You can’t say Denver’s art scene isn’t diverse. We’ve got it all: co-ops, highbrow galleries, indies, pop-ups, street art, nonprofit programs and more. Venture out, and you’ll find a little bit of everything opening this week. Here’s what’s newest:
Art Dolls
Valkarie Gallery
June 14-18
Opening Reception: 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, June 14
Move over, Barbie. Valkarie pays tribute to a different kind of doll with Art Dolls, a five-day pop-up showcasing dolls designed to be art objects and not playthings. More than a dozen artists are participating in the invitational exhibit, a parallel universe of bird people, artfully cut paper dolls, bendable creatures made from twisted yarn and other mixed-media feats of both soft and hard sculpture. While some participants already specialize in doll art, others take a leap outside their comfort zone to experiment with the concept; while you’re there, have a look in the residents’ gallery to see what Valkarie members are up to when they’re not making dolls.
A Modern Baroque
Helikon Gallery & Studios
June 14-July 22
Opening Reception: Wednesday, June 14, 6 to 10 p.m.
Concert With Sémplice: Saturday, June 17, $20, 7:30 p.m.
The exuberance and excess of baroque thinking, wildly reordered by modern themes, overtakes the walls at Helikon for the national group show A Modern Baroque, a cheeky, no-holds-barred trip into the visually over-the-top. For the full-blast effect, wait to see it at a June 17 concert in the gallery with the Denver baroque ensemble Sémplice. Too highly gilt and Trump-indicative for you? The Endless Stage: The Art of Tom Sarmo, in Helikon’s Gallery 101, will also be on view to amuse with a round of rich and enchanting illustrations.
Continue reading for more new gallery shows this week.
Adam Milner: Desirable Objects & Cabinet, curated by Adam Milner
David B. Smith Gallery
June 16-July 15
Opening Reception: Friday, June 17, 6 to 8 p.m.
The minor detritus of intimacy ranges from beautiful to downright icky, but either way, the stuff of being human can’t be overlooked in relationships: physical imperfections, hair clippings, lint, strange mementos, whatever gets stuck in the drain — it’s all part of the strange glue that holds us together in even the most casual of interactions. Adam Milner, in his first major solo show at David B. Smith Gallery, goes there, elaborating on his previous, smaller show at DBS two years ago, Echo Chamber, putting the byproducts of attachment on display. Milner further opens the conversation by curating Cabinet, a companion group exhibit in the project room focusing on the idea of art as personal artifact.
Here, They Be Dragons
Access Gallery
June 16-July 22
Opening Reception: Friday, June 16, 6 p.m.
First Friday Reception: Friday, July 7, 6 p.m.
At least one ArtWorks Program artist at Access Gallery, a young woman named Nicole with an affinity for dragons, has flown into success on a serpent’s wings. Like all her differently-abled cohorts in the program for youth transitioning into adult life after high school, she’s received training and opportunities toward becoming self-sufficient while making art. Hear them roar: As a fundraiser for the gallery and its many services, Nicole and the rest of of the ArtWorks crew jammed on a dragon theme for Here, They Be Dragons, a delightful show that could end up immortalized in an Access Gallery coloring book.
Chris Haven: One Night Stand
Corazon Gallery
3039 Walnut Street
Saturday, June 17, 6 to 10 p.m.
Graffiti and street artists often go unsung. Everyone admires the very public result of their toils without ever knowing these artists' names or having a chance to meet them face-to-face. That all changes, at least for a night, for talented muralist Chris Haven, who’s being feted with an indoor gallery show. It’ll be a collector’s heaven for people who can’t take home the whole wall.
Check our calendar for more things to do.