CURRENTLY ON VIEW AT PLUS GALLERY

FINAL WEEK TO VIEW/BID ON SHANNON NOVAK'S "SOUND FRAGMENT" AT PLUS GALLERY

The third phase of New Zealand artist Shannon Novak's global art project "Sound Fragments" ends on May 2nd,  so there are only a few days left to bid on the fragment "A Flat Minor 7 negative" we have on view here at Plus Gallery, the current bid clocking in at $100.  All proceeds from the sale will go to PlatteForum, one of our favorite organizations that supports disadvantaged youth through arts education and mentorship.  This is a very unique endeavor, we highly encourage everyone to consider visiting and acquiring a very rare artwork with global impact.

Select galleries around the world are participating in Novak's endeavor with images of their installations posted on Shannon's website, we encourage you to take a look and see what's happening in Iceland, Nigeria and some of the other exotic locations have done with their fragments.  A few samples are here, but you can see more at http://sites.google.com/site/soundfragments/photos

KATE PETLEY'S WEATHER BALLOONS GO ON VIEW IN COLORADO SPRINGS MAY 7th

Plus Gallery artist Kate Petley will have her fantastic, large-scale weather balloons on view in Colorado Springs for the exhibition "4x4: 4 artists, 4 curators" at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs.   The exhibition commences with an Opening Reception May 7th  from 6-9 PM.

4 artists, 4 curators developed out of a series of conversations between four local contemporary art curators. After many informal discussions about artists and exhibitions we decided to explore further the similarities and differences of our curatorial approaches by collaborating on a project featuring four Colorado artists.

While the artists are diverse in their chosen media and conceptual choices, taken asa whole, 4x4 challenges the viewer to consider space, scale and stories and ask questions about the relationships between objects, between object and space and between local visual arts institutions.

CURATORS: Caitlin Green (GOCA), Blake Milteer (Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center), Jessica Hunter Larsen (The I.D.E.A. Space at Colorado College) and Holly Parker (Smokebrush Gallery & Foundation)

ARTISTS: Andrew Beckham, Carol Golemboski, Kate Petley, and Stacy Steers

Kate Petley's enormous balloons

ROBIN SCHAEFER TO EXHIBIT NEW WORKS AT THE MEADOWLARK OPENING MAY 6TH

Plus Gallery artist Robin Schaefer will unveil some small-scale experimental works, along with a few of her recent paintings at our neighbor and favorite bar up the street The Meadowlark.  We invite everyone to come out for the opening of the show on Thursday, May 6th starting at 6pm.  If you haven't been to the Meadowlark, you are missing out on the coziest  and coolest bar in all of Denver, so nows a great opportunity to see Robin's new work and enjoy a night out.  The Meadowlark will feature live music after the reception with four great bands taking it to the people in raucous fashion.  The Meadowlark is located at the corner of 27th and Larimer just two blocks north of Plus Gallery, we hope to see you there.

New works by Robin Schaefer at Meadowlark

CRASH INTO THE ART WORLD WITH THE DAM CONTEMPORARIES THIS SUMMER!

The DAM Contemporaries will be hosting a number of exceptional programs for those who collect, consider and appreciate contemporary art.  To announce their upcoming spring and summer programs, the group will host a free reception for those interested in becoming members or getting involved next wednesday, May 5th at the Robischon Annex at 1732 Wazee Street from 6-8pm.  Meet artists, museum luminaries, gallerists, and movers and shakers who all contribute to the vibrancy and impact of Denver's contemporary community.

Besides complimentary drinks and food that night, you can reserve your tickets for Summer programs or buy a membership and be entered into a raffle to win an original piece by Embrace! artist Rupprecht Matthies, Embrace! catalogs, a hard hat signed by DAM architect Daniel Libeskind, as well as bottles of special edition wine. You are invited and encouraged to bring your friends!

Contact Jessica Brunecky at jbrunecky@denverartmuseum.org for additonal information.

DINNER AND THE AVANT - GARDE MAY 8th AT OBJECT + THOUGHT

Win Wear will host an inaugural film showcase May 8th at O+T -- Dinner and the Avant - Garde - an evening of experimental cinema curated by local experimental filmmaker Rett Rogers and generously supported by Denver's epicurean community.

