Friday, February 15, 2008

RULE Gallery on Broadway







This is one of my favorite galleries, and the first one I ever went to in Denver (perhaps it's a favorite for sentimental reasons). The first show I ever saw there was Yoshitomo Saito's "108 Blue Cranes". I had persuaded C to drive me there as I was unfamiliar with Denver, and the black and white photo in the Westword's review had intrigued me. We found the quiet little space on Broadway, and were pleasantly surprised we had the gallery all to ourselves, which was perfect for such a show.

Visual Summary: A white room with a long row of green/blue squares on the wall.

Wow factor: These paintings are on canvas, but wait! Oh my - they're all bronze!

It was a relaxing show, and with that I mean references to meditation, Buddhism, and all the over themes that other critics would comment on. I found myself more intrigued with the process of making them, then the actual patterns on the bronzes. The room worked well as a whole, but if you seperate out one bronze piece, can it stand alone? Worth seeing the show? Definitely.



Pard Morrison's exhibition "50 Ways To Fall In Love,"

Visual Summary: bright colored squares on the wall and on columns.

Wow factor: Well, they were bright and shiny, but I'm not a mockingbird.

The show was pleasing, but not a huge wow factor. You can't make columns without referencing Anne Truitt, regardless of what color you paint them. Mondrian's paintings comes to mind too. But the surfaces were nice, and anyone could find at least one to take home. And bright colors make people happy, which is a nice thing to see on a bleak winter day. However, it's a shame they couldn't of had this show during Valentine's Day.

C and I play this game when we go to shows, while during a show we have to find 2 answers to the following question? Which piece are you buying if money was unlimited? Which piece are you stealing? Not that we condone stealing art, it's just a fun question. And most people could have found one painting to take home. Did I find a way to fall in love? No, but it wasn't a bad show, and it was worth walking into, even if for a minute to get out of the cold. It did make me want to go shopping at IKEA.

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