OPENING RECEPTION FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3RD AT PLUS GALLERY - XI ZHANG: AWAKING DREAMS + NICK MUSAELIAN: HEROIC PAINTING

Plus Gallery concludes 2010 with the pairing of Boulder artists Xi Zhang and Nick Musaelian, two of the most exciting painters to emerge in the region in the last five years.  Zhang's "Awaking Dreams" and Musaelian's "Heroic Painting" create a visual experience like no other, each with recognizable elements that exude an intense reach for something extremely deep, thoughtful and playful all at the same time. This is the second major gallery exhibition for Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design graduate Zhang, who was noted as "Emerging artist of the year 2008" by art critic Kyle MacMillan in the Denver Post and who is currently finishing his MFA at CU Boulder.  The exhibition is Musaelian's debut in the Denver market, following his recent MFA from the New York Academy of Art and hot on the heels of recent exhibitions in NYC, Toronto, and Dublin.

Zhang and Musaelian split the main exhibition space on the first floor of the gallery, while upstairs will contain a display of Zhang's "b-sides" including his multi-panel erotic works that are all the rave.

We invite you to join us for the opening reception this Friday, December 3rd from 6-9pm.

GREAT NEW WORKS AT PLUS GALLERY BY RETTIG, MEYER, SWEETROCKET AND LISTON

A number of new gems were brought into Plus Gallery this last week and will be on view for the opening reception this Friday, including an elegant new triptych by Hunt Rettig, a singular small-scale painting by Riva Sweetrocket, a new (and absolutely stunning) new sculpture by Susan Meyer in the vein of "Shaft" but more compact, as well as 7 new blue book tiles by Gabriel Liston that diverge slightly from his regular's in that the skin is stripped away from the figures (ie....they are skeletons), not to mention a handful of super-affordable woodcuts, monotypes on paper and for the first time ever, compact monotypes on board. 

Stop by to see these gems, and the other great works currently on view by Plus Gallery artists.

DENVER THEATRE DISTRICT HOSTS MAJOR WINTER ART SALON MONDAY DECEMBER 13TH AT CAULKINS OPERA HOUSE

The Denver Theatre District will host a major holiday art-salon on Monday, December 13th at the Chambers Grant Salon of the Ellie Caulkins Opera House in celebration of the new "Faces Of Colorado Art" billboard and LED campaign that kicks off in December.  The billboard was mounted over the holiday weekend and can be seen on Champa just south of 14th street (on the side of Caulkins).  The salon on the 13th will feature original works from the artists curated into the project, a discussion by Sharon Brown about her recent body of work "The Creators" which depict major figures from Denver's art scene and are a prominent feature of the billboard, as well as a review of the DTD endeavors of the last year and the exciting developments for the new year.  Definitely one of the year's not-to-be-missed events.

RIVA SWEETROCKET'S "EXTRA ORDINARY" OPENS THIS SATURDAY AT THE DENVER BOTANIC GARDENS

From the Denver Botanic Gardens website:

Like a group of Sirens, the pastel paintings of Riva Sweetrocket beckon to be admired. Her large canvasses fill with feminine images that intertwine with nature: The curve of a leg intersects with a pile of juicy cherries; feet envelope a pair of dusty butterfly wings.  Sweetrocket elevates these organic elements to a luscious transcendence of synergy that speak to the majesty of nature and human existence.

"As a woman I have an inherent appreciation of the female perspective and my protagonist is often female. I also see nature as having feminine qualities, so these two elements seem to work synergistically together. Color and composition are important to me as well. My aim is to create eye-popping images that I, myself, will want to gaze at and I hope others will too." - Sweetrocket

Sweetrocket is an award-winning, local contemporary artist whose work consists of large-scale soft pastel paintings on paper.  The Gardens hosts Riva Sweetrocket | Extra Ordinary in collaboration with the Plus Gallery, Denver's leading contemporary arts gallery, from Nov. 20, 2010 - Jan. 23, 2011 at Gates Garden Court Gallery.  Come admire Sweetrocket's work during the Gardens hours 9 a.m.- 5 p.m.

Reception: Thursday, Dec. 2, 2010 from 5:30 p.m. - 8 p.m. RSVP to  exhibits@botanicgardens.org 

MIKE WHITING IN THE PRESS AND DEBUTING THIS WEEK IN LA

Plus Gallery is currently featuring terrific new work by sculptor Mike Whiting in the exhibition "Primitives," on view through November 27th.  Whiting's trajectory with the gallery has been an inspiration, touting one of the most fascinating developments for an emerging artist that we've come across.  The fact that he's been exclusive to Plus Gallery is due in large part to the overall demand for his work as well as his success in the Public realm, something that has been noted in this week's edition of the Westword Weekly along with a writeup on his current exhibition here.


http://www.westword.com/2010-11-18/culture/denver-s-art-districts-are-mostly-growing-concerns/ 


There's also a nice writeup on the exhibition from Telluride Inside, the premier blog for art, culture and lifestyle in Telluride and beyond, written by Plus Gallery friend and fan Susan Viebrock.  You can read what she has to say about her recent visit to Denver at.


http://www.tellurideinside.com/

While the Denver market has been able to marvel at him from up close since he debuted here in 2004, others have only been able to look from afar.  That is about to change as Mike launches onto the LA scene this week in conjunction with the prestigious gallery Edward Cella Art and Architecture and their project space Cabana Home at 111 Santa Barbara Street.  We've always thought Mike's work spoke to a much greater collector market and are quite certain the LA vibe is a good place for him to further develop a fan and collector base.  His exhibition runs from November 15th through January 9th, if you happen to be in that vicinity we highly recommend checking it out.

