DON'T MISS TONIGHT'S LOGAN LECTURE FEATURING TUCKER NICHOLS

The DAM Contemporaries host the second Logan Lecture in the current series tonight, February 22nd, featuring US artist Tucker Nichols.  From the artists website:


Tucker Nichols has had recent solo shows at ZieherSmith Gallery in New York, Gallery 16 in San Francisco, and the Kunstpanorama in Luzern, Switzerland. His work has been featured at the Drawing Center and John Connelly Presents in New York, Den Frie Museum in Copenhagen and the 2010 California Biennial at the Orange County Museum of Art. His drawings have been published in McSweeney's, J&L Books, The Thing, Nieves Books and the Op-Ed pages of The New York Times. Recent residencies include Headlands Center for the Arts, Acadia Summer Arts Program, and the deYoung Museum in San Francisco. He is the founder of Anonymous Postcard, a mail-based suggestion box for the world.


Nichols has a BA from Brown University and an MA from Yale University. His studio is in the Marin Headlands near San Francisco.

 

The lecture starts at 7pm at the Denver Art Museum in the downstairs auditorium.  Join the DAMC tonight and receive a free t-shirt as sported by Plus Gallery intern Jenna Douglas below.  Current members can purchase these high quality shirts as well for a ridiculously inexpensive rate, pick yours up at the lecture tonight.

 

THE APOCALYPSE PEAKS THIS FRIDAY NIGHT! "NEW SPHERE" FEATURING "PICTUREPLANE" and "REAL MAGIC" TO TAKE PLACE AT PLUS GALLERY

Plus Gallery's current exhibition "Apocalypse? HOW!" features some rare emerging talent from Denver and beyond, with Drew Englander standing as one of the premier multi-disciplinary artists to rise above the norm.  While his beautiful, intricately rendered graphite drawings hit the right tone for our exhibition, Englander excels creatively with both his video works as well as his musical project Real Magic.


We are pleased to announce that Drew will deliver a sensory assualt this Friday evening, his Real Magic teaming up with Pictureplane, Travis Egedy's musical entity that is one of the hottest names in the underground scene across the globe right now.  Both artists have distinguished themselves locally by being at the forefront of one of the most vibrant youth movements in Denver, with Egedy making his mark well beyond, his music produced by Lovepump United, the same label that supports the supreme artists "Health" and "Crystal Castles."  Egedy has recently toured in Russia and has an upcoming tour in Japan and South Korea this spring, no doubt a result of his high accolades from the professional and critical music community.  Both artists are recent graduates of the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, a school that has consistently produced some of the most remarkable talent of the last decade, and both have had their visual art introduced via Plus Gallery through group exhibitions.  All that adds up to a profoundly unique moment for the gallery,  we are quite certain that it will be a night to remember.


Plus Gallery will open at 9pm for an hour of social mixing, supplanted by the wonders of Great Divide, with the evening's performance starting around 10pm.  The event is free, donations may be made to contribute to the audio-setup as well as the beverages.


Here is some additional information and links to both Real Magic and Pictureplane, for the uninitiated:


Real Magic
From the Heart Music Group website:


R E A L M A G I C is the moniker of 26 yr. old singer / producer / artist Drew Englander from Denver, CO. He makes densely layered electronic noise-pop, sampling his voice and singing hooks through a veil of fuzzy synths and spastic drum machines. Inspired equally by orchestras, epic film scores, Shoegaze, R&B, Grime and a wide range of bass-centric club music, his songs are at once danceable, contemplative and emotional.


Englander began experimenting with electronic music during his years in art school, using the ideas he developed within his visual and performance work as a conceptual basis for R E A L M A G I C. Upon graduating in 2009, he started fleshing out his musical vision more seriously, driven by the desire to affect people deeply on an experiential level. He wants to move you. He wants you to feel.
http://heartmusicgroup.bandcamp.com/album/r-e-a-l-m-a-g-i-c

http://soundcloud.com/realmagic

 

Pictureplane
From the Lovepump United Website:


24-year-old weirdo performance artist Travis Egedy, a.k.a. Pictureplane, obsesses over the cosmos, 90s house music, collective consciousness, and mind-altering chemicals you've never heard of. Much like his interests, Pictureplane's music is strange and boundless and totally righteous. Having cut his teeth on raging tours with HEALTH, a collab with Beirut's Zach Condon and killer remixes for Crystal Castles, HEALTH, and Thieves Like Us, Pictureplane delivers his first full-length for Lovepump, Dark Rift.


