Sorting through any period in art history to pinpoint the most influential and important artists always presents a knotty challenge, and the difficulty only escalates the closer that time is to the present.
Yet Cydney Payton, director/curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver, took on just such a task with “Decades of Influence: Colorado 1985-Present,” a massive exhibition opening June 16 and running through Aug. 27.
She chose what she believes to be the top 72 Colorado artists during the 21-year period, putting an emphasis on those whose work helped shape or was closely related to key artistic movements nationally and internationally.
The show, which will incorporate 150-175 works in media ranging from painting to video, will be spread among four locations, including the contemporary art museum and the Metropolitan State College of Denver’s Center for Visual Art.
First as an art dealer, then as director of the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art and now in her current position, Payton believes she has had an ideal vantage point to watch the evolution of the Colorado art scene and spot its key players.
“It would definitely be my take,” she said. “It’s a very subjective exhibition, but I also think I have a responsibility, since I do have somewhat of a depth of understanding of what Colorado art has been about since the mid-1980s.”
Payton has no doubt that the show will generate controversy, but she is unfazed by the prospect.
“That’s totally acceptable to me,” she said. “I’m willing to accept the challenges of trying to document the history that I participated in.”
Here’s a look at 10 other notable art exhibitions this summer in Colorado region:
“Hung Liu and Rene Yung, The Vanishing: Re-presenting the Chinese in the American West,” through Sept. 30, University of Wyoming Art Museum|Drawing on both Eastern and Western traditions and employing extraordinary technical finesse, Liu has created some of the most memorable paintings of the past couple of decades. In this show, she joins Yung in examining a little-known aspect of Western history.
“Falling Without Fear: Exploring the Otherworld,” through Aug. 26, Sangre de Cristo Arts Center, Pueblo|This show, which is co-curated by Annick Bureaud, a Paris-based art critic, is part of a series of summer offerings titled “Zero Gravity.” Focusing on technology-based art, it includes abstract interpretations of the cosmos and animations of the imagined birth of the universe.
“David Hockney: A Rake’s Progress,” through July 21, CU Art Museum, University of Colorado at Boulder|Hockney, a British expatriate who has long lived in California, ranks among the world’s best-known living artists. In 1961-63, when his career was still in its early stages, he created “A Rake’s Progress,” a set of 16 etchings updating and rethinking a satiric 18th-century portfolio of the same title by William Hogarth.
“Doug Aitken: A Photographic Survey,” through July 23, Aspen Art Museum|Work by this Los Angeles-based artist was featured in the 1997 and 2000 Whitney biennials, and he won the International Prize at the 1999 Venice Biennale. Although Aaitken is best known for multiscreen video installations, this show will focus exclusively on his dreamlike photography.
“Bernar Venet: Sculpture and Works on Paper,” through July 29, Robischon Gallery|When it was installed outside the Colorado Convention Center in 2004, Venet’s “Indeterminate Line,” a 33-foot-tall steel sculpture with a spiraling, slightly torqued form, became an instant landmark. Smaller works by the internationally recognized artist will be on view in this exhibition.
“Fonseca’s Coyote: Living with the Trickster,” Thursday through July 15, Emmanuel Gallery, Auraria campus|The coyote has a long tradition in American Indian beliefs, fulfilling many roles from creator to fool. The character has appeared for 30 years in the work of Harry Fonseca, an internationally recognized artist of Maidu, Hawaiian and Portuguese heritage.
“Heaven and Earth: Revisiting the Jan and Frederick Mayer Collection,” June 16-Oct. 18, Museo de las Américas|The two Denver collectors have earned an international reputation for their discerning eye, unflagging tenacity and philanthropic spirit. Nearly 40 top works from their superb Spanish collection will be on view in this survey.
“The Armory Group: 40 Years,” June 22-Aug. 20, Singer Gallery, Mizel Center for Arts and Culture, |In the 1960s, a former armory on the edge of the University of Colorado at Boulder campus was put at the disposal of the school’s department of fine arts. It became an extraordinary crucible of creative development, with many of the students who had studios there becoming the state’s artistic stars.
“Colorado Modernism: 1930-1970,” July 15-Sept. 15, Foothills Art Center, Golden|Veteran Denver artist Tracy Felix serves as guest curator for this ambitious show examining the array of 20th-century Colorado artists who worked in a modernist vein. The show will draw on several private collections as well as area museum holdings.
“Sue Coe: Selections from ‘Sheep of Fools,'” Aug. 3-Sept. 8, Emmanuel Gallery|Coe was one of the hot artists of the 1980s, but her prominence has diminished since then. Selections from her latest group of drawings, exploring relationships between humans and animals, offer an opportunity to see the evolution of her work and re-evaluate her place in contemporary art.
Fine arts critic Kyle MacMillan can be reached at 303-820-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com.
