Visual Arts

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. “I’m an artist, writer, actress, business owner,” says jack-of-all-(artsy)-trades Elena Davis, who’s…

“As we watch our Queen City of the Plains explode with new people, new businesses and a new cultural identity we aren’t familiar with,” writes Bree Davies in her recent love letter to Denver, “I feel a shared level of discomfort at the way our visual history is being erased….In…

Celebrate the great outdoors this weekend with a festival of sculptural works in a park, as well as a show of pieces by people who paint outdoors. And then there’s a transcendent exhibit that will transport viewers to a different plane. If you’re looking for art that will take you…

For decades Antique Row on South Broadway has been a one-stop shopping experience for people looking to fill their homes with one-of-a-kind furniture and vintage goods. This Saturday, August 9, the Antique Row Merchant’s Association is hosting a big block party to show off its eclectic vendors, which have expanded…

Drive-ins were once a major part of the movie theater landscape, but most of them have closed over the past few decades as indoor multiplexes have taken over. In the Denver area, only one remains: the 88 Drive-In Theatre in Commerce City. Business there, it seems, has never been better…

Burns Park fills the triangle of hillside defined by Colorado Boulevard to the west, Alameda Avenue to the south and Leetsdale Drive, which runs diagonally from northwest to southeast. The park is notable for being home to a suite of mostly minimalist sculptures, some of which have been on the…

Last month, Michael Paglia reviewed Unbound: Sculpture in the Field, an over-the-top outdoor exhibit for which the prairie land south of the Arvada Center has been turned into an informal sculpture garden. This week, Paglia takes a look at another of the shows in the Unbound series. For Unbound: Five…

Last month I reviewed Unbound: Sculpture in the Field, an over-the-top outdoor exhibit for which the prairie land south of the Arvada Center has been turned into an informal sculpture garden. Using newly cast concrete pads, exhibition manager Collin Parson and assistant curator Kristin Bueb oversaw the placement of sculptures…

Joseph Coniff (in parentheses) is only the second presentation to open at the Rule Gallery since the untimely death of Robin Rule late last year. It was important to Rule that the gallery continue, so three longtime associates — Valerie Santerli, Rachel Beitz and Hilary Morris — are carrying on…

I was born in Denver in 1980. These days, I wear my Colorado nativeness like some entitled badge of honor — and I’ve noticed others do, too. I was at a public gathering last week and when a native took the mic to speak, they made sure to mention that…

Feline-o-philes of all ages purr with joy whenever the Amazing Acro-Cats slink into town because, you know — cats playing guitars and riding skateboards and stuff. Animal trainer Samantha Martin has parked her cat bus in front of the Bug Theatre for a run of performances inside, continuing Thursdays through…

UPDATE: FashioNation has a new home. The nearly 30-year-old business will debut its new location on South Broadway on October 10. Owners Pam and Paul Italiano spent several weeks moving the furnishing and decor of the old store into the new space, which formerly housed Packrat Antiques, even removing a…

No institution has played a more important role in Colorado’s art history than the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. Among its collections is one dedicated to modern and contemporary pieces created by Colorado artists. It’s a nice collection — not on the level of the Kirkland Museum’s, mind you –…

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. Get ready for some very special effects: Denver resident Alan Anderson, RAW…

It’s First Friday and the first day of August, so it should be a fine, balmy summer night for exploring the art districts, from Santa Fe Drive to RiNo. Here are a few one-of-a-kind shows to see, tonight and through the weekend. See also: Photos: The Heads of Hydra couple…

When photojournalist Corky Scholl started the non-profit Save the Signs in 2012, the first sign he wanted to save was the neon, Googie-style wonder that had graced Sid King’s Crazy Horse Bar on East Colfax Avenue until the place closed in 1983. Two decades later, Scholl found it for sale…

The Denver County Fair, now in its fourth year, was conceived as a big, fat blue-ribbon love letter to everything that’s cool about Denver, from local artists and a healthy geek culture to, yes, legalized pot. So it’s only fair that this year’s poetry contest has an I Heart Denver…

Lovers are already collaborators in life, but what happens when they collaborate as artists? Some would say that a deeper understanding comes into play under the circumstance, that couples creativity is different, perhaps more intimate, and rooted in unspoken simpatico. That’s what Lovers Collaborations, a group project of the Heads…

For his latest show, Takeover, Gildar Gallery owner Adam Gildar enlisted the help of Charlie James, a Los Angeles-based art dealer, who curated the show. The two have a similar approach to conceptual art. James included artists from his own stable as well as some from Colorado. All of them…

In addition to Adam Stone’s experimental work at Buntport, a cat circus and square product theatre’s multidisciplinary work in Boulder (see below), this weekend yields a unique playwriting festival, a classic musical and a one-night ode to old-time radio. Check out these onstage diversions. See also: Concrete Realities: SLAB…

The Gildar Gallery is housed in an anonymous-looking storefront on South Broadway, barely marked by a sign. That unassuming presence continues inside — but modest circumstances haven’t deterred owner Adam Gildar from presenting thoughtful programs not unlike those found at contemporary art museums. In this spirit, Gildar invited a guest…