Denver Arts World Roundup
Denver’s status as an arts world metropolis is well-established by now. The upcoming months, filled with unique viewing opportunities, world-renowned artists, local spotlights and much more, will expand your cultural horizons in new and surprising ways. Check out some of the highlights below.
Christo & Jeanne-Claude:
Prints and Objects
MetropolitanState College of Denver's Center for Visual Art
Aug. 29-Nov. 1
www.mscd.edu
These artists turn the commonplace and everyday into the magical and surreal. They’ve wrapped the Reichstag in Berlin in 100,000 square meters of translucent fabric. They’ve placed hundreds of umbrellas on open fields in southern California and Japan. They’ve installed hundreds of luminous gates throughout Central Park. The environment is changed whenever Christo & Jeanne Claude come to town. Metropolitan State College of Denver's Center for Visual Art (CVA) will host the Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Prints and Objects exhibition Aug. 29 through Nov. 1. Don’t miss this unique chance to see their work.
First Friday Art Walks
Art District On Santa Fe
Every First Friday of the Month
www.artdistrictonsantafe.com
It’s a big street party, with local art and artists galore. Experience the work of international, national and local artists in Denver's only multi-block art district, where you can easily walk to all the galleries. Within a six-block section of Santa Fe Drive area you’ll enjoy over 30 participating galleries and artist studios joining the First Friday Art Walk. Enjoy the night air and some amazing Denver art!
Jonas Burgert: Enigmatic Narrative
Victoria H. Myhren Gallery, Denver University
Oct. 2-Nov. 23, 2008
http://www.du.edu/art/galleries/myhren/exhibitions/exhibitions.htm
German painter Jonas Burgert is known for his complex and mysterious narrative—even epic—style of painting that, in Burgert's words, addresses "the meditative chaos of nature and the interrelated elements of human cultures." Enigmatic Narrative will be his first solo show in the USA. The gallery will be designed to accommodate a temporary painting studio for Burgert’s use throughout his exhibition. He received his MA at the Academy of Fine Arts in Berlin in 1996 and has had two major solo exhibitions in Europe and many juried group exhibitions since then. Burgert will deliver one of the Denver Art Museum’s Logan Lectures on November 20, 2008.
Wynne / Wynne:
The Art of Lou and Al Wynne
Oct. 3-Jan. 4, 2009.
Kirkland Museum of Decorative Art
www.kirklandmuseum.org
Colorado artists Albert G. Wynne and Louise Wynne’s work presents abstract forms in fascinating ceramics and on canvas. The couple has been exhibiting for over half a century, but this will be the first museum retrospective on either of the artists. The Wynne’s work can be found in many collections throughout America including the private collection of General Colin Powell as well as the collection of the University of Denver and Kirkland Museum. Wynne / Wynne will gather together the works of Al and Lou Wynne from numerous public and private collections, including the collection of the artists.
Daniel Richter: A Major Survey
Denver Art Museum
Oct. 4-Jan. 11, 2009
www.denverartmuseum.org
The Denver Art Museum is the first U.S. museum to host a major show of works by contemporary German painter, Daniel Richter. Daniel Richter: A Major Survey will provide a retrospective of the German artist's large-format oil paintings, which combine cliches from art history, the mass media and popular culture, creating unusual narrative pictorial worlds. Richter's early paintings were abstract, with colors and forms oscillating between graffiti and ornament. Later works evolved from the abstract to the human form, with many works inspired by modernism and failed utopias. Large paintings will be on view, as well as a selection of small formats, which serve Richter both as sketches of ideas and as a diary. (Image credit: Ferbenlaare, 2005, by Daniel Richter. Oil on canvas; 88 x 66 ¼ in. Collection of David Telger. Photo by Jochen Litkemann. Courtesy of Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin.)
In Contemporary Rhythm:
The Art of Ernest L. Blumenschein
Denver Art Museum
Nov. 8-Feb. 8, 2009
www.denverartmuseum.org
Western art lovers shouldn’t miss this one. Celebrating the life and art of New Mexico’s most accomplished painter, In Contemporary Rhythm provides a comprehensive view of the artist’s colorful and inventive works. One of the founders of the famed Taos Society of Artists, Blumenschein rocketed into the spotlight with his modernist approach to capturing the American West. Featuring 66 pieces created in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the show includes major paintings, sketches and illustrations. (Image Credit: Portrait of Albedia, ca. 1918 by Ernest L. Blumeschein. Oil on canvas; 20 x 16 in. Courtesy of the Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, NM.)
Denver Arts Week
Various galleries, museums and theatres throughout Denver
Nov. 14-22
www.denverartsweek.com
The Mile High City celebrated its vibrant creative community last year with the wildly successful Denver Arts Week. In 2008, this unique citywide happening returns with an even bigger and better lineup of innovative, inspiring and fun activities and events. Clear your calendar for November 14-22 – this is one Denver party you don’t want to miss. What is Denver Arts Week? It’s a weeklong festival, highlighting the city’s visual and performing arts, taking place at more than five neighborhood art districts, 20 museums and 100 art galleries. The event is organized by VISIT DENVER to help draw local and national attention to the cultural renaissance that Denver is experiencing – a renaissance that led Sunset Magazine to proclaim: “The Mile High City is remaking itself as a world capital of art and architecture.”
More Arts World Fun in the Mile High City
Head over to the off-beat and always interesting Lab At Belmar. It's part art museum, offering exhibitions by both local and national contemporary artists. But it’s also part public forum with a full schedule of weekly lectures and creative, adult education programs. Expect the unexpected here. The River North Art District (RiNo, for short), meanwhile, is Denver's neighborhood on-the-verge, with a remarkable array of creative businesses, including architects, art galleries, designers, furniture makers, illustrators, painters, media artists, photographers, sculptors, and a wealth of studio spaces. The irreverent and imaginative spirit of these two Denver locales makes its way into the hallowed halls of the Denver Art Museum each month, with DAM’s groundbreaking Untitled series of events, held every final Friday of the month. Each month’s Untitled event has a unique theme that connects back to DAM’s collection in ways that are thoughtful, whimsical and illuminating. They’ve hosted rock bands, performance artists, symphony orchestras and more, turning the expected art museum experience upside down.
Find out more about Denver's vibrant art world here.