The new Schlessman Family Branch Library is a big improvement over its predecessor, the Montclair branch. For one thing, the new Denver Public Library outpost is in its own flashy, custom-built building designed by Denver architect Michael Brendle, while the old library was crammed into a couple of shops in…
Last October, Carol Dickinson, the director of Golden’s Foothills Art Center, had a crisis on her hands: Her big spring exhibition — the one scheduled to be on display right now — was abruptly canceled by its organizers. “I needed to come up with something fast, and last fall was…
Alone among American cities, Denver has a direct relationship with Italian modern master Gio Ponti: The 1971 Denver Art Museum is the architect’s only building in North America. Most of Ponti’s buildings, designed from the 1930s until his death in 1979, are in Italy. How Ponti ended up doing a…
The era of the Dutch masters — many of whom have made their way into modern culture on the lids of cigar boxes — is one of those rare subjects in the art world that have generated interest not just from stodgy old art historians, but from everyone. And there’s…
Joseph Riché is a young Denver sculptor who’s been exhibiting his kinetic creations around town for the last several years. His innovative and imaginative work has, in turn, influenced a number of other young sculptors. So it makes a lot of sense to put together a group show that’s devoted…
Painter Santiago Pérez, who lived in Colorado Springs for several years as a member of the U.S. Air Force, is the subject of the multi-dimensional Return of the Wizard, an enormous solo show on display at the Carson-Masuoka Gallery. The impressive exhibit includes more than fifty paintings done over the…
There’s quite a bit worth seeing right now at Pirate (3659 Navajo Street, 303-458-6058). In the main gallery and in the Treasure Chest, longtime co-op member Steve Alarid is the subject of an impressive two-part solo (see previous page). In the Associate’s Space is Gwen Laine: New Works, a show…
A few years ago, it seemed that the art world was aging — and aging fast. The problem wasn’t just Father Time; it was that few, if any, young people seemed to be interested in art. Even many of those associated with the alternative scene — presumably a bastion of…
Ocean Journey is scheduled to close next week, and I, for one, am sorry to see it happen. It’s not that I’m an aquarium enthusiast, it’s just that the building is so darned good. In fact, it is unquestionably one of the finest things to have been built around here…
Maybe it has to do with how complicated the world is, but for whatever reason, contemporary art — locally, nationally and internationally — has been getting increasingly stripped down. Of course, there’s nothing new about minimalism. Even the so-called original, the 1950s- and ’60s-era New York School variant, was hardly…
There’s a very nice show at Pirate right now called said and done. Installed in the main gallery, it is made up of four colored-pencil drawings and six oil paintings by Denver artist Wes Magyar, a contemporary realist. Magyar’s subject matter is the ordinary, if alienated, events in the lives…
If you’re like me, you’re getting pretty tired of all the brown grass, bare trees and snow that’s wearing out its welcome around here. Spring officially starts next week, but the signatures of winter are sure to be around for at least another month. Perhaps it was wishful thinking, then,…
The contemporary craze for backlit translucent photos in wall-hung boxes seems to be moving full speed ahead, and it has been for at least a decade. This type of thing is so popular right now among artists that it has completely transcended its original role as a simple stylistic device…
Artyard, Denver’s premier sculpture gallery, turns sweet sixteen this year, and director Peggy Mangold is quietly celebrating with Sixteen Years at Artyard, a small show devoted to the gallery’s two biggest attractions over those years: her husband, Bob Mangold, and Chuck Parson. Bob Mangold holds a distinguished position in the…
There are a couple of interesting shows right now at CORE New Art Space (2045 Larimer Street, 303-297-8428). Up front is Doug Craft: Collage and Montage in Golden Ratios, and in the spacious, handsome back gallery is Juhl Wojahn. Though he’s in his late forties and has been dabbling in…
It was back in 1990 when the Denver Art Museum hired curator R. Craig Miller to establish a department of architecture, design and graphics. Miller was working at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art when he was stolen away by Met alum and longtime friend Lewis Sharp. Sharp has made…
It must be hard to make credible political art, because, to be honest, most of it is pretty darned bad. The trouble is that the artist has to try to create a plausible work of art, as well as inform the viewer about a particular cause. And it doesn’t help…
For more than twenty years, Robischon Gallery (1740 Wazee Street, 303-298-7788) has set the exhibition standard in Denver’s contemporary-art world by presenting only high-quality shows. Judy Pfaff, on display now in the intimate Viewing Room in the gallery, is no exception. The show is made up of a small group…
Dale Chisman: Recent Paintings, now on display at Rule Gallery, is absolutely fabulous — which is not unexpected, considering Chisman’s reputation as a master in the field of abstraction and his status as one of the most important artists in Colorado’s history. As a consequence of Chisman’s accomplishments, his work…
February 14 is Valentine’s Day, and tonight, the Museum of Contemporary Art (1275 19th Street, 303-298-7554) holds its annual fundraiser and auction, Love4Sale, which includes donated paintings and sculptures. Organizers hope to raise a lot of money — no hollow wish considering the high quality of the donated pieces. But…
In the anything-goes art world of the last couple of decades, contemporary art has fractured into innumerable stylistic tendencies. Contemporary artists are creating everything from conceptual installations, videos and performances to neo-traditional paintings and sculptures. Considering this stylistic anarchy, it’s interesting when a trend can be perceived. Apparently, one of…
Every year, the Colorado Photographic Arts Center (1513 Boulder Street, 303-455-8999) confers awards and presents an exhibit devoted to the winners. The latest version, 2001 Member Awards, is on view right now. The jury who chose the award recipients was made up of the City of Denver’s art administrator and…
