A common way to organize art exhibitions is to group them around a theme — a common subject, style or medium. But too often, such assemblies of work come off as simplistic and overly obvious.
So, when noted husband-and-wife artists Jeff Starr and Susan Meyer began planning a year ago a possible show with area artists they admire, the Denver couple made a point of trying to avoid such pitfalls.
“We thought it would be cool,” Meyer said, “to put together a slightly unexpected mix and one that we felt worked together, but we didn’t want to be pat. We didn’t want it be, ‘Yeah, here’s the work all lined up and it follows a theme, and it is served up to you with a bow.’ “
What resulted is a quirky and, in some ways, playful exhibition called “Invincible Cohort,” drawing on the title of a painting by Giorgio de Chirico. The offering runs through July 3 at the Plus Gallery, which represents Meyer.
Starr originally had visions of an offering with as many as 50 artists, but, in the end, he and Meyer settled on a smaller, 19-piece show that would fit into the gallery’s compact first-floor display space.
Besides works by the two curators, it features selections by six other local artists of whom they have been fans. Included are well-known names, such as Mary Ehrin and Bill Amundson, who are represented at the Denver Art Museum, and less mainstream talents like Jason Appleton and Justin Beard.
It is difficult to pin down exactly what ties together these drawings, paintings, sculptures and video works, and that’s the point. Meyer and Starr were inspired by subtle, thought-provoking group exhibitions they have encountered in New York, where the interrelationships among the works can be elusive.
“We wanted something where some mysterious connections were at play, . . . some overarching themes that left the viewer with things to consider and think about,” Meyer said.
She describes the loose theme of the show in part as a kind of exploration of human presence in disjointed, empty and unexpected surroundings.
Nowhere is this idea more evident than in “Lost at Land,” Beard’s series of spare videos set along a gravel road in some anonymous rural setting. Each consists of a short, enigmatic narrative revolving around bottles that are discarded, buried and rediscovered.
In other works, the artists get at this notion of human dissociation by floating often disembodied faces on abstract backgrounds, an approach Starr uses in his posterlike painting, “Invincible Cohort,” and an 8-by-6-inch portrait onboard, “Drifter.”
In a takeoff on her fantastical, topographic installations, Meyer has created “Shaft,” a kind of imaginary, futuristic world carved out of a layered, rainbow-colored plexiglass cylinder 14 inches in diameter. It is populated with tiny, nude figures engaged in an array of activities.
Loose groupings of work like this exhibition sometimes end up as little more than disjunctive conglomerations. But Meyer and Starr brought an intelligence and sophisticated visual sense to this show that gives it a cohesion, however hard to define.
In a further affirmation of their curatorial ambition, Meyer, who teaches at the University of Denver, received a small grant from the school to put together an accompanying 40-page catalog that includes an essay by longtime Denver curator and writer Simon Zalkind.
This artistic cohort might not be wholly invincible, but all the people involved definitely know how to put onn offbeat, intriguing show.
Kyle MacMillan: 303-954-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com
“INVINCIBLE COHORT.”
Art. Plus Gallery, 2501 Larimer St. Noted husband-and-wife artists Jeff Starr and Susan Meyer of Denver organized this show, which features 19 works by them and six other local artists they admire. Through July 3; catalog- release party from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday. Open from noon to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays. Free. 303-296-0927 or .
