The Gleaners Opens Thursday

Wow! Has it really been a month since I last posted. Well, in that month we have rearranged our office, taken down the Thompson show, and are almost finished preparing for our next show opening this Thursday. That might explain why I’ve been such a terrible blogger. But I’m here today on this snowy Monday with exciting news.  This Thursday, February 11th, the School of Art and Art History’s (SAAH) Curatorial Practicum will open their second show with The Gleaners: Contemporary Art from the Collection of Sarah and Jim Taylor. For those that have not been regularly following my posts, the Curatorial Practicum is a class of undergraduate and graduate art history students that teaches the process of creating an exhibition.  This show’s student curators are Samantha Carantit, Lindsay Smith, Alexa Coulton and Laurel Wilkey.  As the title reflects, the show will include the works of local collectors Sarah and Jim Taylor.  The artists being represented are Kehinde Wiley, Iona Rozeal Brown, Shinique Smith, Sam Flores, Lu Cong, Nathan Mabry, Luis Gispert, Titus Kaphar, Zoe Charlton, Rick Delaney, Charlie Roberts, Simmons and Burke, and Whitney Bedford. Now why The Gleaners for a title? Hmmmmm… That’s a question I have, too. Good thing the curatorial team is on the way to our office.  I have a few more questions for them so look for their interview in the next few days. In the mean time if you want to look into the artists I’ve included some links below. And of course, set your iPhone iCal reminder for the Opening on Thursdsay, February, 11th from 5-8pm.

Now back to work. As always, see you on the flip side.

Kehinde Wiley
Iona Rozeal Brown
Shinique Smith
Sam Flores
Lu Cong
Nathan Mabry
Luis Gispert
Titus Kaphar
Zoe Charlton
Rick Delaney
Charlie Roberts
Simmons and Burke
Whitney Bedford

Myhren Gallery In the News

The Denver Post, “Best Bets”, January 8, 2010
By Kyle MacMillan

Thompson gained artistic influence through teaching

While John Edward Thompson never achieved much of a national profile, the gifted, forward-looking artist was an influential teacher who injected a much-needed jolt of modernity into Colorado art.

Thompson (1882-1945), the focus of a wide-ranging career survey at the Denver Public Library in 2005, is featured in a smaller, less in-depth yet still engaging overview continuing through Jan. 17 at the University of Denver’s Myhren Gallery, 2121 E. Asbury Ave.

Like many other American artists of the period, the Buffalo native lived and worked in Paris in the early 1900s, gaining valuable exposure to cubism, fauvism and the other innovative developments coursing through the city.

This compact show, commendably curated by Sarah Mills, Kirsten Nicholas and Molly Nuanes, three students in DU’s museum studies program, includes sketches from this period as well as a related John Marin-like watercolor, “Untitled (Study for Paris Rooftops)” circa 1918.

In addition to other paintings and drawings that offer glimpses of Thompson’s stylistic diversity, the show offers welcome background on his little-known murals at DU and St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral.

Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_14136466#ixzz0c9awpjUX

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Westword, “Best Bets”

Future Projections

By Susan Froyd

Think of Brooklyn-based videographer Cliff Evans as a Great Master for a budding century, one whose brave new palette leaves the rectangle of the canvas light years behind. In his three-channel HD video work, Citizen: The Wolf and the Nanny, the montagist unleashes a multi-screen barrage of images lifted from the Internet to create a narrative about nature overcome by technological culture. It’s stuff that could only be dreamt up by a modern-day Bosch, and that’s just where the comparisons start: The critics associate Evans and his rapid-fire animated collages with everyone and everything from Dalí to Monty Python to William Burroughs, and his works channel a Blade Runner cyberpunk sensibility right out of William Gibson. Hold on to your seats.

The Wolf and the Nanny, along with three other single-channel works (Citizen: Camping at Home and a pair of untitled “sketches” for a planned monument to the author J.G. Ballard), comprises a video installation — Evans’s first in Colorado — that opens today at the University of Denver’s Victoria H. Myhren Gallery, 2121 East Asbury Avenue. The projections take over the gallery at a reception tonight from 5 to 8 p.m.; in addition, Evans will participate in a free artist talk and panel discussion tomorrow at 11 a.m. in Sturm Hall 286 on the DU campus. The exhibition continues through February 21; for more information, visit www.du.edu/art/myhrengallery.htm or call 303-871-3716.

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The Denver Post, “Decade in Review: Art”, December, 27, 2009
By Kyle MacMillan

Top 10 Art Shows of 2009

“Paul Soldner Ceramics: A Master Teacher at Work,” University of Denver, Victoria Myhren Gallery.
“Wayne Thiebaud: 70 Years of Painting,” ” Loveland Museum/Gallery.
“The Baroque World of Fernando Botero,” Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center.
“Mile High and Underground,” Byers-Evans House Gallery.
Birger Sandzen, David Cook Fine Art.
Fred Tomaselli, Aspen Art Museum.
“Stephen Batura: Borrowing Time,” Robischon Gallery.
“The Masterworks of Charles M. Russell,” Denver Art Museum.
“Embrace!,” Denver Art Museum.
“Hung Liu: Apsaras,” Fort Collins Museum of Contemporary Art.

Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/entertainment/ci_14067223#ixzz0c9uJUHCd

Ummm…I…um like your work? How to talk to an artist

Being able to meet an artist can be a fabulous experience…or incredibly intimidating depending on your adeptness at speaking with strangers who think way outside the box. If you are one of those that aren’t as comfortable, the entire Myhren gallery staff has prepared a short guide for you.  We’ve included the do’s and don’ts followed by a list of general questions.  Talking one on one with an artist allows you a unique opportunity to discuss what you find interesting and get your questions answered. Don’t worry about asking a question because you think it will make you look dumb or what you are supposed to ask. An artist has created a work to engender conversation and there isn’t a right or wrong response.

One thing you always want to make sure you do before approaching an artist, especially if you aren’t already familiar with his or her work, is spend some time looking at the work and read the artist’s statement.  The statement is where the artist verbally expresses what his or her work is about and can be a guide on what to look for or how to approach the art. It’s usually found at the entrance to a gallery or the beginning of a show. The best questions are always ones that have to do with your own observations.  It’s also a good idea to stick to content and the meaning of the work before asking technical questions.  If you really want to know what type of camera the artist used, ask after you’ve discussed the meaning of the work.  Now, if you do all this and you need some help getting the conversation rolling, we’ve prepared a list of go-to questions below.

What inspires your work?
What inspired the show?
What are you working on now?
How much time does it take to complete a work?
Have you always worked in this medium (painting, sculpture, photography, film)?
When you start on the final object do you have set ideas in mind for the finished product or does the work inspire you as you create it?
What do you want your audience to take away from your work?
Did the work change at all from your initial conception to the final outcome?
What challenges do you face when creating a piece?
Are there other artists who have influenced your work?

Remember these are normal people. They hate when their alarm clock goes off in the morning, their socks mysteriously go missing in the dryer, and they are also nervous meeting you! So relax and try out your new skills tomorrow with Cliff Evans during his opening reception.  Cliff beat the snowstorm in today and will be on hand to talk about his three channel HD video installation “Citizen” from 5-8pm in our gallery.  If you want to do a little homework before you come his website is a great resource.  If you don’t get a chance to talk to Cliff tomorrow, you can attend his presentation on Friday, January 8^th at 11AM in Sturm Hall room 286.

As always see you on the flip side.