Denver Art Museum (DAM) has got it going on—another winner!

Sunday, January 30th, their newly reinstalled, 23,000 s.f. of Native American galleries reopens and they’ve done a superb job. DAM holds one of the nation’s most comprehensive collections of American Indian art, with approximately 18,000 artworks ranging from prehistoric to contemporary—remarkable in itself. But the redesigned American Indian and Northwest Coast galleries take a fresh approach, choosing to focus on the individual artists, their creations and inspirations.

Far from an old-school approach that offers up Native American displays as “dead” collections of artifacts from times gone by, the museum underwent both a physical and intellectual overhaul. Now, the stunning creativity of various cultural groups throughout history is juxtaposed alongside the work of contemporary artists, not only paying homage to what came before, but extending the narrative in compelling and modern ways. Interactive technology has been incorporated to give visitors of all ages a chance to “participate” with some displays and to address the question about what is—or isn’t—American Indian art.

The galleries’ interior has been entirely reconfigured with new platforms, studio areas, and interactive media displays. They focus on 9 regional areas: artists of the Arctic, California, the Plateau and Great Basin, Northeast, Northwest Coast, the Plains, the Southeast, Southwest, and Great Lakes. Each brings something remarkable to the table.

The renovated and reimagined American Indian galleries at the DAM are a great space for family visits, students, artists, and even a stimulating place for any individual to while away an afternoon. They are guaranteed to spark discussions, amazement, creative ideas, and send you away with a renewed appreciation for the art of these cultures. As Nancy Blomberg, curator of the collection and leader of this project, says, “This exciting new presentation will highlight the artist’s hand and give visitors the opportunity to watch artists at work and evaluate their own perceptions of American Indian art.”

For more information: http://www.denverartmuseum.org or 720.865.5000.

IMAGE CREDITS: Top left: George Walkus, Kwakwka’wakw, Four-faced Hamat’sa Mask (detail), about 1938. Denver Art Museum; Native Arts acquisition fund. Right: Artist not known, Navajo, eyedazzler-style rug, about 1885. Denver Art Museum; Gift of The Douglas Society. Lower left: Mateo Romero, Cochiti, Voices at Wounded Knee, Series #2, 2008. Denver Art Museum; William Sr. and Dorothy Harmsen Collection, by exchange.

-- Rosemary Carstens
http://www.CarstensCommunications.com

Getting ready for 2011 action!

Those of you who follow this blog have probably noticed that posts have fallen off over the past 45-60 days. That's because design is underway for a fabulous new format for our online magazine FEAST, about books, art, food, film, and travel. We will be incorporating the Artist Spotlight blog into the magazine, giving it a bright new look and offering continual introductions and notices about fine art, craft, exhibitions, art books, and the wonderful world of top-notch creativity we know you enjoy.

Please be patient with us!

Rosemary Carstens
Editor, FEAST
http://www.FEASTofBooks.com

Andrea Kemp—Rising Star in the Art World

Innocents

I recently spent a wonderful afternoon at Denver’s Saks Galleries LES FEMMES: Women Artists of Note exhibition and had one of those “oh YES” moments upon meeting Denver artist Andrea Kemp and viewing her work. A remarkably talented young artist, Kemp’s paintings are breathtaking.

Speaking about where her inspiration for new work comes from, Kemp related being influenced by something the great American poet Ruth Stone, now in her 90s, once said. Stone related that, when she was growing up in rural Virginia, she’d be out working in the fields and would feel and hear a poem coming at her like a thunderous train, barreling down on her, shaking the ground beneath her feet. The only thing she could do was run like hell to the house for a pencil and paper to get it down before it raced past her in search of another poet. What a vivid image! One that Kemp completely identifies with. An idea for a painting emerges, growing stronger and stronger, grabbing her by the neck—refusing to let go until she’s brushed on the last beautifully crafted brushstroke:

My journey as a painter takes me to new places . . . presenting unique ideas and challenges [often] paralleling other events in my life. Painting is a teacher [and] its possibilities are boundless. It’s a large part of who I am and its meaning is ever changing.

Luv Me Luv Me Not

Kemp grew up in Glenwood Springs, CO, and began painting seriously at the age of 15. The chance to study with nationally acclaimed painter Daniel Sprick, “provided a life-changing foundation for my painting and drawing. His disciplined approach set a great example,” Kemp says. After high school, Kemp studied at the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts in Connecticut, and then completed her BA in Fine Arts at the University of Utah.
In December, Kemp’s work will be exhibited in the 3rd Biennial American Art Invitational, December 3-31st at Saks Galleries, 3019 E. 2nd Ave., Denver, CO. She will also be having a one-woman show at the gallery in 2011.

