What goes in the collection stays in the collection, and that means a plethora of fine artworks often stay behind the scenes, unseen by the general public. The Arvada Center’s new exhibit series, COLLECT, brings some of them back out in public, by pulling together work from a variety of…
Though contemporary art went fully international more than a generation ago, certain qualifiers related to country, culture, history, sexuality, gender and ethnicity, among a raft of other factors, persist, and there is no indication that they will give way to some kind of worldwide sameness. This idea came to mind…
Michael Paglia visited the William Havu Gallery and the MSU Center for Visual Art for this week’s review, taking in two shows focusing on contemporary art. The show at Havu, titled Modern Vistas, features work from Colorado artists Sushe Felix and her husband, Tracy Felix. It also features sculptures from…
Just as American graffiti art comprises a variety of styles, techniques and intent, so does its Middle-Eastern counterpart — but that’s just scraping the surface of these art forms. Their differences begin with what’s most basic to the medium: alphabets and hand-strokes as unlike as East and West. And while…
You can find art all over town — not just on gallery walls. In this series, we’ll be looking at some of the local artists who serve up their work in coffeehouses and other non-gallery businesses around town. When you buy glasswork from artist Sally Van Der Kamp, who works…
Joel Swanson: Left to Right, Top to Bottom and Critical Focus: Ian Fisher opened at MCA Denver Friday night, as part of curator Nora Burnett Abrams’s ongoing focus on local artists. While Fisher’s paintings of billowing clouds and skyscapes take over MCA’s Whole Room, Swanson has filled the David &…
Artist House Tour Series Featuring Andi Todaro
From Mouseketeer to sexy schoolgirl to shaved-head rebel, Britney Spears has created many dance-worthy tunes in her fourteen-year career. As part of the Alamo Drafthouse’s Action Pack interactive events, the theater will host a Britney Spears Sing-Along Dance Party Friday, January 17 at 9:30 p.m. (with a special encore performance…
Since the start of the new year, we’ve been filling our four blogs — Show and Tell, Backbeat, Cafe Society and the Latest Word — with a Colorado bucket list of the 100 things to do before you kick it. We’ve already shared Show and Tell Bucket List picks 25-16…
As a photography student at the Art Institute of Colorado transitioning into more professional work, Hunter Helmstaedter realized he needed more than the school’s studio space to carry out his projects — and a lot of his fellow students were in the same predicament. Inspired by the creative co-working business…
Wealthy oilman Frederic C. Hamilton — named this year’s Citizen of the West by the National Western Stock Show — has had a long relationship with the Denver Art Museum and currently holds the title of chairman emeritus of the DAM’s board of trustees. It was Hamilton who spearheaded the…
Earlier this week, we reported on Frederic C. Hamilton — the oil zillionaire whose name adorns the Daniel Libeskind-designed addition to the Denver Art Museum — who announced that he will donate his collection of 22 Impressionist paintings, which he acquired over the past forty years, to the Denver Art…
You can find art all over town — not just on gallery walls. In this series, we’ll be looking at some of the local artists who serve up their work in coffeehouses and other non-gallery businesses around town. Retirement isn’t looking so quiet for baseball-loving Kyle Bannister, the second-career artist…
Frederic C. Hamilton — the oil zillionaire whose name adorns the Daniel Libeskind-designed addition to the Denver Art Museum — has been a longtime supporter of that institution. He has given the DAM tens of millions of dollars over the years and is currently Chairman Emeritus of the board, having…
Colorado-based pop star John Denver, who died in a crash while piloting his own plane in 1997 at the age of 53, would have turned seventy on New Year’s Eve. Almost twenty years later, he remains both beloved for writing and singing such songs as “Rocky Mountain High” and “Take…
Interested in making a career out of video and photo journalism? Westword is looking for a good student multimedia intern for spring of 2014. The position is unpaid, and candidates must be able to get college credit for their work. To apply, send a résumé and clips to kristin.bjornsen@voicemediagroup.com…
What are the hundred things everyone should do in Colorado before they die? We posed this question to our writers and editors, and over the next week, we’ll be rolling out their answers across our blogs. Check back on January 16 for the full list. See also: The Westword 2014…
While the impact of legalizing cannabis will have on Colorado life has been analyzed from economic, political, and demographic standpoints, its influence on our creative community has received much less attention. With films like Tokeasy, however, that may be beginning to change. Heretofore discreet stoners have been coming out of the woodwork and ganjapreneurs are emerging as the area’s most significant patrons of the arts. While as little as 10 years ago, an event like the Tokeasy DVD release party would seem like a literal pipe dream, now it just seems like the most appropriate way to honor a film with a unique perspective on a transformative time in our history. Tokeasy, may have the look and feel of a stoner movie classic, but it has more on its mind than most films from that most ignominious of sub-genres. Above all, the film is “a satire that parallels marijuana today to alcohol during prohibition,” says the film’s co-director, writer, and co-producer Wally Wallace. That the film is finally coming to DVD (no easy feat for a local filmmaker) is a testament to the herculean efforts of all involved. To celebrate those efforts, and to ring a note of victory at the defeat of the very prohibition Tokeasy satirizes, the cast, crew and fans will all be enjoying their freedom saturday night at the Oriental Theater. The event, which is sponsored by Sexy Pizza and High Level Health, will feature performances from comedian Jordan Doll and DJ Deep Rawk followed by a screening of the film.
Having written on the Denver art scene for many years, I’ve gained some perspective. The chief revelation I’ve had is that there’s a relatively small number of individuals — perhaps a hundred or so — who substantially shape the scene through their outsized contributions. I bring this up because in…
People power the arts scene in Denver. Not money or business connections or bending to public demand, but creative people who have the courage to make things happen in their own imaginative ways. As the new year started, we went on a search for people to watch in 2014, and…
You can find art all over town — not just on gallery walls. In this series, we’ll be looking at some of the local artists who serve up their work in coffeehouses and other non-gallery businesses around town. “Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where…
Put together by Cecily Cullen, creative director for the Center for Visual Art, Cross Currents is an ambitious exhibit that showcases contemporary art by Native Americans from across the country. It is a follow-up to Currents, a show Cullen did at the old LoDo CVA in 2009 that was on…