The screening will explore the diverse aesthetic methodologies of essential avant-garde cinema through the work of its most celebrated artists, including Stan Brakhage, Bruce Conner, Phil Solomon, Gunvor Nelson - and more. The films will explore land-and-dream-scapes, dance and sex, and utilize found footage and chemical manipulation, objective representation and holy abstraction. The program is designed towards sensorial and experiential discovery, academic familiarity is not a qualification for appreciation.

All films will be projected in 16mm (!) by Jacob Barreras, Head Projectionist for the Film Studies Program at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Preceding the screening will be a three course spring meal using locally sourced ingredients from In Season market paired with beer from our friends at Great Divide brewery.

"Dinner and the Avant-Garde" is the first in Win Wear's continuing series of events exploring canonical and contemporary Avant-Garde cinema. The seating will be limited, for reservations and more information
contact Rett Rogers at sirstarrett@gmail.com or call 303.887.5157.

Vegan and vegetarian meals will be offered, please specify in your reservation request. $15 suggested donation.

Plus Gallery has a new exhibition installed called "Excellencies" that features exceptional new works by select artists in the main exhibition space, coalescing into a greater view of what's hot at Plus with recent selections from the stable and some new surprises on both the 1st and second floors. Here's a quick rundown of what's on tap and why you should come visit now:

Fans of Susan Meyer's highly involved, beautiful installation works from the last decade need to consider "Ojo Caliente" or "Hot Springs," both the perfect distillation of her utopian concepts into a compact sculpture, suitable for all environments.

Tsehai Johnson has installed "Spill #4" in one corner of the gallery, a visual masterpiece of domestic fluidity and dynamic shadowplay.

Peter Illig's latest painting "Blue Spark" carries his signature style forward in a very exciting rendition of our technology obsessed society.  Peter comments on his latest painting in a youtube clip you can view at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3dbenN8JOo

Frank T. Martinez new painting is a major departure into the figurative realm, taking on the subject of youth and its many subtle complexities.

Dave Yust makes a heroic return with a new painting that simply dazzles.  "Chromaxiologic - Inclusion with 5 catenary curves VII" continues the artists long-term focus on cantenary curves and their relationship to our natural world.  Hear him talk about the effects of gravity on his latest and future works, not to mention the color pink in a short video discussion at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCf9hA1tHTY

Jenny Morgan's "I am but one small instrument" may be one of her greatest paintings to date, fans of her work should definitely make the trek over to see one of the largest paintings by the artist on view in Denver in the last three years.

Karen McClanahan graces us with four brand new small-scale panels that push her dramatic juxtaposition of color and spatial form, continuing her legacy as one of the best painters to come out of Denver this century.  She has also brought three unique "cigar-box" works that show how effective she can be on all scales, these are absolute treasures and very affordable as well.

Kate Petley's latest body of work is her strongest to date, her latest "At that time" finds her pushing in a ultra-contemporary framework that is complex in its execution yet resoundling soothing in its visual effect.

Bill Amundson's "Joe Joe Pop" will delight anyone perplexed with the political landscape of the last decade, kicking off a new series of "American Dickheads" the artist is now developing.  His "Worried man with happy cam" further riffs on the extraordinary times we live in and how they effect the national psyche, continuing Bill's string of excellent self-portraits.

Mike Whiting's latest "Skull" is just a small-scale sheer delight, delivering another minimal form with high-impact and great presence.

Finally, Riva Sweetrocket delivers a rare "one-off" painting, though explicitly tied to the visual motifs of her most recent body of work.  "Preserve" is a sophisticated painting exuding the artist's highly nuanced subtlety and symbolic virtuosity.  To hear Riva talk about her work and the recent painting visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kqRcNexLoM

Upstairs we are introducing artwork by three exceptional new artists:

Austin Parkhill is not the next Jenny Morgan, but he's certainly exudes the same raw talent and understanding of the human form that is already causing jaws to drop in the presence of his work.  His paintings promote a signature "Snap-shot" style that are impressive in scale as well as technical virtuosity, we expect great things for him stemming from his inclusion in the second iteration of the Outwin Boochever Portaiture Competition currently on view at the National Gallery in Washington DC.

Nick Museilian is another highly skilled painter who melds intellectual sophistication with visual panache.  We are featuring two paintings from his "Little Nietzsche" series that simulate an alternate universe where Playmobile characters act out heroic scenes straight from Zarathustra.