To see more of the artist’s work:

http://andreakempart.com/2010/
http://www.saksgalleries.com/

– Rosemary Carstens
http://www.CarstensCommunications.com

Denver Lights and City Nights: Celebrate Arts Week in the Mile High City!

Philip Hyde

Friday night a group of us toured four arts districts in Denver, CO, to celebrate First Friday and kick off what promises to be an exciting, fun-filled DENVER ARTS WEEK from November 5-13. I’ve focused here on galleries, but there’s a plethora of cultural events going on, from opera to the 33rd Starz film festival, a scavenger hunt, restaurant and hotel bargains, and special museum exhibits, plus a long list of theater happenings.

We began in the Golden Triangle Museum District near Denver’s Fine Art Museum, parking in the Cultural Complex Garage at 12th Avenue & Broadway, an easy base for walking around to visit some nearby galleries, including:

The Camera Obscura Gallery
Michelle Mosko Fine Art
William Havu Gallery
Walker Fine Art, which will feature a panel discussion DADASPEAK: Shutter Shift, dedicated to changing technologies in photography, Nov. 11.

After a glass of wine, we boarded our bus and headed for the Art District on Santa Fe.  More than 50 galleries, shops, and restaurants span several blocks in the heart of one of Denver’s oldest, predominantly Latino communities. If you can’t make it there during Denver Arts Week, explore the area during the holidays when many of the galleries light the walkways with traditional luminaries—it’s a great area to uncover special gifts!
 

Mimi Carnevale

Next up, Tennyson Street Cultural District. I had not known about this area, described as a “funky yet sophisticated urban neighborhood” that used to be a streetcar corridor in the late 1800s. It’s smack in the center of the Berkeley neighborhood in Northwest Denver and unique locally owned shops, restaurants, and art galleries abound. The streets and shops were crowded with people enjoying an unseasonably warm November evening, with live music playing on the street and even a hair salon sporting fine art and champagne. The energy level was high and the art a mix of sophisticated and eclectic.

Jumping back on our bus, we headed for the River North Art District (RiNo), where more than 60 artists live and work in an area of industrial buildings

Susan Zwick

undergoing a renaissance journey of their own. Here you’ll find architects, art galleries, designers, furniture makers, illustrators, painters, media artists, photographers, sculptors and an array of studio spaces to discover. We visited two and especially loved seeing both the working spaces and a local residence. The Ironton Studios & Gallery, owned by Jill Hadley Hooper (an artist and illustrator herself) and the co-founder of RiNo, welcomed us with a roaring open fire to warm ourselves by as temperatures chilled, and series of studios where artists’ work was on display, including some fabulous puzzle tables and metal sculpture—there’s a real sense here of craft in process. Across the street we toured Weilworks an innovative three-story gallery and residence exhibiting some new work by Tracy Weil. Climbing the circular stairway to “heaven” to view the night lights of Denver from a spectacular perch, I also spotted numerous works by artist Susan Zwick.

What an evening! And we didn’t even scratch the surface of all that Denver has to offer when it comes to fine art. In many ways, the urban scene in this terrific city is a collection of villages, communities in which people live and work and surround themselves with highly developed cultural events and, at its heart, world-class theater, opera, and symphony—enough to keep any culture vulture such as me busy every day of the year! If you are local, get out there this week. If you live elsewhere—it’s time to visit this exciting City on the verge of the incomparable Rocky Mountains.

For more info: Denver Convention & Visitors Bureau

Rosemary Carstens
http://www.CarstensCommunications.com

The Magic of Conversations: Jane Sauer’s Fiber Artistry

For many of us, a trip to Santa Fe, NM, is not complete without stopping in at Jane Sauer’s gallery on Canyon Road to see the latest in high-quality contemporary art. Jane and her gallery manager, Jorden Nye, have a talent for finding the best of the best when it comes to the artists they represent. From Adrian Arleo to Nancy Scheinman, from Geoffrey Gorman to Paul Stankard, Noel Hart, and Gugger Petter, to mention only a few highlights, the work exhibited is first rate. 

But what many of you may not know is that Jane Sauer is an accomplished, highly recognized artist in her own right. Over a successful career of more than 30 years, Jane moved from her original training as a painter to a fascination with fiber. Its tactile qualities and manipulability, combined with her interest in construction techniques and three-dimensional art, led her to distinctive creations such as those you see here.

I find the rich colors, bold shapes, and exquisite handwork of these knotted-linen fiber works fascinating. Each sculpture is made up of rows of hundreds of small half-hitch knots. While they tentatively fall into the category of “basketry,” they are not functional containers or vessels. Instead, they are communications about universal human emotions expressed through abstraction. Frequently, Sauer’s pieces comprise groupings, thereby transforming themselves into “conversations”—magical exchanges with stories all their own. Their titles speak of an inner life, sometimes whimsical, sometimes erotic, sometimes profound, and reflect the artist’s concerns and meditations about relationships.