In the meantime, come see his new works here at Plus.  We'll be closed on Thanksgiving as well as Friday the 26th, otherwise open regular hours.

Mike Whiting's "Pyramid of the Rabbit"

SUSAN MEYER'S "SHAFT" OFF TO MIAMI FOR AQUA ART FAIR

One of the most outstanding works of art that we've had the opportunity to feature here at Plus Gallery this year is Susan Meyer's "Shaft" sculpture, an extraordinary wonder made of multi-colored plexiglas simulating a utopian environment that feels like a core-sample extruded from the earth.  We're not the only ones to register Meyer's extraordinary talent, she has recently been asked to send the sculpture to the Aqua Art Fair (coinciding with Art Basel Miami the first week of December) for display at the Art Slant booth.  Art Slant is an online publication for contemporary art with an expansive global reach, so it's no mean feat that they selected Meyer's work from thousands of submissions.

A new, smaller version of Meyer's latest work should be appearing soon at Plus Gallery, but we encourage anyone heading to Miami for the upcoming art-orgy to take in Susan's work and see it dazzle before an international audience.


http://www.aquaartmiami.com/fairs/Aqua10/196/# 

MORE EXCELLENT PRESS AND ATTENTION THIS WEEK FOR BRENDAN TANG

Another week, another great press notice on ceramic artist Brendan Tang, this time from the Toronto Star in conjunction with his exhibition at the Gardiner Museum of Art:
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/889756--breaking-boundaries-not-your-grandmother-s-gardiner-museum 


The Gardiner Museum also posted an excellent video of the exhibition along with interviews from the artists on youtube, which you can catch at:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91j_EceNG3c


And if you haven't already noticed, Brendan is currently taking off like a rocket.  Tomorrow is the announcement of the Sobey Prize, of which Brendan is a finalist (one of five) and which carries a $50,000 first prize award.  We can't wait to find out the results, but regardless of the outcome Tang has truly solidified an important position in the international dialogue of contemporary art through his work in the last year.  Two of his Plus Gallery vessels will be reappearing next year in the Denver Art Museum's exhibition "Extreme Dirt," one of which landed in a prestigious private collection this week.  Anyone with a taste for investing in art may want to consider the other before his prices skyrocket well beyond their current level.

NICE WRITEUP ON LAST WEEK'S AVANT GARDE FILM SHOWCASE AT PLUS GALLERY

Those who missed one of our best events in the gallery history, last week's "Into the Avant Garde - Landscapes," can read about it online from Westword's Benjamin Dayton who was as thrilled as everyone in attendance to be a  part of the evening.  We are sure to do more programming like this in the future.
http://fwix.com/denver/share/54e13f652c/avante-garde_dazzled_at_win_wears_landscapes_last_night_at_plus_gallery 

MUNDSON'S "TEEN EXCAVATION" OFF TO THE DAM

Bill Amundson's excellent "Teen Excavation" was recently acquired by the Denver Art Museum, becoming the fourth or so major work of Amundson's in the Museum's collection.  Bill, meanwhile, is situating himself in Staughton, WI and getting ready to make some more quaint works of art suitable for public consumption.

BEST OF THE STARZ DENVER FILM FESTIVAL

  By Plus Gallery owner Ivar Zeile    

  The Starz Denver Film Festival is now over, and I'd like to give my own brief personal awards to the best films I was able to catch from a program dense with diverse films and cinematic pleasures.

By far the best film on the narrative end was the US indie Littlerock, which seems to be scooping up awards at other festivals and should muster enough attention to become a breakout hit.  This tale of japanese tourists landing in small-town US on their way to a historic, deeply personal shrine, was extremely absorbing, well acted and simply felt like it crossed boundaries rarely seen in independent film today.

Previously reviewed, Marwencol was hands-down the most engaging documentary and also likely to be given greater screen-time outside of the festival, keep an eye out for it during Starz regular year upcoming programming.

And finally, the most audacious mainstream film concluded the festival on Closing Night. Darren Aranofsky's Black Swan proved to be another notch in a cinematic belt that really solidifies this direcor's auteur standing.  From the very opening, you know it's an Aranofsky film, which in my opinion is a good thing, nobody seems to be able to make the camera move and follow action like Darren and his crew, you could watch it back-to-back with his riveting first films Pi, and Requiem for a Dream and make the connections.  The narrative itself is over-the-top, and needs to be in order to drive home the point that confidence and talent breed multiple factors that can consume life, and humanity.  Those with a broad world-view will make solid connections with the cavalcade of drama coursing through the film and it's context within the sphere of ballet.  Those simply looking for a great performance will bask in Natalie Portman's oscar-worthy turn, there is unlikely to be one to top hers from this year's greater crop of hollywood films.