Cornucopia X
Sarah Derosier, Ink and Thread
Eric L. Porter, Moonlight Insights
Art Gym, 1460 Leyden Street
November 7 through November 29
Opening Reception: Thursday, November 7, 5 to 8 p.m.
Curated by Denver book-arts maker and maven Alicia Bailey of Abecedarian Artists’ Books, Cornucopia X is the last in a ten-year series of juried artist-book exhibitions with an international scope. This year’s final installment is juried by Marnie Powers-Torrey of the University of Utah’s Marriot Library and a true cornucopia of art and craft, with work by more than thirty artists experimenting with, in Powers-Torrey’s own words, “finepress, photography, sculpture, illustration, writing and mark-making, as well as a celebration of form, texture, color, material and typography." The beauty of openings at Art Gym is that’s there’s even more: Art Gym members Sarah Derosier and Eric L. Porter show off embroidered relief prints and drawings in the Common Space Gallery.
Taiko Chandler, From the Etching Press
15th Street Gallery, 1708 15th Street, Boulder
November 7 through December 28
Opening reception: Thursday, November 7, 7 to 8:30 p.m.
Printmaker and installationist Taiko Chandler’s more reserved print show at 15th Street Gallery, a favorite with printmaking artists, serves as a companion and farewell to her must-see three-dimensional creation of floaty organza balls and marble-printed, sculpted Tyvek sheets on view through Sunday at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art. Make a weekend of it, and see both while you can.
Michael Dowling Studio Pop-up
Dairy Block, 1800 Wazee Street
Through December 1
Public Drawing Sessions: Wednesdays, 5 to 7:30 p.m. weekly
Art Happy Hours: Fridays, 4 to 6 p.m. weekly
Rembrandt Paint & Sip: Thursday, November 7, 6 to 8 p.m., materials and wine provided for $10, RSVP by email in advance
Collaboration Day: Saturday, November 9, 1 to 4 p.m.
Critique Day: Sunday, November 10, 1 to 4 p.m.
Art Biz Talk: Thursday, November 14, 6 to 8 p.m.
Artist Reception: Saturday, Nov. 30, 4 to 8 p.m.
Denver artist Michael Dowling has gotten famous for blending superb classical draftsmanship with modern composition to create fleeting portraits caught in a single frame, much like photographs that have been altered and smudged. But how does he do it? Throughout November, you can look in on Dowling’s process as he works in public in a pop-up studio at the Dairy Block. Along the way, Dowling is hosting a variety of events where you can join him for hands-on fun or to learn about the artist’s challenges in life. For a primer on Dowling before meeting him in person, check out his Instagram and website.
Layers of Existence
Walker Fine Art, 300 West 11th Avenue
November 8 through January 4
Opening Reception: Friday, November 8, 5 to 9 p.m.
The latest group at Walker Fine Art — Sabin Aell, Peter Illig, Gail Slatter Folwell, Farida Hughes, Meagen Svendsen and Mark Howell — capture the human spirit in myriad ways, from pop-art musings to soaring abstract designs layered on clear panels. For a different viewing experience, consider WFA’s in-gallery yoga session and juice reception at 6 p.m. Tuesday, November 12, all for a $10 donation.
Duke Beardsley, Invasive Splendor: A Quasi-Indigenous Dispatch From the Lost Trail to Nowhere
Space Annex, 95 South Cherokee Street
November 8 through November 30
Opening Reception: Friday, November 8, 6 to 9 p.m.
Premier Colorado Western artist Duke Beardsley takes over the annex this month for his first solo exhibition in nearly ten years. If your taste runs toward modern cowboys riding the range, Beardsley’s your Marlboro man.
From the Beginning: A Lumonics Light Art Installation
The Storeroom, 1700 Vine Street
November 8 through December 31
Opening Reception: Friday, November 8, 6 to 8 p.m.
The incredible light sculptures of Dorothy and the late Mel Tanner and their students will light the windows at the Storeroom storefront gallery through the end of the year in a salute to the Tanners’ Lumonics legacy and a super-modern nod to the holiday season. The beauty of it is that you can drive by any night and see it without bumping elbows with other gallery-goers, just as you would the lighted City and County Building. But the reception will be nice, too, with the cozy Vine Street Pub & Brewery waiting for you to come in and warm up next door.
Moe Gram, Every Human
Understudy, 890 C 14th Street
November 8 through November 24
Opening Reception: Friday, November 8, 6 to 9 p.m.
Artist Talk: Saturday, November 16, 1 to 3 p.m.
Pop-Up Shop: Saturday, November 23, 11 to 3 p.m.
The Denver Theatre District’s Understudy welcomes local artist and doer Moe Gram to its incubator space this month for Every Human, a project dedicated to bringing people together despite their differences through empathy and consideration. See what that entails at the reception, and learn more at the November 16 artist talk. And a word to the wise: While you're downtown for the reception, sneak over to the 16th Street Mall to view the DTD's new projection-mapping feature, Night Lights Denver, on the side of the D&F Tower at 16th and Arapahoe streets.
Celebration El Día de los Muertos
BuCu West, 4200 Morrison Road, Unit 3
Friday, November 8, 5 to 7 p.m.
Not wanting to compete with the dozens of Día de los Muertos events going down in the metro area last weekend, the Westwood Creative Arts District saved its homey, community-minded celebration for a quieter time – because, hey, the dead never really sleep. Honor your ancestors with Mexican pastries and hot chocolate while viewing a woman-centric nicho installation by Mari Munet. Then hear all about it in an artist talk with Munet.
