It’s surprising, yet it’s all but official: Walker Fine Art has established a place for itself at the main table of contemporary art in Denver. True, it hasn’t quite reached the top tier of local venues, but it’s only one level down from it — pretty impressive for an operation…
Mark Sink, who runs Gallery Sink (2301 West 30th Avenue, 303-455-0185), has organized Staged Fantasy, an exhibit of posed photos by an assortment of contemporary photographers. A lot of the work relates to Sink’s own efforts, which, though not included in the show, are highly visible, as they are hung…
The Robischon Gallery sets the standard for art exhibitions in Denver. Whatever’s going on there, it’s always as good as — or better than — anything else around. There are two reasons for this: First, the selections are always intriguing, and second, every piece is perfectly situated in Robischon’s chic…
The oldest of the city’s alternative spaces is Spark Gallery (1535 Platte Street, 303-455-4435), which is in a charming storefront in the historic Big Chief Block on the western edge of the Platte Valley. Spark has two dozen members but only two small exhibition rooms. That means it’s pretty packed…
More and more, it seems to me that nearly all current contemporary art can trace its impetus directly back to the 1960s and ’70s. I guess that’s why almost everything today looks like it could have been created back then. This is not a negative appraisal of the current situation;…
There’s an interesting show at Edge Gallery (3658 Navajo Street, 303-477-7173) that expresses some connections between Mexico and the American West. Called shared horizons/horizontes compartidos, it was organized by Ricky Armendariz, a well-known Latino artist living in Boulder. “I leaned that two artists from Mexico, Javier Guadarrama and Claudia Gallegos,…
Though he’d kept a low profile during the past ten years and only rarely exhibited his work during that period, longtime Denver artist Bill Joseph remained involved in the city’s art world until his death, on December 15. In fact, I ran into him in the company of his wife,…
The Colorado Photographic Arts Center (1513 Boulder Street, 303-455-8999) is putting on Visions 2: Contemporary Colorado Photography, an impressive group show that takes a snapshot of the present state of contemporary fine-art photography in Colorado. As indicated by the title, this is the second such effort to have been organized…
The Colorado History Museum rarely presents exhibits that concern the fine and decorative arts. The museum’s philosophy is more attuned to promoting what’s called “material culture” — a broad field that includes things like pickaxes and ski lifts. This is all well and good, but for those of us interested…
Right now there’s a major retrospective that examines the work of Mark Zamantakis, one of the state’s most significant ceramic artists. The exhibit, Zamantakis: From the Earth, is ensconced in the Victoria H. Myhren Gallery (2121 East Asbury Avenue, 303-871-2846) at the University of Denver. It was put together by…
Cydney Payton, director of Denver’s Museum of Contemporary Art, has been putting a lot of effort into expanding that plucky little institution, which occupies only limited space on a first floor and mezzanine at Sakura Square. Her plan to construct a from-the-ground-up building is unfolding, and the competition to select…
It’s always an inspired idea to do a show that pairs a teacher and a student, because the relationship provides a lot of food for aesthetic thought. But this connection, which is both personal and professional, is only one reason there’s plenty to ponder in the intriguing Luis Eades &…
I recently made my way to the fifth floor of the Denver Art Museum, and once again, I was struck by its spare and stunning beauty. The galleries on that floor, home to the Asian art collection, are bathed in golden light and filled with exquisite paintings, prints, sculptures, pottery,…
Bobbi Walker, director of Walker Fine Art (300 West 11th Avenue, 303-355-8955), has paired abstract sculptures by Colorado artist Jerry Wingren with abstract paintings by California artist Jung Choi in the handsome Silent Dialogue. Despite the fact that Wingren’s sculptures have very little in common with Choi’s paintings, the show…
The Sandy Carson Gallery has kept its position as the flagship venue of the Santa Fe Art District by using a simple formula: Present only high-quality art shows. And that’s precisely the case with the two wonderful offerings currently on tap. In the front half of the gallery is the…
A few months ago, Hugo Anderson opened the Emil Nelson Gallery at 1307 Bannock Street (303-534-0996), behind the Denver Art Museum and next door to the Camera Obscura Gallery. Despite its high-profile location, the gallery has kept a low profile — but the current show, herbert bayer remembered, is likely…
It’s hard to live in Colorado and, at the same time, to love architecture. The problem is twofold: There’s very little of the built environment that’s any good, and the few buildings that are good are constantly being threatened with demolition or insensitive remodeling. I was contemplating these ideas while…
Dutch Walla has been taking photos for over fifty years, beginning as a protegé of the late Denver photographer Otto Roach and eventually taking over the older man’s processing business, Roach Photography. Now, at the age of 75, Walla has turned the day-to-day operations of Roach Photography over to his…
There’s a handsome show called Winter Exhibit: Murphy, Garcia, Jackson, Lee playing at the glitzy Fresh Art Gallery, and it’s a signature outing in a number of ways. As usual, everything was hand-selected by director and gallery owner Jeanie King. Also as usual, all of the artists on display explore…
Variations on the theme of contemporary portraiture are brought together in Heads, now at Studio Aiello (3563 Walnut Street, 303-297-8166). The show highlights six artists, four of whom have their work shown in depth. Gallery co-directors Tyler Aiello and Monica Petty Aiello organized the exhibit in cooperation with private dealer…
It was at the end of the nineteenth century that the worldwide romance with the American West first got off the ground. This happened because, even as the earliest settlers were making their way here, the dramatic scenery of the region was attracting artists, particularly photographers and painters. These artists…
Right now, in the South Gallery of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center (30 West Dale Street, Colorado Springs, 1-719-634-5583), there is a very good show called Gene Kloss: Southwestern Printmaker. The large exhibit, which has been handsomely installed, showcases the artist’s famous etchings and drypoints. Kloss was born in…
