The eyes of the international art world will be on Colorado this fall, as the Denver Art Museum unveils its much-anticipated $90.5 million addition, with a radical design by architect Daniel Libeskind.
The Oct. 7 opening will be the fall season’s biggest event by far, with more than 100 area cultural organizations sponsoring related activities as part of a citywide initiative titled, “Hot DAM: Arts at Altitude.”
Named for philanthropist and museum trustee Frederic C. Hamilton, the expansion is expected to draw 1 million visitors in its first year alone and significantly raise the profile of the sometimes underappreciated institution.
Three special exhibitions – each a major show in its own right – will mark the building’s debut. They are drawn from world-class private collections: one a recent gift, another a promised donation and the third a loan.
The year-long exhibits are: “Breaking the Mold: The Virginia Vogel Mattern Collection of Contemporary Native American Art,” “Japanese Art From the Colorado Collection of Kimiko and John Powers” and “Radar: Selections From the Collection of Vicki and Kent Logan.”
Here’s a look at 11 other significant exhibitions around Colorado this fall:
“Herbert Bayer: Earth and Air,” Philip J. Steele Gallery, Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design, through Sept. 23; “Bauhaus Master: Six Decades of Herbert Bayer Posters from the Bayer Family Collection,” Hatton Gallery, Colorado State University, through Oct. 13. As part of a career that took Bayer around the world, the multifaceted modernist spent nearly 30 years in Aspen beginning in 1946 and developed a close kinship with the state.
“Waves on the Turquoise Lake: Contemporary Expressions of Tibetan Art,” CU Art Museum, University of Colorado at Boulder, Thursday-Oct. 20. Billed as the first major museum exhibition to showcase contemporary Tibetan art, it spotlights 17 creators working inside and outside their native land. Selections range from reinterpretations of traditional Buddhist scroll paintings to digital and installation art.
“Extended Remix,” Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver, Friday-Jan. 7, 2007. A follow-up to the museum’s recent “Decades of Influence,” this show examines works by 30 veteran, midcareer and emerging artists who live and work in Colorado. Included will be Lawrence Argent, Rokko Aoyama, Mary Ehrin, Ana Maria Hernando, Robert Mangold, Clark Richert and Carley Warren.
“Selected Prints From Universal Limited Art Editions,” Rule Gallery, Friday-Oct. 21. After a six-month absence, one of the city’s top commercial spaces returns with a bang. The Rule Gallery, which has moved a block north to 227 Broadway, is reopening with a selection of original prints by such heavy hitters as Lee Bontecou, Chuck Close, Marisol Escobar, Jasper Johns, James Rosenquist and Susan Rothenberg.
“Fantome Afrique,” The Laboratory of Art and Ideas at Belmar, Saturday-Dec. 30. The Denver Art Museum’s addition is not the only institution in town attracting national attention. The Lab, an experimental think tank and art space, debuts Saturday with a three-screen film installation by Isaac Julien. His works have been shown at Documenta and the Whitney Biennial.
“Mel Strawn: All Together Now, 1940s-2000s,” Vida Ellison Gallery, Denver Central Library, Sept. 18-Nov. 24. This former member of the University of Denver art faculty ranks among Colorado’s best-known living artists. With more than 65 paintings, drawings and prints, this retrospective will offer an in-depth overview of the Salida resident’s 50-year career.
“Treasures Revealed: The Art of Hungary, 1890-1955,” Emmanuel Gallery, Oct. 6-Nov. 2. Unlike the nations of Western Europe, Hungary’s modern art history remains little known. This exhibition, marking the 50th anniversary of the country’s uprising against its communist occupiers, will examine a 65-year period beginning in 1890. More than 60 paintings, drawings and decorative objects from two private collections will be included.
“Colorado Biennial,” Aspen Art Museum, Part 1, Oct. 12-29, Part 2, Nov. 9-26. This small but adventuresome institution fills an important void with the establishment of a high- level biennial exhibition focused on Colorado. The show’s two installments,running slightly more than two weeks, feature bodies of work by six familiar and not-so-familiar artists.
“Under the Radar: Chinese Contemporary Art,” Robischon Gallery, Nov. 4-Dec. 30. Some of China’s top contemporary artists, many of them among the hottest talents on the world scene, are featured in this group survey. Several, including Yue Min Jun and the Luo Brothers, also will be seen in the Denver Art Museum’s concurrent exhibition, “Radar,” a title that served as an obvious inspiration.
“Andrea Modica Photographs: The Orchard Series,” Sandy Carson Gallery, Nov. 30-Jan.5, 2007. Though not a big name in the broader art world, Modica, who spent seven years in Manitou Springs before moving to the East Coast last year, is highly respected among photography cognoscenti. Pervading her images is a sense of mystery, an enigmatic narrative that can seem otherworldly and even unsettling at times.
Fine arts critic Kyle MacMillan can be reached at 303-954-1675 or kmacmillan @denverpost.com.