Gin, Jazz & Pizza at Laura Moretz Art Studio
Ironton Distillery & Crafthouse Studios, 3636 Chestnut Place
Friday, November 8, 6 to 8 p.m.
Admission: $35 at eventbrite.com, limited availability
Denver artist Laura Moretz closed her RiNo studio/gallery earlier this year, but she’s still in business making her flowing drip paintings, undercover, in a studio space at Ironton Distillery. To celebrate her ongoing life as an artist, Moretz is throwing an exclusive, ticketed Denver Arts Week cocktail party with Ironton-made distilled gin drinks, pizza and a jazzy backdrop, right in the studio, where you can see what she’s been up to behind closed doors. Seating is limited, so grab a ticket now.
Walter Barton, A Bestiary
Judith Grey, Desiderium
Pirate: Contemporary Art, 7130 West 16th Avenue, Lakewood
November 8 through November 24
Opening Reception: Friday, November 8, 6 to 10 p.m.
Walter Barton conjures mythical beasts in sculptural form, while associate member Judith Grey chimes in with conceptual found-object constructions. It’s back to business at Pirate after last week’s Day of the Dead festivities.
First Annual Invitational Holiday Show
Urban Mud Gallery, 530 Santa Fe Drive
November 8 through December 28
Opening Reception: Friday, November 8, 5 to 9 p.m.
The new clay gallery and members' studio Urban Mud digs into its first holiday show with ceramic art, jewelry and more, showcasing affordable and just plain magnificent work by members, associates and guest artists. Gallery hours are Thursdays through Saturdays, noon to 5 p.m.
Leather artists Jill Mustoffa and Christiane White of Tutela Handbags reunite at Kanon.
Jill Mustoffa and Christiane White
Kanon Collective, Pasternack's Art Hub, 6851 West Colfax, Lakewood
November 8 through November 24
Opening Reception: Friday, November 8, 6 to 10 p.m.
Jill Mustoffa and Christiane White of Tutela Handbags get handy with leather appliqué panels and hand-stitched bags, while Melody Sealman messes around with baby-doll heads, with unexpected — and somewhat creepy — results. We see cool gift-shopping in your future here, even if Kanon’s traditional Bibelot small-works show is waiting in the wings.
Sophie Lynn Morris, I had a dream that you were a fountain
Dateline, 3004 Larimer Street
November 9 through December 1
Opening Reception: Saturday, November 9, 6 to 11 p.m.
Sophie Lynn Morris’s assemblages for I had a dream… use everyday materials to comment on how water necessarily flows through our everyday lives, giving succor and grace to ordinary wanderings.
Red Bull Presents: Detour’s 5 Pointers
RedLine Contemporary Art Center, 2350 Arapahoe Street
November 8 through January 5
Public Reception: November 8, 6 to 10 p.m., $10 in advance at redlineart.org.
Artist Talk with Thomas “Detour” Evans: Wednesday November 13, 5 p.m.
Detour's 5 Pointers Performance: Friday November 22, 8 p.m.
Closing Night Performance: Friday December 6, 8 p.m.
Denver artist Thomas “Detour” Evans specializes in interactive works, but the installation Detour’s 5 Pointers takes the concept a step further by interweaving art and performance during a series of events throughout the show’s run. Drawing on the history of Denver’s Five Points neighborhood, aka “The Harlem of the West,” where jazz bands once echoed through the Rossonian Hotel, Detour weaves an Afrofuturist tale about the 5 Pointers, a fictional band represented by instruments you can “play" through interaction. A real band will play, too, at two free public performances.
A stenciled version of Ernest Thompson Seton's drawing of Lobo in the rubble of the Hut.
Courtesy of We Were Wild
Alto Gallery, 4345 West 41st Avenue
Saturday, November 9, 4 to 6 p.m.
Maybe you saw the show Reconstructing Western Landscapes by the wheat-pasting artist duo We Were Wild when it opened last week. But it’s well worth returning to Alto Gallery this weekend to learn the whole story behind the installation, direct from the artists, who will also give a wheat-pasting demo. Refreshments and Denver Arts Week 5280 deals on select prints will be available.
Matt Bilfield, Geometricize
Black Book Gallery, 3878 South Jason Street, Englewood
Opening Reception: Saturday, November 9, 7 to 9 p.m.
Los Angeles-based artist Matt Bilfield takes geometric pattern-painting 3-D by arranging hundreds of contrasting, colored two-inch wooden pegs on a plywood backing in circular or square shapes, and Black Book’s got him. Meet the artist and be wowed by his work while you can, as the gallery, which mainly operates online (or by appointment), is only occasionally open to the public.
VASD Program Patterns Series: Sara Cwynar
Mary Harris Auditorium, Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design, 1600 Pierce Street
Tuesday, November 12, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Speaking of patterns, keep your artsy weekend rolling right into the following week for the latest edition of the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design’s 2019-2020 Visiting Artist, Scholar and Designer lecture series, which explores the theme of “Patterns” this year. Brooklyn-based artist Sara Cwynar is the guest on November 12, speaking on how pop, kitsch and political imagery underlie our conscious lives. Admission is free, but space is limited, and an RSVP is required in advance at eventbrite.com. Or, there’s a Plan B: Tune in to the live stream online.
Interested in having your event appear in this calendar? Send the details to [email protected]. For more events this weekend, find details in this week’s 21 Best Things to Do in Denver.