Enjoying the variety, texture, and narrative quality of this artist’s work, it is easy to understand Jane's success as a gallery owner. With her innate understanding of how artists combine joy and beauty with a superior level of craftsmanship to bring something unusual and exceptional to art lovers, Jane Sauer can spot the winners at a hundred yards!


A must see for your next trip to Santa Fe:
Jane Sauer Gallery
652 Canyon Road
Santa Fe, NM
505-995-8513
http://www.jsauergallery.com

 

-- Rosemary Carstens
http://www.CarstensCommunications.com

Summer time—and the mood is easy: Enjoying John Evans

Painter John Evans’ art works are action stopping. Especially here in mid-August where we are all too keenly aware that the end of summer is approaching, followed inevitably by winter, that season of endurance. His beautifully executed images combine his appreciation for nature’s less populated scenes with the sense that life has happened in each composition and will again. Just wait awhile. Each painting contains a seminal moment captured on canvas and causes the viewer who stumbles on the scene to pause, to contemplate, to wonder.

John Evans, born in 1945 in Mt. Vernon, NY, received both his BFA. and MFA at Boston University where he studied with Philip Guston and James Weeks. Based in Massachusetts, he is best known for his oil paintings of landscapes and seascapes. The paintings depict a variety of national and international settings, from the coast of Cape Cod and the North Shore of Massachusetts to the countryside of central France. In his broad, colorful vistas can be seen the artist’s embracing of light and air, evoking the Luminists of the late 19th century.

Here’s how Evans describes his work, “Ultimately, the paintings are spiritual. They're classic in their concern for the ambiguity of two- and three-dimensional space, but they're also theaters that invite meditation.” 

Evan’s paintings are included in numerous public, corporate, and private collections, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Fogg Art Museum, AT&T, Merrill Lynch and Chase Manhattan Bank. Additionally, a number of his paintings belong to collections in England, Bermuda, Switzerland and France.

John Evans is represented by GALLERY HENOCH in New York City. To see more images: http://www.galleryhenoch.com
 

-- Rosemary Carstens
http://www.CarstensCommunications.com

Inside/Outside: Ceramic artist Adrian Arleo Explores the Mysterious

Janus - 19"x17"x15"

Adrian Arleo is an extraordinarily imaginative ceramic artist and her pieces communicate a sophisticated exploration of the interaction between what is seen and known about the connection between humans and animals—and what is mysterious, unseen, and, perhaps, only intuitable.

Arleo’s latest exhibition, featuring all new works, opens Friday, July 23rd, with an artist’s reception from 5–7pm, and runs through August 16th at the Jane Sauer Gallery in Santa Fe, NM. The artist hails from Lolo, MT, and her studio, as does her work, reflects her fascination with nature’s many forms. In other words, nature doesn’t stay outside while she creates inside. Her window sills, and every surface within her studio, hold a wild collection of beehives, honeycombs, birds’ nests, rocks, twigs, shells, and other bits and pieces she’s come upon outdoors and brought here to consider further, to inspire. The studio’s windows, doors, and the artist herself are open to life and its continually evolving, ever-changing spiritual intersections.

Fascinated by “the glimpses we get into what is normally unseeable and mysterious,” Arleo’s newest works hold both interior and exterior surprises. For example, JANUS, created in January 2010, arose from the mythological Roman God of beginnings, a single figure gazing simultaneously backwards and forwards through time. For the artist, each new year brings fresh possibilities and the baby hidden within this piece “represents this vulnerable, blank slate feeling.”

Standing Lion with Internal Woman - 23"x32"x12"

A constant theme for Arleo is metamorphosis, an exploration of the intersection between man and nature, the shape-shifting thread of relationship that runs constantly between the two. In STANDING LION WITH INTERNAL WOMAN, she uses delicate carving, an open fretwork, to allow us glimpses of a mysterious interior. In all of her pieces, the artist provides an intriguing frame for the viewer’s individual interpretation. As Arleo puts it, her lion figures are “a continuation of the running narrative in all my work, that everything is connected, that there is no 'Other,' that we are made of the same substances and are all dependent upon the same elemental forces.”

Adrian Arleo’s sculpture is exhibited internationally, and is in numerous public and private collections. Her pieces are richly evocative and narrative. Each creation is a complex combination of clay, glazes, and wax encaustic, some including gold leaf, and involves an exceptional degree of craftsmanship. Her work is incomparable and I guarantee that a visit to this exhibition will be rewarding—something you will not soon forget!

Matrimony - 19"x25.5"x14"

Please visit the website at http://www.jsauergallery.com to see more preview images.

-- Rosemary Carstens
http://www.CarstensCommunications.com