LoDo is finding its future in its past.
Lower downtown was Denver’s unrivaled art district in the early 1990s, with as many as 30 galleries at its peak.
But skyrocketing rents and the changing nature of the neighborhood, spurred in part by the arrival of Coors Field, forced many of those spaces to close or move to other parts of the city.
While LoDo retained a scattering of galleries, it quickly became overshadowed by larger, newly formed art districts along Santa Fe Drive and in River North.
But the good old days may be returning, at least partially. Translations Gallery, a 3-year-old space that relocated earlier this month to a historic building at 1743 Wazee St., is the district’s latest arrival.
The move to this more visible site is a bold attempt by this up-and-coming contemporary gallery to separate itself from the pack, boost its profile and attract higher-end clientele.
It joins three other galleries along that block of Wazee, including two stalwarts — the Center for Visual Art and Robischon Gallery — and Visions West Galleries, which opened in the spring of 2007.
Translations debuted in June 2006 in a space along Santa Fe Drive, moving after two years to a building on Inca Street, one block east.
But perceptions of crime and neglect of some of the buildings in the district made some of the gallery’s clients leery to go there, especially after dark. And there was little walk-in traffic, and parking was a constant challenge.
“We put a lot of work and energy into the ArtDistrict on Santa Fe, but it wasn’t the right place for us personally, so that is why we started looking elsewhere and did a lot of searching all around downtown primarily,” said owner Judy Hagler.
Earlier this year, during a visit to the Center for Visual Art, gallery director Kate Chimenti noticed a for-lease sign in the space across Wazee Street. She took a peek in the window of what had formerly been a hair salon and immediately realized its potential.
The new 2,100-square-foot location is close to restaurants and bars, as well as nearby corporate clients. In addition, out-of-town visitors staying downtown can jump on the shuttle and be there in minutes.
“Who our audience is and who we’re appealing to and our image — this is much better for us in terms of a location,” Hagler said.
She acknowledges that relocating during the worse recession in decades was risky, but she said the gallery might not have survived if it didn’t.
“We needed to spend the money to make this move to position ourselves as things start to get better, because people were not finding us down there (on Santa Fe), and people are going to start finding us here.”
When it began, Translations focused exclusively on tapestry and other fiber art, because Hagler was a part-time fiber artist and knew the field. But she and Chimenti gradually realized that the market was too limited in Denver for such a specialization.
So, the gallery branched into sculpture and fine furniture, putting its main emphasis on painting. It still favors artists who employ fiber-art techniques, such as Ruth Borgenicht of Glen Ridge, N.J., who creates chain-mail sculptures in stoneware.
In all, the space represents 18 artists, including ones from Peru and Norway. Five reside in Colorado, among them Deidre Adams of Littleton, Anne Bossert of Fort Collins and Rob Williams of Windsor.
Solo exhibitions will rotate every four to six weeks on one side of the space, with its 20-foot ceilings and exposed wood-beam supports. The rest of the gallery is devoted to examples by the gallery’s other artists.
“I just want people to come into an airy open, inviting space,” Chimenti said. “We try to keep plants around, and we set up comfy chairs, and we just want people to come in and relax.”
Kyle MacMillan: 303-954-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com
