Art Attack: Eight New Art Shows and Events in Denver

Enjoy the proliferation of complicated scavenger hunts and outdoor exhibitions on billboards and in parks, towns and wild places; check out new spaces and dependable ones; and just get out and do something. Why not while away your hot and hazy days in Denver (and perhaps NYC!) with art online and off at these eight events?
The Space(s) Between Artist Series: More Space(s)
Wednesday, June 9, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., online
RSVP in advance for Zoom link
The final elements of the massive multi-site and multi-project exhibition The Space(s) Between (launched in March by the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) Galleries of Contemporary Art and the University of Denver’s Vicki Myhren Gallery), are rolling out in June in spaces as far afield as Walsenburg and as close as downtown Denver. They include billboard art, installations, digital works and, in one case, an interactive hunt for a real chunk of gold driven by artist Terry Campbell’s obscure clues. Donald Fodness, Daisy McGowan and Geoffrey Shamos, who together and separately curated this monster, will discuss these latest developments online in a talk including several of the artists.
The Stubborn Influence of Painting
Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, 1750 13th Street, Boulder
June 10 through September 6
Opening Reception: Thursday, June 10, 5 to 8 p.m.
BMoCA’s major summer exhibition, a nine-artist group show curated by Boulder-based artist Kate Petley, debuts this week, casting its eye on works in a variety of media that takes cues from the history of painting — regardless of the medium used. The work, therefore, includes photography, textiles, ceramics, video and mixed-media constructions, not to mention, an artistic intervention installed at 1418 Pearl Street on the mall in Boulder by Alexandra Hedison, an A-list celebrity (she’s married to actress Jody Foster) and accomplished photographer. It’s an important show that points the way for the future of art in all its forms.
Greg Ellis, High Key
Boulder Creative Collective Gallery, 2208 Pearl Street, Boulder
Through June 27
Opening Reception: Thursday, June 10, 5 to 9 p.m.
The BCC Gallery showcases paintings by self-taught artist Greg Ellis, who considers the plight of teenagers trapped between childhood and adulthood in evocative statement works.
Boulder County Plein Air Event
Canyon Center, 1881 9th Street, Boulder, Suite 110
June 11 through July 2
Opening Reception: Friday, June 11, 6 to 8:30 p.m.
Boulder Open Studios is again hosting its annual plein-air painting event, which ends with a big exhibition and sale. Artists have been painting outdoors on location since June 4, readying works for the culminating events on June 11. View and purchase artwork at the opening; the exhibition will remain on view though July 2.
Irene Lopez Leon and Uri Martinez, Tropical Elegance
Ryan Joseph Gallery, 2647 West 38th Avenue
June 12 through July 14
Opening Reception: Saturday, June 12, 5 to 11 p.m.
Barcelona-based artists Irene Lopez Leon and Uri Martinez consider the idea of “tropical” as a personal space where good vibes flow, submerging viewers in a chill vacation mode.
Simphiwe Ndzube: Oracles of the Pink Universe
Denver Art Museum, 100 West 14th Avenue Parkway
June 13 through October 10
South African contemporary artist Simphiwe Ndzube brings magic realism into the house on level two of the Denver Art Museum’s Hamilton Building with the launch of Oracles of the Pink Universe, a series of mixed-media works that spin the world of Hieronymus Bosch’s “The Garden of Earthly Delights” into his own personal mythology. Walk among works that segue between 2-D and sculptural 3-D elements, and soak in Ndzube’s visions arising from his apartheid-free homeland.
Adam Milner, Public Sculptures
Various locations in New York City
June 14 through August 15
Okay, it’s a reach, but former Denverite and Black Cube resident Adam Milner, now living in Brooklyn, still has an occasional presence in Denver (and what the heck, we love him), where Black Cube, the instigator of this summer treasure hunt, is still solidly located. Milner has distributed a series of thirteen small sculptures in ordinary places (a bodega, his friend’s car, etc....), to mildly dis overbearing public art. If you happen to be in New York over the next two months, find the map and artwork checklist of sculptures — which are spread out at locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Astoria — online.
LandMark Nature Photography Day Openings
Various locations in Arvada
Tuesday, June 15, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.
A match made in art heaven: LandMark’s outdoor art installations spread out in Lakewood and Arvada, and Nature Photography Day, both fine instigators of outdoor experiences. Colorado artists Corrina Espinosa, Emily Grace King, Patrick Maxcy and Collin Parson will all unveil new works for the project at Saddle Brook Park, Jack B. Tomlinson Park, Standley Lake and Oak Park in Arvada, respectively. Reveals are scheduled an hour apart in the late afternoon and early evening on Tuesday; come celebrate art, and don’t forget your camera!

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