Chandler: A quick course in abstraction

• Summer doesn't bring much fluff these days to Denver galleries, and "Abstraction" is a case in point. It's an opportunity to study serious non- representational work by artists who rarely show here. Gallery owner Sandra Phillips asked Sally Perisho to serve as guest curator, a welcome return to the art scene for the former head of what was then known as the Center for Visual Arts. [...] more

Three shows a crowd, but a welcome one

• Longtime gallery owner and consultant Sandy Carson left a message in late February that was a shocker: After a whirlwind two-week discussion, she had sold her businesses to William and Jan van Straaten, who've operated the respected publishing firm Riverhouse Editions in Steamboat Springs for 20 years. [...] more

Now Showing: Capsule Reviews of Current Exhibitions

• Berghaus, Douglas and Riverhouse Press. In the front spaces at Sandy Carson, there's a whimsical yet intelligent show called Clearing: The Kinetic Sculpture of Marc Berghaus. The pieces are mechanical, with the most clever use of machinery being "Freeway Chase," in which viewers look through the frame of a TV screen to tune into a miniature highway pursuit being played out on a rotating cylinder. [...] more

He Went Digital Before Digital was Cool

• But rather than rest on his laurels and take it easy, he devoted himself to some of the most daring and innovative experimentation of his career, venturing more heavily into the nascent world of digital photography, which he had begun exploring in 1981. The fascinating and in many ways groundbreaking fruits of those investigations, which ended in 1998 with his death, are showcased in "Critical Encounters," an exhibition running through April 12 at the Sandra Phillips Gallery. [...] more

New Trend in Event Hosting: Art Galleries

• With all of this momentum it is no surprise that people are now hosting their events in the numerous large galleries up and down the ArtDistrict. Two of the most successful event hosting galleries are Translations Gallery and the Reed Photo Art Gallery and John Fielder's Colorado. Reed and Fielder teamed up last year to open the largest photography gallery in Denver with almost 6,000 square feet of gallery space. Nationally renowned nature photography provides the backdrop for numerous even [...] more

Thirst Fridays: A mellow mix of booze and art goes down easy at First Fridays

• It's not that Jack Pappalardo means to be a party pooper, but a year ago, a river of booze was running through the monthly First Friday celebration at Denver's ArtDistrict on Santa Fe, and the district's 55 members finally stopped serving free drinks in order to reverse what had become [...] more

Museo de las Américas receives $100,000 to work with communities in Denver, La Paz, Bolivia and Xocotlan, Mexico

• Museo de las Americas has received a $100,000 grant from the American Association of Museums (AAM) through Museums and Community Collaborations Abroad (MCCA), a new international exchange program sponsored by the U,S, State Department. In conferring this award, AAM has recognized the Museo de las Américas as a leader in developing programming that engages community members beyond museum walls. The award will allow the Museo de las Américas to open dialogues between the people of Denver and the [...] more

Artwork Network puts fine art in companies around metro Denver

• Alan Kircher took a big chance leaving the banking industry to start an art consulting company that helps businesses decorate offices with works of art. Not only was there a tradition of banking careers in his family dating back to his great-grandfather, a banker during the Great Depression, but he entered the art business with zero art experience. In 2003, Kircher quit his job at U.S. Bank to launch Artwork Network, a $150,000 self-financed project specializing in managing, rotating and s [...] more

Denver's art scene soars with new galleries, events

• Watch out, Santa Fe. There's a new art mecca taking shape in the Rockies. [...] more

Family Tiles: Father-daughter team bond over passion for mosaics

• The water bill doubled this summer, and despite all your efforts, brown spots still mar the lawn. The solution? Forget green and aim for color, says Abbas Khajeaian. If Khajeaian had his way, he would replace much of Denver's grass with mosaic tile, and he'll do most of the work himself. He and his daughter, Roya, own Kashi Kari Gallery, which specializes in tile work. [...] more

