August in Denver

At the Denver Art Museum: The Big Sweep by Coos van Bruggen and Claus Oldenberg, Lawrence Weiner's 

"As To Be in Plain Sight" across the street and you can just make out the Red Grooms "Shoot Out" to the right, on the roof.

I didn't get around to see much art on my short trip back to Denver in August.

This exhibition is headlining at the Denver Art Museum through Jan 9, 2011.  

I decided to pass.

Locking Piece.

I made a point of checking out the installation of Henry Moore sculptures at the Denver Botanic Gardens.  The nine month long exhibit places 20 of the artist's sizable works throughout the grounds. 
Visiting the Botanic gardens is one of the most urbane experiences Denver has to offer and the presence of these works just piles on that effect.
There are very few vistas in the gardens that belie urban surroundings beyond the perimeter of foliage.  The pervasively visible border between the natural and the constructed enhances the experience of the sculptures - from my view.  In most cases the sculptures, arrayed within the sweep of flora were seen in relation with some other architectural or man made detail within the field of view.  In the few instances, such as in the image directly below, where a work rests in isolation amidst a believably natural setting, the effect feels forced and contrived.  It's a great exhibit made even better by the ability to experience through the procession of seasons.

Large Totem Head

Large Reclining Figure

Reclining Figure: Arch Leg

Knife Edge Two Piece

Hill Arches

Goslar Warrior

Above and below: opposing views of Oval with Points

Three Piece Reclining Figure: Draped

And then:

At the time, I puzzled over what this was trying to say - or why it needed to be said. 

Now I just don't know why it's on a bumper sticker.

Open Studio Revue Sept 25 & 26, 2010

A view of Angelika's studio.

By all accounts, this year's Beacon Open Studios was as well attended as last year.  Here at Kamp Maykr traffic was less than last year. Saturday was utterly dead but Sunday saw a steadier flow of people through the space for most of the day.  This year, both Angelika and I opened up our spaces.  She played a couple of her recent videos and showed various elements that were part of her recent MFA thesis project.  Additionally, on Saturday, she video taped Frits Zernike reading her her thesis.

 Frits in the midst of bringing A's academic writing to life.

I had been looking forward to Open Studio since last year, and I was hoping to create a couple of works for outside.  However, a severe bout of sciatica that's been plaguing me for a couple months nixed most of those plans, so I simply brought out some of my recent, in progress works, and pretty much left the space in it's everyday state - with a little less clutter on the floor.

 Remnants, 2010 gouache on drywall.

 a small untitled work outside.

Folded and Stacked, latex paint

Chris Jones with Fendry Ekel at Ana Cristea Gallery in NYC, Oct 14-Nov 13, 2010

                                                (l) Fendry Ekel, Srebrenican Horse #2, 2010, (r) Chris Jones, work in progress (rubbish pile), 2010

I received an email the other day from London based artist Chris Jones informing me about a two person show he's participating in with Fendry Ekel at the Ana Cristea Gallery in Chelsea in NYC. Chris was an artist in residence at HVCCA in 2008 where he turned the upstairs gallery into a mess of books and magazines from which he culls photographic imagery on which his paper sculptures rely for both their structure and their surface character.  Back in 2008 I made a couple of visits to Chris' studio bearing a pile of magazines from folks in Beacon to add to the stash from which his work is created.

A view of Chris Jones' studio floor at HVCCA in 2008.

The exhibit at Ana Cristea Gallery opens with a reception from 6-8pm on Thursday, Oct 14 and runs through Nov 13.