Square Dots & Core

Sharon McEachern's paintings at Core new art space are up until this Easter Sunday. The paintings are fun and whimsical. "Moo" a pink cow, with a big red tongue is the most interesting and entertaining. All acrylic, they are made up of small squares of colors, reminiscent of Aboriginal dot paintings. The craftsmanship is not pristine, but it is easy to appreciate her use of color and technique.

Half-Truths

"Half-Truths" isn't a bad little show by Patricia Miller. It's up at Spark Gallery on Santa Fe, until this Sunday, March 23rd (closing coffee Noon- 5pm). Miller's work reminds me of a lot of Freshmen, Sophomore Art School work, where students experiment with collage and layering of paper and text. "Half-Truths" is a good blend of sculpture, assemblage, and collage. The tea stained pallatte is common but always contemporary. The collages, are something you might see for Anthropologie's Spring home collection, which means although commercial, they have a mass appeal to the market interested in handmade well crafted items. It's obvious her work is influenced by Joseph Cornell, which isn't a bad thing. Perhaps a feminine interpretation of Cornell. I found it interesting she's worked in a book store for many years. It seems apparent in the repeated text throughout her work. Her work is also reminiscent of the series "Griffin & Sabine" by Nick Bantock. Worth taking a stroll through the gallery.

Photography Month

Apparantly it's Photography Month in Denver, so in honor of capturing light, I'll mention a photography show I enjoyed recently on First Friday this month. Anthony Camera's show is up at Fresh Art Studios, behind Core Gallery on Santa Fe. It's a maze back there, but worth navigated to find the good stuff. You can tell right away Camera has a sense of humor. He prints bright colors, high contrast (in a good way) and humorous expressions. His work is commercial, yet his Raphaelesque female portraits, resemble some great contemporary photographers such as Jeurgen Teller. There's also some interesting wedding shots, which is hard to do creatively when we're talking wedding photography without looking cheesy. Have a look, it's worth the time.

"Love" @ Showings

There is one painting to see at Showings Fine Art on Santa Fe. It's not the most technically well done painting, but it's one worth spending time in front of. Dan & Adam Conard's work is up until March 29th. When you first walk in to Showings, the painting is on the left, on an easel.

It's titled, "Love", by Adam of the Conards, and depicts a Rhino and an orange flower. It's a steal at $900. The background, composition, and flowers are somewhat similar to the painting, shown here, "Envy", by Adam Conard.

It's a beautiful painting, for it's quietness, and for its simplicity in the relationship between the African beast and the flower. Both C & I agreed this was something we would want in our home, and it's rare that C & I will come to the same conclusion about art. (When we first moved to Denver, my art was hung on the walls in the first week. C's is still sitting on the floor.)

It saddens me to say that the rest of the paintings in the room were somewhat of a let down after turning away from, "Love".

After viewing Adam Conard's website, I realized his paintings view much better in photos. The details in real life aren't polished. Despite all this, it's still worthy of having a look.

Happy Anniversary Show

The Anniversary Show is up until March 15th at Limited Addiction Gallery. This is a great show containing contemporary drawings and paintings by well known and up and coming artists. If you didn't recognize the kool kat bar scene by SHAG, when you first walked in, you obviously haven't been to any gift shop in the last 5 years.


His prints, cards, notebooks are everywhere.



The show is a real hodge-podge of themes, but all quality. The "Untitled" Women's portrait by Kris Lewis is a crowd pleaser, and hung close to the door as a street traffic draw.


The above left image, "From this distance: Containted Gift" by Gregory Euclide, does no justice to the actual work. It's a beautiful large piece, reminiscent of Chinese ink drawings, collaged with leaves and paper, I'm not giving in apt description, just know you should see it in person.



The above right, "Electralize" by Amy Casey is a great little drawing, that I would love to have in my home. Great lines, and nice use of empty space.


This was the last show I saw on First Friday, and it was a nice finish to the exhausting evening. I'm looking forward to future exhibits at Limited Addiction.

Dizzying Drawings at VERTIGO

Excellent drawings and bobbleheads describe "L.A. STORIES: A collaboration with Thomas Muller & Samantha Scherer" up until March 15th this month at VERTIGO.

I take back what I said about being nervous going to Santa Fe, for First Friday. Although there are a lot of galleries, I could do without, I found some great ones to hold my interest in the search for quality Contemporary Art in Denver.

Vertigo was the first gallery we stumbled upon after negotiating Friday night traffic. L.A. stories, was not only humorous, but well executed.

Visual Summary: Black & White drawings with sparse color, lots of open space on page, celebrity head shots. Embossed urban text.

Wow Factor: How funny are little Beckam & Posh heads? Who couldn't love that pink elephant?

Not being familiar with either artist, I was pleased that the work seemed homogeneous, and not separate as "who did what"? If I read (o.k. looked at) People magazine, I could have identified more celebrities. I recommend spending some considerable time in the gallery, go with a friend, and make up your own stories about each piece. A great kick off for a trashy novel, or at least a story on Entertainment Tonight.