Grimy synths, broken beats, and bucolic vocals collide somewhere between early 90s house music and the gnarly soundscapes of Black Dice to forge a sound that's wholly unique and endlessly exciting. It's exceedlingly rare to find dance music that transcends the cold and robotic, but on Dark Rift Pictureplane does just that: churning out intricate electronic jams out of his near-legendary Denver warehouse space Rhinoceropolis. The music feels at once personal and cosmically expansive.


http://www.theephysical.com/

http://soundcloud.com/pictureplane

http://vimeo.com/26480359

New William Betts paintings arriving at Plus in advance of his April solo exhibition "Remote Sensing"

BILL AMUNDSON SIGHTING POSSIBLE THROUGH END OF WEEK IN DENVER

Bill Amundson arrived in town last night for his series of workshops and lectures at the Art Student's League, which start this evening with "How I Draw What I Draw" at 6pm.  Any opportunity to hear Bill speak about his work, or life in general, is worth taking and we hope that the demonstrations and master classes will be jam packed.  Those who are not able to attend might get lucky and run into Bill and his wife Anita elsewhere as they take in the fresh Colorado air the next few days.  Bill will be bringing his latest self portrait to Plus Gallery tomorrow for us to share, as fine a substitute for the real thing as we might ask for.

Detail from "Portrait of an Artist" by Bill Amundson

WESTWORD INTERVIEW WITH NANCY HIGHTOWER POSTED ONLINE THIS WEEK IN REFERENCE TO APOCALYPSE? HOW!

We are extremely pleased to see Westword's blog on our current exhibition "Apocalypse? HOW!" this week, and in particular the emphasis on writer Nancy Hightower who created the text that proceeded the exhibition (as serialized in our newsletter and on facebook) and accompanies the exhibition.  Hightower is quickly gaining notoriety for her creative and journalistic writing, particularly as it relates to contemporary art.  Hightower wrote the introduction to our recent book "Xi Zhang: Dream Dusts" (which will also accompany his upcoming solo exhibition next month) and is currently working on a piece on Jenny Morgan for her upcoming solo show at Plus in May.   Read more about Nancy and her take on the Apocalypse online at

http://blogs.westword.com/showandtell/2012/02/theres_a_lot_of_buzz.php

And don't forget to drop by the gallery to see the works in our current show, there is some extremely well crafted works on view from Denver artists Drew Englander and Donald Fodness, and much more than meets the eye online with Albuquerque's Larry Bob Phillips and Chicago's Paul Nudd. 

Larry Bob Phillips - Falls in Love

SAVE THE DATE: XI ZHANG SOLO EXHIBITION AT PLUS GALLERY OPENS MARCH 8TH

"11 Ceremonies" is the first season of Xi Zhang's painting series "The Switches," the artist's reaction to new social network forms and contemporary technologies.  The paintings document our continually shifting online living experiences and identities, interpreted by Zhang through a stunning array of color and fluid form.  Xi Zhang is one of the most distinguished emerging artists in Colorado history.   In 2011 he received his MFA in painting from CU Boulder, concurrently being named a "Pathfinder" in the visual arts and one of the top artists under 35 by the Denver Post.  Later that year he became the youngest artist to deliver a logan lecture at the Denver Art Museum as part of the fall series' focus on Chinese contemporary art.  His new works are socially charged, symbolically complex and as visually rich as anything being done in contemporary art in the world today.

"FUTURO ANTERIORE" FEATURING PLUS GALLERY ARTIST ALLIE POHL OPENS SATURDAY IN LA

Plus Gallery artist Allie Pohl is getting a lot of attention in LA since her move there in 2010.  Her latest group exhibition is "Futuro Anteriore", curated by Simmy Swinder and also featuring Sarah Danays, Elyse Graham, Gerit Grimm and Lewis Mauk.  The exhibition takes place at the Carmichael Gallery, 5795 Washington Blvd. in Culver City, the hotbed for contemporary art in LA.  The exhibition opens with a reception on Saturday, February 11th from 6-9pm and remains on view through March 10th.

From the gallery press release:

Carmichael Gallery is pleased to present Futuro Anteriore, a group exhibition curated by Simmy Swinder and featuring works by Los Angeles-based artists Sarah Danays, Elyse Graham, Gerit Grimm, Lewis Mauk and Allie Pohl. Through a variety of media, the artists explore the multifarious concept of the artifact and its transfiguration through time. There will be an opening reception for Futuro Anteriore on February 11. The exhibition will remain on view through March 10, 2011.