"Masters in Clay" is a solid look at Colorado's ceramists, old and new

• California has led the way in contemporary American ceramics for decades, but Colorado has not been far behind, with its own rich history and extraordinary talent pool. [...] more

A Walk in the Art

• Rich Grant, director of communications for the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau, found himself on Santa Fe Drive on the first Friday in July, and he couldn't believe his eyes. "I've been promoting the city for 27 years, and I've never seen anything that compared to it," he marvels. "Thousands of people on the streets, moving from gallery to gallery, everyone having a great time." From 6 to 9 p.m. tonight, the August First Friday Art Walk promises to be even better. A six-block-long s [...] more

Top of the Town

• Editors Choice for First Date: The Santa Fe Stroll! The Art District on Santa Fe Drive has garnered national attention lately - all the more reason to woo a date here. Stroll along the six-block radius and enjoy over 30 participating galleries and artist studios during a First Friday Art Walk. [...] more

Feminine Touches at Museo de las Américas

• I thought I knew everything, but I had no idea this was the Year of the Woman. With that knowledge swirling around in her mind and an unexpected bequest of the extensive Rickenbaugh Santos Collection in her lap, Museo de las Américas director Patty Ortiz began looking for a spin that would pull it all together in a show. The consequent exhibit, Altar Girls, is a brilliant fusion of basic femininity and its morphing status in Latino culture. [...] more

Surreal World Comes to Denver

• Bubbling up from the street-smart subcultures of surfing, hip-hop and hot-rodding, a new art form has emerged whose practitioners are as familiar with skateboard icon Tony Hawk and Krylon cans as they are with Picasso and paintbrushes. [...] more

Dream World Lives on Canvas

• Some people try to make wishes come true. Irene Delka McCray puts flesh on dreams. The paintings record things the mind wants to forget: abuse, tragedy, and unfathomable inhumanity. [...] more

SoHos of tomorrow: Up-and-coming gallery districts

• Ever on the lookout for more space, urban artists and art dealers pioneer the SoHos of tomorrow. Here, five of our favorites plus a sampling of cutting-edge galleries. [...] more

Georgia Amar

• Georgia Amar has always believed that art is dependant on the sophisication of one's senses. Throughout her life it has been her goal to hone these sense and the work in her latest show at Habitat Gallery is reflection of that. [...] more

Spotlight Section

• Though "Winter Garden" at Sandy Carson Gallery has a theme - and one much appreciated when Denver is captured by single-digit temperatures - I'm going to include it in this roundup because it includes work by artists who take such different approaches to the concept of the flower. [...] "The co-ops Spark Gallery and Sliding Door Gallery are now almost neighbors on Santa Fe Drive, since the latter just moved into the old Capsule Gallery space. But their current member shows are quite different. [...] more

Art District on Santa Fe

• In the last three years, the Art District on Santa Fe has grown from an adolescent collection of galleries numbering in the teens into a center of vibrant activity and is quickly becoming a tourist attraction known nationwide. To see for yourself, just take a trip down Santa Fe for a First Friday Art Opening. The street is so packed that it feels like a New York City sidewalk at rush hour. It takes effort and collective energy to make a city scene in Denver feel like that. [...] more

Luminarias on Santa Fe Light up the Holidays

• "This is a great place to be," Judy Hagler, owner of Translations gallery and vice president of marketing for the art district, said. "We have working artists, emerging artists, we offer classes. This luminarias event is geared towards the community. We want to get to know them and have them get to know us." [...] more

Collages a Glimpse of Libeskind

• Carson first approached the architect about the venture a couple of years ago, but his schedule made it impossible. Fortunately, she tried again, looking at a fall exhibition that could amplify the architect's way of seeing and working after residents had a chance to experience the museum. The result is an installation that includes two extravagant collage drawings Libeskind made in 1981 (have fun inspecting the fantastical The History of Vegetables and So Forth), a wall of chalk and charcoal dr [...] more

