Jesús Moroles is the artist of the moment following the recent unveiling of his “Granite Aspens,” the centerpiece of the brand-new Carol and Don Dickinson Sculpture Garden at Foothills Art Center in Golden (see review). To coincide with that event, Artyard Contemporary Sculpture (1251 South Pearl Street, 303-777-3219) is presenting…
The late Herbert Bayer, who spent a good deal of his life in Aspen, is one of the greatest artists to have ever worked in Colorado. He’s part of the international history of graphics and photography, but he did so much more, creating paintings, prints, sculptures, buildings and some of…
Herbert Bayer is probably best known in Denver for his monumental canary-yellow sculpture “articulated wall,” a striking constructivist composition erected in 1985, the year he died. Located within the Denver Design Center complex at 595 South Broadway, the tower rises more than fifty feet. It has an enormous steel mast…
Monica Petty Aiello and her husband, Tyler, are well-known fixtures in Denver’s contemporary art world because they run Studio Aiello, the largest commercial art gallery in the region for the time being. I say “for the time being” because come the first of the year, the Aiellos will cut back…
I know the fall run just started this past week, but I don’t think it’s too early to say that FULL: New Paintings by Bruce Price, at + Gallery, is one of the best shows of the 2005-2006 season. I’m an old hand at these matters, and I’m certain nothing…
Last month, I made some comments about the Original Aurora Arts District (“In Black and White,” August 25) that struck a nerve with Kim Harrell and Lani Sloss, owners of East End Applied Arts. In response, they sent Westword a letter, which was published last week. I described the area,…
At the entry to the complex of buildings that make up the Lakewood Heritage Center is the Visitors Center, a sleek-looking neo-modern — or would that be neo-moderne? — structure. Designed by Oz Architecture, a firm with offices in Denver and Boulder, it was completed in 2002 and includes a…
A second floor is being added to the building that holds the Spark Gallery (900 Santa Fe Drive, 720-889-2200), with the idea of creating condos out of the added space. Despite the considerable inconvenience of the construction and the loss of nearly all nearby parking spots to construction workers, though,…
At the beginning of this summer, Eugene Sternberg, one of the greatest of a generation of Denver architects who came to prominence in the post-war period, died at the age of ninety. Sternberg approached the practice of architecture as an intellectual pursuit. He was a utopian who believed in an…
About a month ago, the Davis & Shaw building, at 1434 Champa Street, was sold to developer Randy Nichols, who immediately announced that he was planning to build a thirty-story condominium high-rise on the site. This is a genuine tragedy. Davis & Shaw is a high-end furniture retailer that first…
Simon Zalkind, the director of the Singer Gallery, does such a good job that I often forget that the Mizel Center for Arts and Culture, where the Singer is housed, isn’t an art museum, but rather a community center. This was brought home big-time last week when I saw a…
There is a disturbing downward correction happening in the local art world. Pod and Capsule will soon just be Capsule, with the Pod part turning into studios. At the first of the year, Studio Aiello, where the commercial-gallery part of the complex is closing, will be turning most of its…
Robischon Gallery has a pair of solos in its front rooms that look so good, they could be the first shows of the fall season — except that it’s a month early. Installed in the entry space and the one behind it is JAMES COLBERT: The Long View; hung in…
The Space Gallery (765 Santa Fe Drive, 720-904-1088) is presenting a group show, Embody, that features three emerging Denver artists, all of whom do representational paintings based on the figure. The show begins with portraits and self-portraits from two series by Jason Blamey. In the front are four monumental pieces…
I well recall the first time I saw Warren Kelly’s work. It was the summer of 2002, and I had found myself at Pirate: a contemporary art oasis. In the main space was a thoroughly amazing and absolutely unforgettable painting solo. I thought to myself, Whoever did these pieces has…
There are big changes afoot at Pirate: a contemporary art oasis (3659 Navajo Street, 303-458-6058). The most important one is that the co-op’s longtime home has gotten substantially smaller. Landlords Chandler Romeo and Reed Weimer are remodeling the space, putting in new walls, new doors and a new entrance. As…
Summer used to be the time when the art world all but shut down. The idea was that collectors were on vacation, so why bother with noteworthy exhibits? Directors, curators and dealers would simply throw together a group outing that showed off work by the hottest artists the organizers could…
After three years, the commercial-gallery part of Studio Aiello (3563 Walnut Street, 303-297-8166) is giving up the ghost. The business succumbed to sluggish art sales and the disadvantage of an off-the-beaten-track location. On the bright side, other aspects of Studio Aiello, including the Tar Factory Atelier, will still be around,…
The last few months have been pretty tough for the Center for Visual Art, the LoDo mini-museum operated by Metropolitan State College of Denver. In a shocking move this past spring, the school’s Republican-dominated board of trustees cut the center’s funding in half (“New Directions,” May 5). No surprise there:…
There’s a funky new art spot in town that has the ridiculous name of Rhinoceropolis (3553 Brighton Boulevard, no phone). The venue recently opened in the old Wheelbarrow space, another funky art spot with a ridiculous name that closed some time ago. Like its predecessor, Rhinoceropolis is held together with…
The second quarter of the twentieth century can be described as a golden age for Colorado art. Right after World War I, the Broadmoor Academy opened in Colorado Springs, developing a reputation as a nationally significant art school. But this was not the first aesthetic outpost in the Colorado wilderness;…
As I wandered through the Bethany Kriegsman solo, aptly named Treasure Island, at the William Havu Gallery (1040 Cherokee Street, 303-893-2360), it occurred to me that the Golden-based artist just might be the most overlooked first-rate artist in the region. As evidence of this, despite the fact that her show…