Sarah Danays meticulously photographs her sculptural works, which combine self-created elements with found and repurposed antiquities, to create a powerful merger of fictional object and archived curiosity that is often spiritually-based and reinterprets ideas founded on Jean Baudrillard's Simulacra and Simulation. Her translation of Baudrillard's theories manifests in the exchange of physical objects and actual experiences for secondary visual stimuli: with the tangible out of reach, Danays proposes that it is no longer of consequence whether or not it exists, as our relationship is only with its copy. Danays received her BFA from University of the Arts, London and her MFA from Goldsmiths. Elyse Graham searches for ways in which to document and substantiate time as a means of understanding human existence. Geodes in particular have served as "objects of wonderment for me since childhood... I continue to be fascinated with the notion that seemingly ordinary objects have the possibility of harboring something unexpected and beautiful." Her own description of her distinctive creative process underlines its deceptive simplicity: "I build my geodes around the void created by my exhaled breath. When each piece is finished, there is no evidence of what may lay beneath its surface. As I create the piece one layer at a time, each time covering up the layer that preceded it, I have no idea what will reveal itself once the geode is split open." Graham is also interested in the notion of the geode as time capsule, as exemplified by the exhibited video of a geode CT scan that accompanies her sculptural pieces - a cavity is slowly encroached upon by external elements, creating a history from the inside out. Graham received her BA from Brown University. She recently exhibited with Grey Area at the Bass Museum of Art, Miami and The Hole, New York. Upon emigrating to California from Germany, Gerit Grimm became fascinated with the cult-like quest for the perfect body, which is exemplified in her ceramic sculptures by a seemingly effortless and endless exchange of body parts.  Grimm studied ceramics at Burg Giebichenstein, Halle, where she earned an Art and Design Diploma in 2001. In 2002, she was awarded the German DAAD Government Grant for the University of Michigan School of Art and Design, where she graduated with an MA in 2002. She received her MFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in 2004. She has taught at CSULB, Pitzer College, Doane College and MSU Bozeman and has worked at major residencies, including McColl Center, Bemis Center, Kohler Arts & Industry Program and Archie Bray Foundation. Lewis Mauk collects everyday objects that most overlook and / or easily discard. These objects, which range from razors, toothbrushes, prescription pill bottles and rose thorns to wishbones, fortunes, horoscopes and a plethora of other contemporary quotidian objects, serve as an autobiographical time capsule. Mauk then utilizes processes such as photography, lithography and sculpture to represent these objects in a novel and artistically thoughtful way. "My subject matter," he says, "is both index and evidence of obsessive-compulsive behavior, prescriptive and self-medicating and the matriarchal influences in my life." Lewis received his BFA in 1997 from the University of Tennessee and his MFA from CalArts in 2000.

Allie Pohl's work examines projections of female beauty and perfection and the ways in which they dominate women's lives. She developed the symbolic Ideal Woman, based on American cultural icon, Barbie, to question the social constructs of these unattainable and ultimately illusionary ideals. The Ideal Woman serves as an avatar that is repeated throughout Pohl's sculptures, installations, prints and jewelry. Pohl received a BA from Hamilton College in 2007, an Associate of Applied Science in Graphic Design from Parsons in 2008, and an MFA in Electronic Media Arts & Design from the University of Denver in 2010. Her artwork and branded merchandise have been featured in over 40 print and online media outlets, including USA Today, LIFE Magazine, Marie Claire, Elle, The Orlando Sentinel, The Denver Post, Cool Hunting and The American Contemporary Art Magazine.

WHITING'S DENVER "RHINO" IN FULL PAGE VIEW IN FEBRUARY SUNSET MAGAZINE

The February issue of Sunset Magazine features a full-page photo of Mike Whiting's "Rhino" sculpture adjacent to Plus Gallery at the corner of Broadway and Larimer.  The image is part of the publications Mountain Weekend profile that focuses on the River North Arts District, which states "This art district is booming but still feels like a secret - even to locals."  True, and we like it that way!  Pick up a copy on the newstands now.

"SUBURBIA" FEATURING PLUS GALLERY ARTIST MIKE WHITING OPENS FRIDAY NIGHT

Plus Gallery artist Mike Whiting will be in Colorado this Friday night for another curated exhibition that the Denver Post touted as a show not to miss this season.  "Suburbia" combines Whiting's sculptures with works by two of Denver's best artists Christopher Coleman and Phil Bender, along with Micahel Slatter.  The exhibition opens with a reception on Friday evening from 6-9pm in Colorado Springs at the GOCA121, the downtown exhibition space that's curated by UCCS. The exhibition remains on view through April 13, 2012.

