is a Colorado nonprofit with a unique mission: It wants to educate people about the intricacies of the art market.
More people will buy art if it’s less intimidating, the organization believes, and that will support artists, who have a “special calling” to add beautiful things to the world we live in.
At the same time, the organization helps another group with a special calling, Denver’s Dominican priests. Windows to the Divine holds annual art sales in which 60 percent of the proceeds go to the artist who made the work and the other 40 percent goes toward the local religious order’s work caring for the elderly, homeless and others in need.
The efforts come together this week with an afternoon public symposium on art buying at the followed by the opening of “Renaissance of Realism,” a month-long exhibit at Gallery 1261 in the Golden Triangle. Works by leading Colorado artists, such as and Quang Ho, will be up for sale.
The pieces aren’t the usual stuff of charity auctions, they’re more on the fine art side. Prices reach higher than $40,000, although there are many available in the $2,000 range — still expensive for some but relatively cheap in the gallery world. The point is to get quality art in the lives and homes of more people.
“There’s such a wealth of art out there at every price point imaginable,” said Shannon Robinson, a local collector and the driving force behind Windows to the Divine. “We’re not telling the story well enough about how much is available.”
To Robinson, there’s a natural connection between the worlds of patronage and philanthropy because artists and those who tend to the needy often share a passion, a spiritual compulsion even, to complete their work.
“Call it what you will, it’s an inner drive that makes them do what they do,” she said.
The Dominicans fit doubly into the picture. The 15th-century Catholic priest known as Fra Angelico was a Dominican revered for his sacred frescoes. Pope John Paul II beatified him in 1982, and he is now considered the patron saint of artists.
Windows to the Divine takes a step-by-step approach to its work, emphasizing education first, buying second. That is at the center of the Friday symposium where speakers will include , one of DAM’s top curators. Artists, dealers and academics also will speak.
“There will be a lot of practical advice about what kinds of things collectors should consider when acquiring art,” said Robinson.
The full day is $49 and includes the reception for the exhibit “Renaissance of Realism,” set for Friday evening. The show is a partnership with , which is contributing the space and adding to the lure of gallery visits with its own realism show featuring other artists, many well-known. The work remains on sale until the show comes down Dec. 5.
Windows to the Divine hopes the event will bring attention to its year-round efforts to teach people about buying art. Its “Collectors for Connoisseurship” program is an online forum where collectors share information, learn through blogs and videos and interact with artists and dealers.
The group takes no money from its sales. It just wants to spark the market by taking the mystery out of transactions and redefining what it means for people to buy.
“If they understood more, they would stop looking at art as a commodity instead of as a way of supporting artists with unique talent,” Robinson said.
More info
For info on Windows to the Divine, or its symposium and exhibit, windowstothedivine.org.
