Plus Gallery invites you to Melissa Furness artist talk, Thursday February 17th from 6:30-8pm

Join Plus Gallery this Thursday evening, February 17th from 6:30-8pm for an artist talk with Melissa Furness in conjunction with her current exhibition "trans - f o r m a t i o n s."

Furness' exhibition is an extraordinary multi-dimensional feast, we've fielded many questions about the work since opening the show in late January and are offering the opportunity to hear Melissa discuss the work herself.

Please join us for the talk and a glass of wine that night.

RSVP's welcome

BILL AMUNDSON'S ARRIVAL IN WISCONSIN INSPIRES GREENBAY TO WIN THE SUPERBOWL

The universe works in strange ways.....within three months of Bill Amundson's arrival in Wisconsin, the only professional football team from that state somehow happens to win the superbowl.  Coincidence?  We don't think so, the enormity of Bill's personality and sheer impact of his arrival in that state has obviously caused others with some talent to pick up the pace and stand out, including the Greenbay Packers.  Maybe, just maybe one day Bill will return and help turn around the beloved Broncos, or other local sports teams that have been stagnating since his departure.

Bill recently sent us some shots of his new studio cave, as well as a giant snow-creature about to pounce on his wife Anita.  He only scoffed when told that Denver was experiencing a deep freeze.

Bill will soon begin new works set for an exhibition here in Denver towards the end of the year, we can't wait to see the results and to welcome him back for some fall revelry.

NICE INTERVIEW WITH PLUS GALLERY ARTIST ALLIE POHL

Allie Pohl sent us her most recent interview with the culture/style blog Wetheurban, revealing much about her inspired "Ideal Woman" line of art and necklaces, as well as her upcoming shows including a solo at Plus Gallery later this spring.  Catch up with Allie online at:

http://www.wetheurban.com/post/3206138629/wetheurban-interview-allie-pohl-of-ideal-woman 

AND A NICE INTERVIEW WITH PLUS OWNER IVAR ZEILE ON ARTMEME

Plus Gallery owner Ivar Zeile was recently asked to shed some light on the gallery by Laura Greb for online blog ArtMeme and 303 magazine.  Read what he has to say online at:

http://artme.me/2011/02/plus-gallery-and-a-little-more/

FUSEBOX OPENING THIS FRIDAY AT THE DENVER ART MUSEUM, AND OTHER UPCOMING DAMC RELATED EVENTS

The DAM Contemporaries are Denver's longest running and most exciting support group for enthusiasts of Contemporary Art, supporting the collections, programs and endeavors of the Denver Art Museum.  This Friday evening, February 11th the group will unveil new work in the Fusebox on the 4th floor of the Hamilton Wing at the DAM,  a space sponsored by the DAMC and generally engaging in new media projects.  The new exhibition features regional artist Stacey Steers' most recent film "Night Hunter." The film, produced over a period of four years, is comprised of 4,000 meticulously handmade collages and shot on 35mm film. Steers' animated films have been screened at The Sundance Film Festival, New Directors/New Films Festival presented by The Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., along with other festivals and venues worldwide.

Along with "Night Hunter" screening in the Fusebox, Friday evening will include a festival of Steers films screening in the Sharp Auditorium, with the schedule as follows:

6:30 pm Totem (1999) screening

6:45 pm Phantom Canyon (2006) screening

7:00 pm Night Hunter world premiere screening

7:30 pm Champagne reception and exhibition viewing on 4th Floor

This event is free with Museum admission but the screenings in the auditorium that night are sold out as of today!  But, you can be added to the waitlist by emailing jbrunecky@denverartmuseum.org or calling 720-913-0152.

Patrons can still view Night Hunter in the FuseBox throughout the night and join the DAM Contemporaries for the 7:30 reception. If you are not a DAM or DAMC member, you can join Friday night for a very special deal!  The full $10 general admission will go towards your membership and you will receive two complimentary admissions to Stacey Steers' Logan Lecture on May 18th, a $36 value, for joining both DAM and DAMC at a total cost of $100.

Here are some additional upcoming programs the DAMC will be sponsoring in the coming month, with special reduced rates and benefits for members:

February 16th:  Logan Lecture with Steina

February 25- 27: Christo and Jeanne-Claude Film Festival (Saturday screenings with Christo sold out).

March 6th: 'Watching Me Watching You' Exhibition Opening, DAMC members only

March 10th: 'Blink! Light, Sound and the Moving Image' Exhibition Opening, DAMC members only

March 16th: Logan Lecture with Charles Sandison

To find out more, visit the DAMC website at

http://damcontemporaries.denverartmuseum.org

FURNESS EXHIBITION A "TOUR DE FORCE" FOR LOCAL CONTEMPORARY ART

Plus Gallery opened the exhibition "trans - f o r m a t i o n" last friday evening to much applause and mixed interpretation, people reacting very strongly to the expansive nature of Melissa Furness' paintings and stunning installation piece that centers the show.   There is a lot of depth and symbolic nature to Furness' work, requiring some time to peel back the layers within.  We feel this makes for a truly great and thoughtful gallery experience, something that validates the ongoing buzz that Denver receives as a hot-bed for contemporary art .  Not only did the exhibition get a critic's pic for the opening by Denver Post's Kyle MacMillan, but it also made the Channel 9 news that afternoon, a first in the gallery history!  We welcome everyone to come visit and see for themselves.

