The is piggybacking on the Denver Art Museum’s major exhibit of Vincent van Gogh paintings this fall with a special show connecting the two painters’ ideas and inspirations.
“Vincent/Clyfford” opens Sept. 14 in the Still’s Hugh Grant and Merle Chambers Gallery, with DAM’s closely behind, starting Oct. 21.
Both shows close January 20.
Linking the output of painters who worked a century apart may seem like a stretch, but not if you consider that each artist was known for his strident attitudes and willingness to paint his visions, even when it wasn’t all that pleasant to look at.
Here’s how David Anfam, the Still’s adjunct curator, put it in the show’s announcement: “We are certain Clyfford Still identified with Vincent van Gogh on myriad levels, not least of which was their shared commitment to art as a kind of religious faith, and their mutual sense of themselves as outsiders.”
He goes on: “Both envisioned the role of the artist as a kind of moral force within society, and neither painter was afraid of pictorial ugliness as an expression of sincerity in their respective creative output.”
Also in common: a focus on farms and laborers, the use of exaggerated features and expressions, a certain sort of dark, moodiness (that you know when you see their work).
The exhibit will feature 25 Still paintings and some reproductions of van Gogh work. The museum is promising “extended wall text” to help make its point.
A few related events promise to be interesting:
Sept. 14: Anfam gives the exhibit’s keynote lecture. 6 p.m. Denver Art Museum’s Sharp Auditorium, 100 W. 14th Ave. Pkwy. $10 public; $5 Clyfford Still Museum members.
Nov. 8: “One Painting at a Time: Perspectives.” Timothy J. Standring, curator of “Becoming Van Gogh,” chats about one painting from “Vincent/Clyfford,” part of the Still’s “One Painting at a Time” series. 1 p.m. Clyfford Still Museum’s Lanny and Sharon Martin Galleries, 1250 Bannock St. Free with museum admission.
Jan. 17: “Vincent, Vincente, and the Image of the Artist.” This event features a screening of director Vincente Minnelli’s 1956 van Gogh biopic, ” 6:30 p.m. Clyfford Still Museum’s Anschutz Foundation Atrium. $10 public; $7 members.
There’s more, too. Check it out: clyffordstillmuseum.org.
Ray Mark Rinaldi: 303-954-1540, rrinaldi@denverpost.com or twitter.com/rayrinaldi
