Ocean Journey is scheduled to close next week, and I, for one, am sorry to see it happen. It’s not that I’m an aquarium enthusiast, it’s just that the building is so darned good. In fact, it is unquestionably one of the finest things to have been built around here…
A few years ago, it seemed that the art world was aging — and aging fast. The problem wasn’t just Father Time; it was that few, if any, young people seemed to be interested in art. Even many of those associated with the alternative scene — presumably a bastion of…
There’s a very nice show at Pirate right now called said and done. Installed in the main gallery, it is made up of four colored-pencil drawings and six oil paintings by Denver artist Wes Magyar, a contemporary realist. Magyar’s subject matter is the ordinary, if alienated, events in the lives…
Maybe it has to do with how complicated the world is, but for whatever reason, contemporary art — locally, nationally and internationally — has been getting increasingly stripped down. Of course, there’s nothing new about minimalism. Even the so-called original, the 1950s- and ’60s-era New York School variant, was hardly…
The contemporary craze for backlit translucent photos in wall-hung boxes seems to be moving full speed ahead, and it has been for at least a decade. This type of thing is so popular right now among artists that it has completely transcended its original role as a simple stylistic device…
If you’re like me, you’re getting pretty tired of all the brown grass, bare trees and snow that’s wearing out its welcome around here. Spring officially starts next week, but the signatures of winter are sure to be around for at least another month. Perhaps it was wishful thinking, then,…
There are a couple of interesting shows right now at CORE New Art Space (2045 Larimer Street, 303-297-8428). Up front is Doug Craft: Collage and Montage in Golden Ratios, and in the spacious, handsome back gallery is Juhl Wojahn. Though he’s in his late forties and has been dabbling in…
Artyard, Denver’s premier sculpture gallery, turns sweet sixteen this year, and director Peggy Mangold is quietly celebrating with Sixteen Years at Artyard, a small show devoted to the gallery’s two biggest attractions over those years: her husband, Bob Mangold, and Chuck Parson. Bob Mangold holds a distinguished position in the…
It was back in 1990 when the Denver Art Museum hired curator R. Craig Miller to establish a department of architecture, design and graphics. Miller was working at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art when he was stolen away by Met alum and longtime friend Lewis Sharp. Sharp has made…
For more than twenty years, Robischon Gallery (1740 Wazee Street, 303-298-7788) has set the exhibition standard in Denver’s contemporary-art world by presenting only high-quality shows. Judy Pfaff, on display now in the intimate Viewing Room in the gallery, is no exception. The show is made up of a small group…
It must be hard to make credible political art, because, to be honest, most of it is pretty darned bad. The trouble is that the artist has to try to create a plausible work of art, as well as inform the viewer about a particular cause. And it doesn’t help…
February 14 is Valentine’s Day, and tonight, the Museum of Contemporary Art (1275 19th Street, 303-298-7554) holds its annual fundraiser and auction, Love4Sale, which includes donated paintings and sculptures. Organizers hope to raise a lot of money — no hollow wish considering the high quality of the donated pieces. But…
Dale Chisman: Recent Paintings, now on display at Rule Gallery, is absolutely fabulous — which is not unexpected, considering Chisman’s reputation as a master in the field of abstraction and his status as one of the most important artists in Colorado’s history. As a consequence of Chisman’s accomplishments, his work…
Every year, the Colorado Photographic Arts Center (1513 Boulder Street, 303-455-8999) confers awards and presents an exhibit devoted to the winners. The latest version, 2001 Member Awards, is on view right now. The jury who chose the award recipients was made up of the City of Denver’s art administrator and…
In the anything-goes art world of the last couple of decades, contemporary art has fractured into innumerable stylistic tendencies. Contemporary artists are creating everything from conceptual installations, videos and performances to neo-traditional paintings and sculptures. Considering this stylistic anarchy, it’s interesting when a trend can be perceived. Apparently, one of…
It’s been kicking around since the early twentieth century, but there’s no denying that nature-based abstraction has experienced a big-time revival in the 21st — as evidenced by the oh-so-many art shows that include this kind of work right now. The trend is so widespread that it’s even shown up…
Although Ron Judish Fine Arts is a commercial gallery, it seems more like a full-fledged museum because it presents permanent displays and unbilled offerings alongside its featured attractions. On more or less permanent display are a robust Emmett Culligan sculpture, a ceiling-hung, photo-based installation by Bob Coller, and a group…
Since coming on as director of the Art Students League of Denver (200 Grant Street, 303-778-6990), Leona Lazar has been on a campaign to expand and diversify the art school’s programs beyond its mainstay of painting classes. One of the new programs is ceramics. “Last summer, we became very serious…
Denver’s Museum of Contemporary Art was founded in part to provide a venue for shows like the spectacular 5 Abstract that opened this past weekend. That’s because this exhibit gives major artists from Colorado the kind of serious attention that only a museum show can deliver, something that 500-pound gorilla…
Installed in the front space at Fresh Art (208 South Broadway, 720-570-2255) is Boys Dreams, featuring a series of new paintings by Denver artist Steven Altman. And, to put it mildly, they are completely unexpected, perhaps even shocking, because instead of the kind of automatist abstractions he’s been exhibiting since…
Though Recent Works, which opened last weekend at the William Havu Gallery, is billed as a group show, it’s been installed as four distinct presentations, and thus is more like a quartet of solos. This is for the best, because each of the artists has an individual approach, and they…
The Cordell Taylor Gallery (2350 Lawrence Street, 303-296-0927) opened six months ago in a very unlikely place: across the street from several of the city’s largest homeless shelters. This location creates a lively mix of activity on the sidewalk, and you might not want to tarry on your way from…