Read one initial blogger's reaction from the opening at

http://www.illiteratemagazine.com/blog/view/475

MORE ON FURNESS: A REVIEW FROM LONGMONT ART CRITIC FOR HER CONTRIBUTION TO DAIRY CENTER EXHIBITION

We were pleased to see such positive and astute reaction coming from up north in reaction to Melissa Furness' work currently on view at the Dairy Center for the Arts.  Here's how Quentin Young's article "A show for the eyes and mind" starts off:

"Melissa Furness gives the eyes plenty to do in her mixed media exhibition "Cessation." What makes the show worth talking about is what Furness gives the heart and mind to do.

"Cessation" is one of the exhibitions on view at The Dairy Center for the Arts through Feb. 11. Also on view are "Organic Garden," a set of clay works by Dan Friedlander, and "Rapture," a series of oil paintings by Michelle Weddle.

Give your eyes to Furness' dense, disjointed images, with their glimpses of ancient ruins, their tangles of monochrome lines, their fields of geometric patterns, and their swimmers, and you'll find the works bear concentrated and prolonged scrutiny. They get more interesting the more you gaze." - Quintin Young, Longmont Times-Call, January 21, 2011

Read the full report online at

http://www.timescall.com/entertainment/entertainment-story.asp?ID=24993 

FURNESS TO BE GUEST ON FEBRUARY 2nd UNTITLED ART SHOW

And finally, tune in at 8pm next wednesday, February 2nd to the untitledartshow.com for a live interview with Plus Gallery artist Melissa Furness to hear her discuss the work in "trans - f o r m a t i o n s," or download the podcast at a later date.

LAST WEEK FOR RIVA SWEETROCKET EXHIBITION "EXTRA ORDINARY" AT DBG

This is the final week to view Plus Gallery artist Riva Sweetrocket's exhibition "Extra Ordinary" at the Denver Botanic Gardens.  Kyle MacMillan speaks out about the show in last friday's Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/art/ci_17147811

TSEHAI JOHNSON'S CONTRIBUTION TO CVA METRO STATE FACULTY EXHIBITION APPLAUDED IN THIS WEEKS WESTWORD

Though the piece was first exhibited at Plus Gallery in 2008, part of the final exhibition in our old space and easily one of the best exhibitions of that year, Westword Critic Michael Paglia sings high praise for Tsehai Johnson's "Exploding Carpet" in this week's feature review of the CVA's Metro State Faculty exhibition.  Better late than never, here's what Paglia says about Johnson's work:

"Down the main hallway and filling an entire gallery is "Exploding Carpet," by ceramics whiz Tsehai Johnson. On the floor, a square has been suggested using small, white, organically shaped elements. In the center is a cluster of the elements, with some suspended from the ceiling so that they appear to be floating. It's gorgeous." - Michael Paglia, Westword, January 26, 2011

Look for more of Tsehai Johnson in 2011, including the upcoming Denver Art Museum exhibition "Exquisite Dirt."

RECOMMENDED READING THIS SUNDAY

We highly recommend picking up a copy of this Sunday's New York Times, which just might include a work by one of Plus Gallery's most admired and collected artists.  For a preview, visit:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/30/magazine/30Wikileaks-t.html?_r=2&hhttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/30/magazine/30Wikileaks-t.html?_r=2&h 

JENNY MORGAN PAINTING OF JULIAN ASSANGE FEATURED IN THIS WEEKEND'S NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE

So many people already know the story about Jenny Morgan and the amazing career she has put together since emerging in the Denver scene in 2003.  From her stint as the very first intern here at the gallery, to her acceptance into the inaugural "Outwin Boochever Portraiture" competition sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution, her transition to NYC to study at one of the best painting schools in the country (SVA), joining Marilyn Minter's studio upon graduation followed by major breakthroughs in her own art with hugely admired solo exhibitions in Denver as well as NYC, having a full book dedicated to the first phase of her career produced in-house by Plus Gallery, to her getting the cover of national art publication Art Ltd. last year!  It's been an amazing ride so far, leading up to last weekends publication of her Assange portrait in the NY Times magazine which has led to a major run on her work by collectors.  All we can say is, wow (or told you so), and also that it couldn't happen to a more special person.  So congratulations to Jenny and to everyone who has been following her career or collecting her artwork, we suspect it's only going to get even more exciting from here!

Morgan painting in NY Times Magazine, 2011

And just five years ago, Colorado Homes and lifestyles "10 local Artists to collect now" 

SYNTAX ARTICLE ON PLUS GALLERY ARTIST AUSTIN PARKHILL

Another young artist in a vein similar to Morgan (though without the Plus Gallery internship.....) who we started working with last year is Austin Parkhill, a graduate of Colorado State University in Fort Collins.  Parkhill's large-scale snapshot-style paintings of people in his life are technically incredible and push the mind in a different direction than Morgan in their presence.  He was accepted into the second  "Outwin Boochever Portraiture" competition held last year at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. and his prospects also seem quite bright.  Read the article just published in Denver's online Syntax magazine here to learn more about Parkhill and his work:
http://www.denversyntax.com/issue22/art/parkhill/parkhill.htm

Austin Parkhill's "Almond Sunrise," a whopping 84 x 68 inches!

MELISSA FURNESS TO BE GUEST ON FEBRUARY 2nd UNTITLED ART SHOW

What's the best thing to do on a blustery winter evening?  Our suggestion is to cozy up by the heater and tune in to the untitledartshow.com at 8pm for a live interview with Plus Gallery's current featured artist Melissa Furness to hear her discuss the work in "trans - f o r m a t i o n s."   We recently loaded images from this wonderful exhibition online, an experience that hardly supplants seeing the work in person but can help you get a fix on the show in case you haven't yet come by for a visit.

Melissa Furness:  "flection" + "Fragment of a Panel: Khadalik (made).loan"