce Your Use, originally scheduled for April, addresses art made from recycled and repurposed materials. Related member shows by artists Judith Bergquist and Caitlin Zeller are also on view; additional openings are scheduled for those over the next two weekends. Receptions and exhibitions are still open to the public only by appointment; email [email protected] to schedule your viewing.

June Glasson: Mountain Drag II
Visions West Contemporary, 2605 Walnut Street
September 10 through December 5
Open Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
New York-based painter June Glasson turns the idea of the rugged Mountain Man on its head by dressing women models in “mountain drag,” wearing buffalo robes, foxtails and animal skins, and carrying shotguns and axes. On the surface, it’s a hoot, but there’s a deeper meaning to Glasson’s gender-bending.

Aqua/Water
Core New Art Space, Pasternack’s Art Hub, 6851 West Colfax Avenue
September 11 through 27
Opening Reception: Friday, September 11, 6 to 9 p.m.
Core goes with a water-inspired open-call group show in shades of aqua through the end of September, featuring artwork in a variety of mediums juried by Greenwood Village Cultural Arts Manager Chris Stevens. Go underwater and enjoy the view.

Stephen Shugart, Orbital
Dennis Pippin, new works
Edge Gallery, Pasternack’s Art Hub, 6851 West Colfax Avenue
September 11 through 27
Opening Reception: Friday, September 11, 6 to 9 p.m.
Edge neighbor Core New Art Space showcases member artists Stephen Shugart, who continues in his explorations with light-based sculpture, paintings and photographs, and Dennis Pippin, who experiments with stripes and oddly shaped surfaces.

Patrick McGregor and Douglas Hoekzema, Dogmatic
ILA Gallery, 209 Kalamath Street, Suite 12
September 11 through October 12
Opening Reception: Friday, September 11, 6 to 10 p.m.
Muralists Patrick McGregor and Douglas Hoekzema go to the dogs, a favorite subject, rendered in collaboration and apart, in sync with Crush Walls (both artists will be participating next week at Crush). Here’s a perk for attending the opening: You’ll be first in line when Tristan McGregor pitches in by running a limited print release at the gallery.

Lindsay Smith Gustave and Marsha Mack, Animal, Vegetable, Mineral
Leon Gallery, 1112 East 17th Avenue
September 12 through October 24
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 12, 7 to 11 p.m.
Leon showcases a couple of hot local artists: Lindsay Smith Gustave, a detail-oriented draftsperson who incorporates free-style beadwork into her sculptural works, and mixed-media installationist Marsha Mack, who often addresses her bicultural background with grace and a gentle touch. Keep an eye on Leon’s Facebook page for more info about the opening reception.

CrushStyle
PlatteForum Gallery, 2400 Curtis Street
September 12 through 20
Exhibit Reception: Friday, September 18, 5 to 8 p.m.
PlatteForum offers a Crush-sized extravaganza that fits into an enclosed gallery space with CrushStyle, an indoor celebration of Crush mural artists past and present. Original and fine-art print works will both be on view and for sale, and RiNo mural maps will be available for a self-guided tour of new and old Crush murals. Twenty percent of sales proceeds will go to PlatteForum programs and 70 percent to the artists: win-win.

Arte x Federa
Peyote Mexican Food, 555 South Federal Boulevard
Saturday, September 12, 1 to 6 p.m.
Laedan Dinkc Galicia (aka Crush Walls artist DINKC) and Peyote Mexican Food will collaborate on some pre-Crush fun on the Fedz outside Peyote Mexican Food, with live painting and mural unveilings, DJ spins and food courtesy of the Peyote Food Truck. Organizers ask that visitors wear masks and heed social distancing protocols to keep everyone safe. See the complete safety info on Facebook.

Straszny Cudovit: Horrible Adorables
Sally Centigrade, 445 South Saulsbury Street, Belmar, Lakewood
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 12, 5 to 9 p.m.
Horrible Adorables are just what they sound like: cute creatures that are also just a little bit weird. Created by the married couple Jordan Perme and Christopher Lees, the collectible toys range from babushka-sporting kitties to Home Bodies, who carry their houses on their backs so they’ll always be COVID-safe. Do we hear holiday bells ringing?

For the Record Silent Art Auction
Valkarie Gallery, 445 South Saulsbury Street, Belmar, Lakewood
Through October 20
Silent Art Auction Event: Saturday, September 12, 5 to 9 p.m.
Skulls n Bones Tattoo & Art Studio and Valkarie Gallery put their heads together to raise bucks for Children’s Hospital by inviting artists from around the world to contribute music-themed artwork painted directly on vinyl records for a silent auction. Artwork is already on view at the gallery (bidding starts at just $25 with an option to "buy now" for $500), but Valkarie will host an in-person final bidding night on Saturday, September 12. Don’t forget your mask.

Salida Fiber Festival Online Event
Saturday and Sunday, September 12 and 13, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily
While the idea of a virtual fiber fest is a little bit sad, because touching is half the fun, the town of Salida is going with the idea this weekend and doing everything to make it real via Zoom. Still in the picture are such traditional events as the Pop-Up Fashion Show, Fiber Arts Exhibition, Colorway Competition, vendors, fiber-centric film screenings (available any time) and — believe it or not — a virtual beer garden, all at no charge to you. Find it all at the fiber fest’s website.

Virtual Artist Talk with Dwayne Glapion
Saturday, September 12, 7 p.m.
Dwayne Glapion, the artist behind the RedLine solo exhibition Faces in the Crowd - 100 Portraits of a Community, will talk with Dr. Nita Mosby Tyler, founder of the Equity Project, and Brother Jeff about his artistic process, his inspiration, and the importance of recognizing community members and leaders during such challenging times. Faces in the Crowd will be on view at RedLine through September 27; selected portraits are presented online, where this conversation will be held. Register here.

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