Thursday, September 30, 2010

POST AMUNDSON FAREWELL WRAPUP AND SHOW EXTENSION DETAILS

The energy around Plus Gallery was at an all-time high, with the Friday night going away celebration for Bill Amundson bringing more people through our doors in a single night than probably any other event.  The tribute was well deserved, and various sources in the arts community mobilized to wish he and his wife Anita farewell.



First came Kyle MacMillan's Friday-night pick in the Denver Post, featuring the illustrious Amundson drawing "Joe Joe Pop."

Next came Susan Froyd's heartfelt Westword Blog that same day, offering images and links in the way only a blog can do these days, you can check it out by linking at

http://blogs.westword.com/showandtell/2010/09/bill_affair_bill_amundson_says_bye_bye_tonight_at_plus_gallery.php

Finally, this week saw the final word from Westword's Michael Paglia in the regular edition hitting the streets today.  Because of all the press out on Bill's departure and show upstairs at Plus, we've decided to extend the exhibition of his works through till this Saturday October 2nd.

Bill's legacy in Colorado has been enormous, thousands of people have seen at least two of his major works at the Denver Art Museum since the opening of the Hamilton Wing several years ago, and audiences outside of the state have also been introduced via group exhibitions at galleries and institutions, including the most recent array on display at the Kohler Art Center this summer.  Those who want to see Bill at his most enormous can visit the "Mellow Mushroom" for pizza and drinks any day of the week at their new location on the 16th street mall between Larimer and Lawrence.   And in digging through the archives of press Bill has received online, we came across this rare gem from 2003, relating to Bill's lesser-known days as a beer-can collector  (which explains a lot about his work and, shall we say, personality....)

http://www.westword.com/2003-12-04/restaurants/consumed/

We shall all miss Bill's presence in Denver dearly, but will be counting the days until he returns for another Plus Gallery exhibition down the road. The anticipation to see what the Wisconsin climate does to his output should be palpable indeed!  In the meantime, we urge you to come view his work here at the gallery and consider adding something from one of the most talented and interesting artists in the world to your collection (like this striking image of Joe Nacchio from Bill's current "American Dickheads" series.

We leave you with the following two links to Bill's speech from last week as he received the AFKEY award at the Denver Art Museum.  Their annual meeting will likely never be the same!


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