It was a revolutionary notion: art that did not depict some exterior reality but created an interior world of its own.
Abstraction was such a cataclysmic overthrow of the status quo that it remains misunderstood and mistrusted by a significant segment of the public nearly 100 years after its emergence in the early 20th century.
It can be loosely defined as any nonreferential art that employs the basic components of form and color to create independent, self-contained paintings and sculptures. The potential variety of permutations is virtually limitless.
Exhibitions at four area galleries offer an idea of the range of possibilities. Abstraction can be rectilinear, intellectual and exacting, as a group of 23 original prints make clear in an exhibition simply titled “Geometric Abstraction.”
It can be sensuous and emotional, drawing power from the sheer physicality and expressiveness of the paint-handling, as seen in Jared Latimer’s kinetic swirls and swishes and Jeffrey Keith’s luxuriantly worked surfaces.
It can suggest an artificial, architectonic three-dimensionality; witness Bruce Price’s colliding, over- packed compositions, which hang precariously in limbo, seemingly poised to implode.
In the ever-changing work of Steve Altman, it can morph from a series of simple, quiet marks to a turbulent, multilayered composition with crudely collaged sections of painted canvas and black felt.
Although viewers easily can be impressed by the telling realism of a gleaming satin dress in a portrait by John Singer Sargent, the virtuosity necessary in abstraction should in no way be underestimated.
To animate a swerving line or even a simple paint drip, to imbue it with emotional power, requires considerable skill and insight, as thousands of lifeless and utterly forgettable abstractions produced each year make abundantly clear.
If none of these offerings can be described as a home run, the one that comes closest is “Steve Altman: Incognito,” running through Nov. 6 at the Mizel Center for Arts and Culture’s always enterprising Singer Gallery.
Although not nearly as large or in-depth as his eye-opening survey at Regis University two years ago, this well-organized offering handsomely showcases the last decade or so of this veteran Denver artist, who remains strangely little known and underappreciated.
Beginning with his “Untitled Pink No. 1” (1997), a masterful example of mark-making, with red, graffiti-like scrawls and other non-sensical notations shrouded in a translucent layer of white paint with a faint pink hue, the show takes surprising turns.
This restless, sometimes quirky but always individualistic artist seems compelled to constantly reinvent himself, even veering into what might best be described as narrative painting in the semi-abstract figurative collage, “Just Keeps Coming Up” (2003).
If a few of these works have a peaceful, orderly quality, others can be turbulent, even bordering on violent, as evidenced by “Union” (2005). This is an acrylic on paper with collaged sections of ripped, painted canvas and crudely applied, horizontal strips of black felt that look like stitches over an incision.
Keith, another longtime Denver artist, possesses a strong understanding of color theory and composition as well as admirable skill with a paintbrush. He always can be counted on for competently realized paintings.
Although his work is evolving and improving, he has yet to develop a truly distinctive voice. Instead of finding his own creative path, he might be too responsive to what else is happening in the art world and too eager to cater to potential buyers.
That said, the 36 large- and small-scale paintings in “Coloris,” a commendably ambitious solo exhibition running through Nov. 5 at the William Havu Gallery, are among Keith’s most pleasing to date, with lush, tactile surfaces and complex color blends.
Drawing on the work of Gerhard Richter and others, he applies generous quantites of oil to his linen surfaces. He shapes the paint and simultaneously blends the colors with careful swipes of a wide blade or squeegee, creating criss-crossing compositional patterns.
Price, another longtime Denver artist, takes a surprising turn from the usual orderliness of his abstractions with six new large-scale paintings in “Full,” an exhibition closing this weekend at the Plus Gallery.
There is no set perspective in these canvases, with their crowded collisions of patterned planes and three-dimensional structures. Although some of the near-chaotic effect is deliberate, there is an unsatisfying lack of resolution to these canvases, a sense that his work is in an awkward transition.
Making a striking debut alongside Price is
Latimer of West Chester, Ohio, who earned his master of fine arts degree from the Pratt Institute in 2003. He shows a sure hand in these strong works, with their pleasing gesturalism and dynamic, layered compositions.
“Geometric Abstraction,” on view through Nov. 4 at the UMC Gallery at the University of Colorado at Boulder, features selectons from the CU Art Museum by such artists as Herbert Bayer and Frank Stella.
Though nearly a century old, abstraction clearly remains a vibrant, relevant mode of artistic expression.
Fine arts critic Kyle MacMillan can be reached at 303-820-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com.
“Steve Altman: Incognito”
Through Nov. 6|Survey of the artist’s paintings|Singer Gallery, Mizel Center for Arts and Culture, 350 S. Dahlia St.|Free|9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays (303-316-6360 or mizelcenter.org)
“Coloris”
Through Nov. 5|Exhibition of paintings by Jeffrey Keith|William Havu Gallery, 1040 Cherokee St.|Free|10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays (303-893-2360 or williamhavugallery.com)
“Full” and “Planning Abstract”
Through Saturday|Exhibition of paintings by Bruce Price and Jared Latimer|Plus Gallery, 2350 Lawrence St.|Free|Noon to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays (303-296-0927 or plusgallery.com)
“Geometric Abstraction”
Through Nov. 4|23 original prints|UMC Gallery, second floor, University Memorial Center, Broadway and Euclid Avenue, University of Colorado at Boulder|Free|9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays (umc.colorado.edu/sse/art.html)
2more
“OF FANTASY & MAKE-BELIEVE” The most engaging shows at the Edge Gallery, 3658 Navajo St., are typically found in its Associate Space. That is certainly true at the moment. Denver artist Melinda Laz has made an exciting breakthrough with a group of 11 monotypes, in which she has placed transfers of vintage photographic portraits in kind of storybook, archetypal settings. She has found expressive power in this merger of the real and fanciful. The show runs through Sunday. 303-477-7173 or edgegallery.org.
“FIGURE AS MEDIUM” Wondering where the young talent is in Denver? Take a look at Tiffany Kennedy’s ambitious exhibition on view through Oct. 16 in the Associate Space at Pirate: A Contemporary Art Oasis, 3659 Navajo St. Still a student at the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design, she has to be the most promising young figurative artist in the area. In these 21 works, she demonstrates a strong sense of draftsmanship and moves easily from painting to drawing to printmaking. 303-458-6058 or pirateart.org.
-Kyle MacMillan