Last, but not least, we just brought in one of Allie Pohl's ultra-now "Ideal Woman" sculptures, a touchable form that allows the viewer to size themselves up to society's conclusive ideals of femininity.  This young artist has taken Denver by storm, her recent thesis exhibition at Hinterland one of the most ambitious installations since Colin Livingston's "The Big Idea" here at Plus.

We encourage everyone to make some new discoveries, and highly encourage acquisitions by these and the rest of the terrific artists in the Plus Gallery stable.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DENVER ART SCENE INCLUDING PLUS GALLERY FEATURED ON TELLURIDE'S PREMIER BLOG

Our good friends and art collectors Suse and Clint Viebrock recently visited Denver during one of our craziest weeks at the gallery, leading up to the opening of our current exhibition "Excellencies."  They wrote about their experience here and around denver's scene on their Telluride news-blog, read the report online at
 
http://www.tellurideinside.com/2010/04/telluride-insideand-out-denver-the-art-part.html#more

PLUS GALLERY ARTIST TSEHAI JOHNSON IN WHO'S AFRAID OF ORNAMENT?

Plus Gallery artist Tsehai Johnson is now featured in the exhibition "Who's afraid of ornament?" at the NURTUREart Gallery and Emerging Curators' Resource Center from April 23rd - May 29th, 2010, as curated by Natasha Kurchanova. The exhibition includes works by  ArdAn Özmenoglu, Carla Cubit, Corinne Whitaker, Evan Reehl Ryer, Katherine Daniels, Lili White, Linda Ganjian, Meridith Pingree, Shelley Himmelstein, alongside Tsehai.

Is it really a Jaguar if it doesn't have the metal cat leaping from the hood? Can a pine tree be called a Christmas tree even with no decorations? Is ornament always an unnecessary extra, a superfluous embellishment, or is it in fact constitutive of much that we take for granted? And in today's artistic climate, what role can ornament play?

Responding to a contemporary artworld that she sees as overemphasizing the conceptual, Natasha Kurchanova presents the work of ten artists who bring the sensual to the forefront, prioritizing aesthetic experience over intellectual judgment. Arguing that the center of gravity in art is now primarily "discourse", in which artists are expected to contribute to an ongoing dialogue rather than provide sites of sensory experience, Kurchanova explores the role of what she calls the "ornamental" in contemporary practice. However, for the artists in this exhibition, ornament is not what you would expect. Instead of the extra (but unnecessary) embellishments added to a structure, Kurchanova sees these artists as using ornament as the necessary building blocks of the work itself. The result is a complex and visually rich celebration of the sensual power of art. 

Who's Afraid of Ornament is a NURTUREart Emerging Curators' Program Collaboration. Learn more about all of NURTUREart's programs and opportunities for emerging artists and curators at http://www.nurtureart.org.

INHAUS WITH CULTUREHAUS AT THE DAM - A NIGHT TO HEAR BILL AMUNDSON MAY 6th

Here's a good reason to join Culturhaus, a support group for the Denver Art Museum:  They are hosting a reception and guided tour of Face to Face, the Denver Art Museum's works on paper exhibition that features 35 portrait drawings by artists such as Plus Gallery's own Bill Amundson, Francesco Clemente, George Condo, Marlene Dumas, Lucian Freud, Philip Guston, Richard Phillips, and others.

These drawings from Colorado collections illustrate the short evolution of portrait drawing from the fifteenth century to the present day.  Bill Amundson will join Jill Desmond, from the department of Modern and Contemporary Art, to discuss the exhibition and Bill's work, likened by Jill to "maps that reveal a little bit of all of us with every twist in the terrain." A complimentary reception will be held in the El Pomar Atrium in the Hamilton Building from 6-8 pm, for CultureHaus members and guests only.

A guided tour and question and answer session, led by Jill Desmond and Bill Amundson, will be held from 6:45 - 7:30 pm.

