I love group shows, in particular those that are held together by a clearly defined organizational theme. At their best, these sorts of exhibits can lay out a broad-based historic, aesthetic or stylistic narrative — sometimes all three at once. But solos can also be superior because they give viewers…
One of the interesting things about the art world is how open it is. I’ve been at many events where the attendees ranged from the classic starving artists who lived in their studios to zillionaire donors, along with lots of people like me, whose circumstances lie somewhere in between. A…
During the many years I’ve been paying attention to art in Colorado, there’s one thing that’s always bugged me: people in positions of power or influence who dismiss it or degrade it. There are many reasons for this, but my favorite is when these detractors project their own low self-esteem…
Billing itself as an “urban laboratory,” RedLine (2350 Arapahoe Street, 303-296-4448, www.redlineart.org) is a place where artists are provided with free or partly subsidized studio space and where there are some pretty impressive facilities for exhibitions. The handsome, award-winning studio/gallery — in a converted industrial building — could one day…
The human figure is the most essential referent in the world of art, and it surely has the longest history, as revealed by the Venus of Willendorf, a sculpture of a nude woman created in what is now Austria around 26,000 years ago. The Venus was recovered a century ago,…
Despite its intimate — read “tiny” — space, the Sandra Phillips Gallery (744 Santa Fe Drive, 303-573-5969, www.thesandraphillipsgallery.com) has big ambitions. Owner Sandra Phillips has relentlessly filled the place with something worth seeing, often turning to established talents and zeroing in on those who only rarely exhibit their work. Such…
The past ten years have been a remarkably interesting time for the fine arts in Colorado. The most obvious evidence of this cultural flowering has been the museum-building boom we’ve all witnessed. But there’s also been a consequent growth in the commercial-gallery realm, with the emergence of many art districts…
The Auraria campus shifts into low gear during the summer, but that doesn’t mean the Emmanuel Gallery (Lawrence Street Mall, 303-556-8337, www.emmanuelgallery.org) shuts down. On the contrary, Emmanuel uses the summer to stretch its wings, mounting ambitious shows. A perfect example is the current offering, Steve Wilson. This handsome if…
MCA Denver’s building was constructed with six small or mid-sized galleries (two on the first floor and four on the second), a decision that was dictated by the functional program developed by former director Cydney Payton. She laid out this idea of a multiplicity of discrete spaces instead of large…
The board of directors of Denver’s Museo de las Américas (861 Santa Fe Drive, 303-571-4401, www.museo.org) has announced that Maruca Salazar (pictured), a well-known Colorado artist and arts educator, has been named as the institution’s new director. She’s only the third chief executive in the museum’s nearly twenty-year history. Salazar…
The idea of basing art on things found in nature has had many adherents over the centuries and today manifests itself in a wide array of approaches, from straight-up depictions of the landscape to abstracts made up of organically inspired shapes. The latter style is found in two good-looking solos…
In the 1960s, the two biggest contemporary art movements, pop art and minimalism, were ideological opposites — well, except in certain works from Andy Warhol’s “Elvis” series. Pop was content-driven, riffing off everyday subject matter, while minimalism was purely about form. So it’s interesting that today’s post-pop and post-minimalism are…
In the 1960s, the oldest of the baby boomers were coming of age, and they collectively launched the counterculture across America. The unofficial capital of this youth movement was San Francisco, where thousands of hippies descended and turned American culture upside down. They embraced pre-industrial styles of dress, grew out…
There’s a very handsome set of three interconnected shows at Space Gallery (765 Santa Fe Drive, 720-904-1088, www.spacegallery.com) that make up what is essentially a single group show, even if each of the artists involved is given solo status. All three work in variations of pure abstraction, where there is…
The term “painter’s painter” is bandied about quite a bit — I use it myself from time to time — and we all know what it means: an artist who may not be appreciated by the public but has earned the respect of other artists, the highest form of flattery…
For decades, Denver artist Roland Bernier has used words written out in printed letters as the principal forms in his paintings, works on paper, sculptures and installations. A workaholic, Bernier has relentlessly found new ways to employ words, such as in collages made from photocopied magazines and comic books, with…
For a slide show of these exhibits, go to slideshow.westword.com. Nationally known San Francisco artist Rex Ray has had a long relationship with Colorado, where he spent part of his youth, and he still has many friends here. I’ve known him since I was in graduate school and have always…
I’ve long felt that Judith Cohn was one of the top ceramic artists in the region. Her specialty has been sculptural installations made up of components based on classic ceramic forms, mostly vessels. That’s why Thicket, at Spark Gallery (900 Santa Fe Drive, 720-889-2200, www.sparkgallery.com) was a surprise. It comprises…
Metropolitan State College of Denver is not just one of the city’s major institutions of higher learning; it’s also the state’s largest art school. The most obvious evidence of this focus is the college’s Center for Visual Art in LoDo. This multi-gallery venue has distinguished itself as one of the…
Since he became mayor, John Hickenlooper has followed an ambitious program aimed at changing — literally, at times — the cultural underpinnings of the city. The latest idea is the Denver Biennial of the Americas, slated for the summer of 2010. And while the staff at the Denver Office of…
Denverites have had a long love-hate relationship with our Western heritage. We either laugh or cry about it, because maybe, just maybe, the Mile High City really is just an overgrown cowtown. All joking aside, however, the result of this syndrome has been a collective low self-esteem — and some…
Like many other people, I’m pretty bummed out about the closure of the Rocky Mountain News. But for me, it’s mainly because Mary Chandler (pictured), the paper’s ace art reporter, is now out of a job. Chandler graduated from the University of Missouri in 1970, and she’s worked in the…
