In October 2013 I had a pop-up show in New York, and I was there the week before hanging it with my friend Brittany Schall, who had curated the work. We spent late nights in the gallery hanging things from the ceiling (it was a borrowed space; we were not…
Considering the cornucopia of art venues in the Denver area — galleries, art centers, museums, artist-cooperatives, pop-ups, and even wide hallways — and the hundreds of exhibits presented inside them over the last year, it comes as no surprise that the Mile High City is starting to get some real traction as…
Part of a generation of modernists who emerged in northern New Mexico in the 1970s, Zachariah Rieke has been influenced by both abstract expressionism and Japanese calligraphy. A selection of his abstracts can be seen in Surface Tension, a group show at William Havu Gallery that combines paintings and sculpture…
On the bad days, Jim Stevens would curse and throw tools across his art studio, frustrated by his inability to create like he did before he lost his sight. He’d just come off a rough seven years: losing his vision, his wife, his job and his artistic ability in quick…
Joseph Koncilja is a longtime preservationist who’s working to save historic structures in Pueblo. His interest in the vintage built environment extends to neon signs, which he has been collecting for years. Because of a preservation ordinance in the southern Colorado town, neon signs aren’t allowed on buildings facing the…
Every year we endlessly debate the “meaning of Christmas.” Fox News stages its traditional “War on Christmas” show, commentators lament the crass commercialization, and decorations inch up in store stocks until they compete with pumpkins for space. And on Christmas Eve, families everywhere gather around a traditional nativity, with baby…
It’s cold outside, but plans are heating up for Artopia 2016 on Saturday, February 20 — a night of art, culture and fashion at City Hall. And cocktails, of course, which you can enjoy as you move through seven rooms of art installations and exhibits, curated by Jolt from Guerilla…
Local galleries and co-ops are in the holiday swing, offering year-end group showcases and lots of affordable art. Take a break from the malls and the non-stop Christmas music and feed your soul by looking at something awesome — and then take it home with you. Kanon Tenth Anniversary Show…
Given the alternating pattern of drought and floods brought on by global climate change, water has become an ever more urgent topic — not just for scientists and farmers, but for artists as well. These environmental issues provide the context for a discussion of six solos at two of the…
Warm Cookies of the Revolution, the local community-fostering group that founder Evan Weissman calls a “civic health club,” continues its yearlong Stompin’ Grounds Games series this month by focusing on Denver’s rapidly changing La Alma/Lincoln Park neighborhood and surrounding districts, from the city’s poorest — Sun Valley — to the urbane…
Aesthetics have been primary in my life as an artist, central to all I do and think about — whether I want them to be or not. It has always seemed impossible to separate form from function. And in a very real sense, the two are inseparable: No matter whether…
As 2015 draws to a close, it looks like Walnut Street Galleries are focusing on one of the major themes of this year, when rampant redevelopment has changed the face of the arts-driven RiNo community. And at Leon in Uptown, street writer Jolt also chimes in on gentrification. Get a…
On the eve of what could be the most-awaited Star Wars film premiere of all time – Star Wars: The Force Awakens officially opens in theaters nationwide on December 18 – the Denver Art Museum just announced an out-of-this-world prize. A showy Smithsonian-curated exhibit, Star Wars™ and the Power of…
It was a generation ago, in the ’70s and ’80s, that the art of the Southwest — New Mexico, specifically — got hot. This led to a reassessment of the historic artists of Taos and Santa Fe and bolstered the careers of several contemporary artists working in that part of…
It’s hard to believe, considering all the work that goes into building a successful craft and flea market, but Amy Yetman’s picture-perfect seasonal Horseshoe Market only goes live for four days each year. Though she still stands by the one-day-only “get lucky” market model, Yetman began tossing around the idea…
“Have you heard of Gillette Syndrome?” That’s the question Cortney Stell, Black Cube executive director and chief curator, poses as she begins to describe this Thursday’s The New Denver + New Brutal discussion. “If a city grows really, really fast, a sense of community wanes. Gillette Syndrome is named after a…
The deadline came and went without anyone objecting to the application for a “certificate of non-historic status” at 119 South Broadway, a building that started life as the Webber Show and was most recently home to Kitty’s South, a porn palace. So while staffers with the city’s Landmark Preservation Commission…
While helping my mom move over Thanksgiving, I was looking everywhere for the handcart – when had I used it last? It wasn’t anywhere in the studio…and then I remembered, months ago, removing the half-built stairs from the tiny house when we went through the redesign of the interior, cutting…
In your high school ceramics class, the teacher was always watching to make sure that students weren’t crafting pipes or ashtrays, but this workshop encouraged it. The first-ever Puff, Pass & Pottery class was an experiment in art and cannabis consumption, with the goal of creating an an ashtray comparable…
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. Library data may not seem aesthetically pleasing, but artist Duncan Parks is…
Art can be an unforgettable gift, and local artists are making the most of the holiday season by putting up stunning work that won’t break the bank. If you’re out and about this First Friday weekend, here are some excellent stops to put on your itinerary. Fresh Art | 50…
The smell of beard oil and beef jerky is hanging in the air; if you listen closely, you can hear the sounds of woodcarving and someone choking on hot sauce. This can only mean one thing: The men are here. Today more than eighty male vendors (and some co-ed teams)…