FINAL WEEK FOR "I AM A CLOUD" AT PLUS GALLERY. FINAL WEDNESDAY EVENING BLOW-OUT HAPPENING TONIGHT FROM 6-7PM AT PLUS GALLERYFINAL WEDNESDAY EVENING BLOW-OUT HAPPENING TONIGHT FROM 6-7PM AT PLUS GALLERY

This is the final week for Bruce Price's remarkable exhibition "I am a cloud."  Those who have witnessed the exhibition morph from week to week have engaged with one of the most unusual and daring exhibitions in the gallery history.  We invite you to discover the final iteration this week, courtesy of Rebecca Vaughan from the Rocky Mountain School of Art and Design.  Rebecca was asked to perform the final installation due to her having seen and participated in each weekly transition and wednesday evening event.  We are very excited about the results and happy to conclude the exhibition in high-fashion.  Rebecca had this to say about her installation:

This week's installation was driven by my knowledge of Bruce's last weekly  "I Am a Cloud" event on Wednesday, April 7th. Because of the transgressive nature of Bruce's attire, I wanted to offer him a support team that stood by and with him. Knowing the role that fabric and gingham fabric would play in the evening, I first selected all of his works with fabric pieces. I then chose groupings of works that held a resonance with each other. Their vertical stacking is meant as a reference to the human figure, and these figures comprise the complement by which Bruce is accompanied.

The use of fabric in Bruce's work calls upon traditions of patterning, ornament & decoration, clothing and body-space. As an artist with an affinity and great familiarity with fabric, I find these series of works to touch upon many of the ideas that I experience as relevant to our physical and emotional experience. Bruce's mission to co-mingle his painting-space and body-space served as the impetus for this final installation.

Join us tonight, otherwise please come by the gallery to view the exhibition through this saturday during regular hours.

A little bit of what's on view starting today at Plus

In case you missed last weeks youtube clips, here are a couple of good ones:


It's gonna get event better
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2UXIR2Ci-M


This was totally fun

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR5RoGnxfM4

SHANNON NOVAK'S "SOUND FRAGMENT" NOW ON VIEW AT PLUS GALLERY

The third phase of New Zealand artist Shannon Novak's global art project "Sound Fragments" is now on view at Plus Gallery along with select galleries across the world.  Novak is exploring the link between colour, sound, shape, time, emotion, and social context with this global study.  Each fragment is a visual representation of a single musical note; collectively, the individual notes manifest a sound wave that spreads sound fragments throughout gallery spaces around the world.  Below is a more robust interpretation of the works as provided by Shannon:

The bars
The 12 vertical bars represent the 12 note names (or pitch) in the following order: A, Bb, B, C, C#, D, Eb, E, F, F#, G, G#

The entire work therefore represents an octave (12 semitones) with notes named for their diatonic functionality.

The colours
The colour of the bars represents the emotional state of the musician who performs the notes. The emotional state could be positive, or negative. Take the colour red for example. This could be taken as representing a positive emotion (like love) or a negative emotion (like anger). So every colour has a positive and negative possibility. The title of your work has either a 'negative' or 'positive' in it - which will tell you whether your colour represents a positive or negative emotion. I have my own interpretation of what the emotion is (e.g. love, anger, joy etc) but rather than tell you - I would rather leave this aspect of the work to your own interpretation - as everyone has different associations with different colours.

The circles
The circles represent degrees of a positive or negative emotional state as experienced by the musician when performing. The more semicircles there are vertically - the more intense the emotional state.

So putting it all together - each work represents a note, or notes played by a musician in a particular emotional state with a particular level of emotional intensity.

Please note that our fragment will be sold to the highest bidder, with 100% of the proceeds benefiting  PlatteForum, our favorite arts organization that brings the creative process to underserved youth throughout Denver.

For more information about the project, visit http://shannonnovak.com

New works at Plus, including Shannon Novak's sound fragment

JOIN PLUS GALLERY THURSDAY FOR SAMPLES: A READING FROM 9 POETS. April 08, 2010 - 7pm

In honor of Denver housing the Associated Writing Programs conference, PLUS gallery will be hosting an evening of letters. This event gathers 5 independent presses from around the nation as well as Shearsman Books from the UK, and will feature readings from 9 poets including:

James Belflower, author of Commuter (Instance Press)
Caroline Crumpacker, author of Recherche Theories (EtherDome Press)
Susanne Dyckman, author of equilibrium's form (Shearsman Books)
Jim Elledge, author of The Book of the Heart Taken by Love (Woodland Editions)
Jane Gregory, author of Some Books (The Song Cave)
Jennifer Karmin, author of Aaaaaaaaaaalice (Film Forum Press)
Susan Manchester, author of A Dress for Weather (EtherDome Chapbooks)
Jaime Robles, author of Anime, Animus, Anima (Shearsman Books)
Sarah Suzor, author of It was the season, then. (EtherDome Chapbooks)

The presses that will be represented include EtherDome Chapbooks, Instance Press, Film Forum Press, Shearsman Books, The Song Cave and Woodland Editions, all of which will be selling newly released books by the featured readers.

