Plus Gallery is thrilled to unveil all new paintings tonight by artist Xi Zhang for his latest solo exhibition BONE.  Join us this evening from 7-9pm in welcoming Xi back to Denver and to the gallery proper for a survey that brings together recent developments across six bodies of work that have engaged Zhang's attention over the last several years. The main exhibition space is the focus for four of his ongoing series, including the most recent "Permanence Within," "Permanence Without" and "The Fortune Dealer" as well as his two of his most recent canvases from "Birth of a Million Tear Drops."  The exhibition continues upstairs with additional selections from "Permanence Without" alongside two recent paintings from "Post Convulsions" and a handful of gold-leaf paintings from "Second Hand Memories" which represent Xi's lighter side and unique take on contemporary culture merging with traditional Chinese motifs.

Xi Zhang has launched a remarkable career in Colorado ever since his move to Denver from China in 2004. Highlights to date include:

2008 / Emerging Artist of the Year, Kyle MacMillan, Denver Post

2011 / Pathmaker in the Visual Arts, Kyle MacMillan, Denver Post

2011 / CNN "Ripple" Project in commemoration of 9/11 Ten Year Anniversary, CNN.com

2011 / "Art's New View: The 12 best Colorado artists 35 and under," Kyle MacMillan, Denver Post

2011 / Featured Speaker, Logan Lecture Series, Denver Art Museum

2012 / URRA Artist Residency, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Representative for the Denver Biennial of the Americas

2013 / "21st Century DNA," solo exhibition, hosted by the City of Denver and Plus Gallery at McNichols Civic Center

Hopefully you heard a little about the exhibition today on CPR's arts report, and you can read more about BONE in the latest issue of Westword in the "Night and Day" section, as well as an online preview of images in Westword's Show and Tell blog delivered by Susan Froyd:

http://blogs.westword.com/

NEW PLUS GALLERY WEBSITE READY TO LAUNCH SOON

Recent visitors to plusgallery.com may notice that we have removed our now ancient site, one that has served us well over the years but will soon transition into a much better platform for our artists and program.  We don't have a specific launch date yet, but are expecting it to be very soon, so stay tuned!

DATES TO SAVE FOR UPCOMING PLUS GALLERY RELATED EVENTS

Unbound at the Arvada Center
Opening Reception Thursday June 5th
Featuring Plus Gallery artists Chris Coleman, Milton Croissant III, Alex McLeod and Laleh Mehran
http://arvadacenter.org/

Friday Flash No. 6 - "Download This / Image Anarchism"

Friday, June 13th starting at 7pm at the corner of 14th and Champa Street.

Presented by Denver Digerati and the Denver Theatre District

https://vimeo.com/95917801

Brilliant celebration for Goca in Colorado Springs

Saturday June 14th, 7pm - midnight at GOCA 121 downtown CSprings

http://www.uccs.edu/

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Over the years we've learned a lot about the importance of names, perceptions relating to them and how things can evolve over time in relationship to them.  When we first selected the name "Plus Gallery" we quickly noticed that there was a Japanese version of our namesake, though it doesn't seem to be much of an issue over the years, we still retain the "top" ranking when it comes to online searches and haven't noticed too much weirdness via our google alerts.

But nobody has it tougher than artists.  Notable Denver artist John McEnroe, whose career we supported for many years previously on his path upward, is probably the most extreme example.  We were constantly plagued by random inquiries into his artwork, or requests for autographs, by people assuming it was the tennis player/art dealer/collector who still maintains a huge profile in the tennis world.  Though it doesn't effect our cycle of communications, our current featured artists Xi Zhang comes up quite often in the volleyball circuit, apparently a Xi Zhang is quite the brilliant athlete in that sphere, and there is also a phenomenal young Chinese illustrator that goes by the same name as well.  Even our leading artists Jenny Morgan has multiple levels of crossover in the world, with several artists having the same name (though nowhere near the notoriety) and there's even a newly released "Jenny Morgan Bitter" which clocks in at 3.5% abv and probably quite enticing to a few drinkers in the UK.

Most recently we've noticed the more diabolical side of name clashes, as Plus Gallery's own Frank T. Martinez has had several recent inquiries as to whether he has switched galleries in Denver.  We've long known that he always uses the T. in his name because of the popularity of that combination amongst the Hispanic population in the world.  But with Space Gallery having recently moved into a new space, it seems their previous space is now occupied and run by a Frank Martinez who also happens to be a painter. It seems that our Frank T. is still ranking the highest on google searches, and we're pretty sure his artwork and reputation command the most respect, but it definitely made us want to reflect on what goes on with names and how important that can be for an artist or anyone's perception of their career.

JOIN PLUS GALLERY FOR "TRADE SECRETS" THIS SATURDAY EVE 7:30-9:30pm EXHIBITION CLOSING EVENT FOR KRISTIN STRANSKY'S "COMMON / MYTH"

Our last two exhibitions have been delightful departures from the norm, both featuring new media works by artists involved in the University of Denver's Emergent Digital Practices department.  Chris Coleman, Laleh Mehran, and our current featured artist Kristin Stransky have certainly dazzled us and our audience with works that are at the forefront of new technologies and unique concepts that not only define art today, but venture into new territory that will define tomorrow.

In celebration of their efforts and influence with students studying in their department at DU, Plus Gallery will host a closing night event for Kristin Stransky's exhibition "common / myth" this Saturday evening from 7:30-9:30pm called "Trade Secrets." The evening will be a showcase for motion-based works developed by students studying in the EPD program, presented full screen on the wall in Plus Gallery's main exhibition space.  Come join us for another rare and enjoyable evening with some of Denver's extraordinary talent pool, both old and new.

FINAL WEEK FOR MILTON CROISSANT AT CPAC

This is also the final week to view the Colorado Photographic Art Center's latest exhibition "Constructing Images Post Photography," which concludes an excellent run featuring works by three distinct artists including Plus Gallery's own Milton Croissant III.  We can't wait to see what's next for Milton, an inspiring talent from Denver that we have no doubt is set to explode on the national art scene soon.