Gabriel Liston, a Portland, Ore., artist who grew up in Glenwood Springs, conjures a strange and subtly unsettling storybook world of double rainbows and children playing in a new group of paintings at the Plus Gallery, 2501 Larimer St.
Normally, the saccharine and illustrational nature of these quirky works would be strikes against them, but Liston is obviously deploying both qualities in a deliberate way while using them for his not completely obvious artistic ends.
This mild subversiveness combined with a darkness that lurks palpably just below the surface in these seemingly lighthearted works combine to give them their disconcerting feel — a sense amplified by the show’s less than upbeat title, “Still On the Wrong Side of the Water.”
Along with paintings ranging from 16 inches square to 32 by 30 inches, Liston is showing a grid of 54 “blue book tiles.” These blue-and-white drawings on the shrouded covers of used paperback books continue the show’s theme in simpler terms.
Liston’s exhibition runs through Aug. 20. Free. 303-296-0927 or . Kyle MacMillan