MORE POETRY AT PLUS THIS SATURDAY, APRIL 10TH

Apostrophe books hosts a reading in conjunction with Associated Writing Programs conference at Plus Gallery on Saturday starting at 7pm, with Action Books, Black Ocean Press, Slope Editions and Tarpaulin Sky Press. Readers will include Johannes Göransson, Zachary Schomburg, Catherine Meng, Joe Hall, Paul Foster Johnson, Julie Doxsee, and many others.

For more info visit http://www.apostrophebooks.org

MIRROR MIRROR INSTALL VIEW FROM POSTMASTERS IN CHELSEA

Jenny Morgan celebrated a spectacular opening last friday at Postmasters in NYC, her work on view in the group exhibition "Mirror Mirror."   This is a shot of her work in the gallery, with Whitney Biennial artist Kate Gilmore's video installation on the side.

PLUS GALLERY ARTIST GABRIEL LISTON IN RESIDENCY IN PORTLAND, OR

Gabriel Liston moves his studio to New American Art Union in Portland for a unique residency during the month of April.  "Take that and stand by for trouble" should bring some remarkable work forth from Liston, we can't wait to see the results and encourage anyone up in Portland to visit and look in on Gabriel.

THE DENVER OFFICE OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS PRESENTS THIS YEAR'S CREATE DENVER APRIL 10-17th

The Denver Office of Cultural Affairs (DOCA) introduces Create Denver Week, a series of programs and happenings exemplifying Denver as the Creative Capital of the Rocky Mountain West. Create Denver Week will take place April 10 - 17, 2010 at venues throughout Denver. Create Denver Week will showcase Denver's talented and dynamic creative community, recognize the creative sector as a contributor to Denver's vibrancy and economic vitality, catalyze the creative community to become a cohesive collective and support the creative sector by providing educational programming, inspirational dialogue and ideation. Create Denver Week is a project of DOCA's Create Denver initiative, produced in collaboration with Brian Corrigan.

Some events and activities require advance registration or RSVP. For a full calendar of programs and activities and registration information, visitwww.DenverGov.org/CreateDenver. Create Denver is an initiative of the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs (DOCA). Create Denver seeks to strengthen the overall health and vitality of Denver by supporting the growth and development of the creative sector, including creative enterprises such as film, music, art galleries, art districts, fashion, graphic design and individual artists. Create Denver is a sector-based strategy that includes policy recommendations, programmatic initiatives, technical assistance and advocacy.

The mission of the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs is to advance the arts and culture in the City and County of Denver.

STARZ FILM CENTER PRESENTS FOCUS ON JAPANESE CINEMA APRIL 8 - 11

Give your passport a stamp to Japan in this four-day celebration of Japanese film, art, and culture at the Starz FilmCenter.  Experience a cultural journey through the great moments in Japanese cinema, featuring eleven films from acclaimed Japanese directors with discussions following the screenings.

A special focus on the films of master filmmaker Mikio Naruse (1905-1969), a director whose work has been virtually unscreened in Denver, anchors this event. Four Naruse films will be screened alongside a new 35 mm print of Seven Samurai by Akira Kurosawa, a one-time assistant to Naruse.

A complete schedule of events is available at http://bit.ly/focusjapan

tickets are available at www.denverfilm.org

Presented by Denver Film Society and University of Colorado Denver - College of Arts & Media

DOORS OPEN DENVER COMMENCES APRIL 17th

Doors Open Denver is set for the weekend of April 17th and 18th, with Plus Gallery a featured stop on this unique tour of architectural gems throughout the city.  For more information, visit our website and click on the "Doors Open Denver" logo.  Full schedules are currently available at the gallery and also will be inserted in the Denver Post and other publications as the weekend approaches.

JEANNE CLAUDE MEMORIAL SERVICE SCHEDULED FOR APRIL 26th AT NY'S MET

Jeanne-Claude's Memorial that will be at the Metropolitan Museum of Art at 2:30 PM Colorado time on Monday, April 26th, 2010  and can be viewed live athttp://www.christojeanneclaude.net/  

The world mourns the loss of one of the most remarkable figures ever in contemporary art, tune in to pay tribute and respects.