Denver’s ArtDistrict on Santa Fe in Top 5 of America’s New Gallery Districts

• The December 2006 issue of Travel+Leisure magazine lists Denver’s ArtDistrict on Santa Fe as one of their top 5 new gallery districts in America. The ArtDistrict is pleased to contribute to the increasing national attention to Denver’s vibrant cultural community. [...] more

Denver's change of art: Crowds fill gallery-rich streets for First Fridays

• Within a span of six blocks - Fifth Avenue to 10th Avenue - a concentration of galleries showcases diversity and attracts 4,000 to 5,000 people during regular First Friday Art Walks. "It keeps growing onto itself," said Macy Dorf, a potter who owns the Artists on Santa Fe Gallery. "New people come every month." [...] more

Community a Canvas of Ethnic, Artistic Layers

• Most of the buildings between West Fifth and West 10th avenues on Santa Fe Drive are turn-of-the-century vintage - some architecturally charming, some in desperate need of facade work. They are being joined by new construction that is affordable and definitely hip. [...] more

The Rules of Cool

• When artists and galleries were priced out of LoDo, many migrated to Santa Fe Drive, where they created a vibrant arts district. So now people are talking about its latest innovation: Nine10Arts, a trendy fusion of art and green building. "Nine10Arts is the coolest thing," says Denver developer Dana Crawford. "It's a green-complex co-op for artists, with condominium housing and a neat little cafe. It's so first-rate." She's not kidding. Nine10Arts recently was named the 2006 Legacy Project by th [...] more

Something to Consider, the Sandy Carson Gallery

• Something to Consider is a wonderful summer show filled with fresh-looking contemporary paintings and ceramic sculptures at Sandy Carson Gallery (760 Santa Fe Drive, 303-573-8585). I'm not sure the title means anything, but I am sure that the show is a knockout. [...] more

Denver Art Scene Finds Strength in Numbers

• While many American cities have single, concentrated art communities, Denver has managed to keep several districts thriving. People turn out by the thousands for Santa Fe’s First Friday events, and other districts are burgeoning, too. These creative communities didn’t pop up overnight, however. [...] more

Denver's Hot Art Scene Welcomes the Nomadic Project

• Lookout Santa Fe, Chicago and even New York, here comes Denver! The Denver art scene is thriving and shows no sign of slowing down. "The city itself is in the midst of a cultural surge with the opening of a major Denver Art Museum expansion in the fall which will bring hundreds of thousands of visitors. Our art district is the epicenter of the states culture with 4,000 to 5,000 in our district for each First Friday Art Walk." declares Jack Pappalardo, President of the art district, and Executive [...] more

In Denver, Home is Where the Art Is

• Raising the bar from simply living in a loft downtown, two projects here are combining residential space with art museums — the Denver Museum of Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art, on the other side of downtown — that are being built with bold architectural style. [...] more

Along the Santa Fe (arts) Trail

• The art galleries that have driven the recent renaissance of Santa Fe Drive near downtown Denver continue to multiply. The ancillary growth they have prompted keeps expanding, as well. [...] more

In My Office

• How his office reflects Pappalardo: The combination of paperwork and artwork illustrate what might be considered Pappalardo's double life. By day, he's an attorney. In his off hours, he's president of the Santa Fe Art District, co-owner of Habitat Gallery, where he and his wife live upstairs, and is executive director of the summer art camp. [...] more

Mind and Matter

• Every year, the Mizel Center for Arts and Culture presents a thematically linked interdisciplinary program. This year the topic is twentieth-century scientific genius Albert Einstein, and the program, titled [...] more

"Antiwar Art" and the Beauty of Books

• Two of Denver's oldest cooperative galleries, which typically showcase their members' art on a rotating basis and cater to a loyal following, are offering exhibitions this month of uncommon ambition and scope. The Chicano Humanities and Arts Council is among the first area art institutions of any kind to address head-on the continuing Iraq war. Its show is titled "New Millennial Guernica: Antiwar Art by Chicanos & Latinos. [...] more