Digital Dimensions

Ivar Zeile of Plus Gallery says he’s never hosted an MFA thesis show before, though he’s undoubtedly had the opportunity. But there was something about the work of University of Denver grad student and adjunct professor Kristin Stransky — a combination of 3-D printing technology, digital imaging and interactive projects…

Feeling Your Oats

Sex later in life is a subject many people try not to think about, but retired English teacher Jane Juska opened up a whole discussion on the subject when she serendipitously placed this personal ad in the New York Review of Books: “Before I turn 67 — next March —…

The Beautiful and the Bazaar

One reason Westword awarded last summer’s inaugural Valverde Bazaar the Best New Flea Market designation in our 2014 Best of Denver issue is the fact that it’s so hard to pin down, and that keeps us all on our toes. Like a labyrinth of earthly delights, the Valverde is a…

Storied Places

Nobody knows better than Tracy Weil, who’s been there from the start, how much the River North Art District has grown and changed in the past ten or so years. But most people who now come to RiNo to enjoy its bountiful galleries, restaurants, breweries and watering holes don’t know…

Screen Time

Downtown Denver will be ground zero this afternoon if you’re looking for something fun, free and totally unexpected to do: From 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., students from the University of Colorado Denver’s College of Arts & Media digital design program will put their learning to work for the two-hour Kinesthesia…

Another 100 Colorado Creatives: Andy Berg

#83: Andy Berg Andy Berg sees painting as an inner calling, and offers no conceptual mumbo-jumbo when explaining what he does: He paints. His large abstract canvases are imbued with the mystery of invention and the creative process, and almost paint themselves — using Berg and his armory of brushes…

Gallery Sketches: Three shows for the weekend of May 9-11

In a town with such an active co-op and alternative art scene, you don’t want to limit your gallery adventures to First Fridays — because you’d miss out on a lot of great art, including shows opening this weekend. Keep reading for a trio of exhibits worth seeing. See also:…

On the Wall

While debate continues over the city’s handling of public art projects, there are some promising back-door efforts in the private sector. One of those, the OneWall Project, sponsored by Bellco and the Denver Theatre District, will get off the ground tonight when its first effort, MASSIVE, a celebration of work…

I Came Here for a Party

“One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I don’t know.” It’s vaudevillian lines like this, uttered famously by Groucho Marx as Captain Jeffrey T. Spaulding in the Marx Brothers classic Animal Crackers, that let you know you’re not anyplace even resembling modern…

Bright Lights, Big City

CultureHaus, a young-professionals’ support group for the Denver Art Museum, works all year to raise funds for selective DAM programming. But Banner — a big party with changing artsy themes — is its annual blowout, and this year’s event, Banner 2014: Art of Light, will be particularly illuminating, as well…

Mixed Grill

MCA Denver’s Huevos Rancheros series is more than just a chance exchange of culture, says museum programming director Sarah Kate Baie; after three years of exhibits and programs with Guadalajaran artists, it’s becoming more of a bridge. “Guadalajara is a city a lot like Denver in many ways,” Baie notes…

Another 100 Colorado Creatives: Joel Swanson

#84: Joel Swanson Words and letters and the physical act of writing elegantly float through Joel Swanson’s world, where he explores and deconstructs their shapes and meanings in stylish installations. And he’s a busy man: Swanson started the year with a well-received solo at MCA Denver; now he’s off on…

Gallery Sketches: Five shows for First Friday

First Friday comes but once a month, with an embarrassment of gallery riches: fresh exhibitions, pop-up parties, people-watching, performances and great art. Organized navigation isn’t always necessary to have a good time on First Friday; still, it doesn’t hurt to have some direction — especially since there are some don’t-miss…

Another 100 Colorado Creatives: Kristin Stransky

#85: Kristin Stransky There’s a new kind of alchemy happening in the art world, a creative compound where art and science merge. At the University of Denver, it’s called Emergent Digital Practices, and Kristin Stransky, who teaches there, is at the forefront of the movement, making stuff that wouldn’t have…

Fairy Tales Come True

Once upon a time, there was Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, and together they were the Swell Season, a pair of folk-rockers from Ireland and Czechoslovakiathe Czech Republic and then out of, love. Ironically, the bandmates became enamored while making the 2006 film Once, the story of an Irish and…

Feats of Clay

Ceramics artist Jean Smith chose the enigmatic title Teased, Torn, Coddled & Pampered for her annual showcase at Zip 37 Gallery, but her explanation makes sense: “It’s how I work with the clay,” she says. “Sometimes I kinda tease it, and then you have to coddle and pamper it as…

Ready, Tech, Go…

Technology has already drastically changed the way we get things done, and on its tail comes a pioneering wave of DIY entrepreneurship. We call people who’ve found a way to fuse the two “makers,” and if you count yourself among that group, the inaugural Denver Mini Maker Faire, set for…

Carved Into Culture

For its fourth year, carver and show organizer Rob Yancey decided to move the annual Muertos in May art exhibit to the heart of his Westwood/Morrison Road neighborhood to raise awareness of positive changes, from new murals to new development, taking place in the depressed area. “It’s the most overlooked…