The exhibition statement is below, and for more information visit

http://www.galleryuccs.org

In a place and time where suburbs have become the norm, where generic is desirable and conformity is all too often celebrated, GOCA features four artists investigating this cultural phenomenon. The work of Phil Bender mines the physical history of American domestic life, inviting classification through massing of collected objects and opening the door to nostalgia and collective memory. Founder of "Pirate: A Contemporary Art Oasis", one of the first cooperative galleries in Denver and the region, Bender has exhibited nationally and regionallyand will exhibit works in GOCA for the first time. Long-time collaborators Christopher Coleman & Michael Salter individually are well known for their works in video, installation, and illustration. "My House is not my House" began as a pair of animated illustrations, expanding on Michael Salter's work depicting life in America. In 2010 the animations were expanded and became a series of high definition "digital paintings" for which SUBURBIA will serve as their Colorado premier. Michael Whiting creates playful sculptures from the forms and imagery of early video gaming and computer graphics. Whiting's four solo exhibitions with Plus Gallery in Denver, Colorado since 2004 have established a devoted following for his art in the region. He is also represented in Los Angeles, California with Edward Cella Art + Architecture, since 2010.

MORGAN PICS FROM LAST WEEK'S CVA OPENING NOW ON PLUS WEBSITE

Last week the Center for Visual Arts in Denver unveiled an exhibition that should be on everyone's list to visit this winter.  "Out Figured" is an exceptional display of both local and national talent that takes the concept of figure in contemporary art to great heights.  Named as one of the top shows not to miss this season by the Denver Post, the exhibition features a broad selection of recent paintings by Plus Gallery artist Jenny Morgan, who visited Denver last week for the opening reception.  Visit the Plus Gallery scrapbook page to see pics of Jenny and her contribution to the show.

http://plusgallery.com/scrapbook/59/

The new Plus Gallery video "Jenny Morgan: Self Portrait" accompanies her works in the show and can also be viewed online at

http://vimeo.com/36023482

Jenny Morgan - Self Portrait (video still)

Four Morgan paintings at the CVA

Jenny and CVA director Jennifer Garner | photo by Ken Hamel / DenverArts.org

APOCALYPSE? HOW! EXHIBITION OPENS TO LARGE CROWD

Thanks to all who came out in support of last week's opening reception for "Apcalypse? HOW!"  As vibrant a night as one is likely to find in a Denver gallery, and a terrific exhibition that is worth checking out in person without a huge crowd.  On view through March 3rd.

JOIN FOUR TERRIFIC GROUPS FOR A CONTEMPORARY HOME OPEN HOUSE FEB. 16TH IN DENVER

Kentwood City Properties, Elevate Architecture, UMD Home and Plus Gallery are hosting an open house for the latest spectacular home design by Elevate Architecture.  Join us on February 16th to explore this modern 4 bedroom masterpiece and meet the team behind the design.  Wine and nibbles to be provided.  Plus Gallery has contributed three exceptional works by artist Kate Petley to help show-off the great style and sensibilities of the home, the perfect compliment for high-quality aesthetics.

Location: 947 Gilpin St.
5-8pm

For more information visit http://www.lizrichardsrealestate.com

MIKE WHITING SHOWS OFF NEW WORKS IN GOCA EXHIBITION "SUBURBIA" OPENING FEB. 10TH IN COLORADO SPRINGS

Plus Gallery artist Mike Whiting will have works on view in "Suburbia" along with Phil Bender, Christopher Coleman and Michael Salter at GOCA121, UCCS downtown Colorado Springs location from February 10th through April 13, 2012. Whiting has produced a number of new small-scale sculptures for the exhibition, all in his clean, distinct style that has made him one of the most popular artists to collect from the Plus Gallery stable and beyond.  For more information visit www.galleryuccs.org The Gallery of Contemporary Art will host an Opening Reception for the exhibition on Friday, February 10 from 6 - 9 pm.

TIME RUNNING OUT TO SIGN UP FOR BILL AMUNDSON MASTER CLASSES WITH ASL DENVER

Bill Amundson - How I Draw What I Draw

Thursday, February 16, 2012 - 6-8pm

Join Plus Gallery artist Bill Amundson for this Art Students League of Denver lecture and demonstration as he discusses the evolution of ideas in his recent work and demonstrates his actual methods and graphic techniques. Secrets will be revealed!

Registration required by 2/10, for more information visit http://asld.org

Bill Amundson - Blurred Vision: Seeing the World Your Way
Saturday, February 18, 2012 - 9am - 4pm Part 1

Sunday, February 19, 2012 - 9am - 4pm Part 2

Plus Gallery artist Bill Amundson delivers a Master Class workshop for the Art Students League Denver over two days in February. This drawing workshop will explore ideas: where they come from, how to get them, and what to do with them. Artists have always drawn inspiration and motivation from a wide variety of sources?current events, politics, art history, celebrity gossip, consumerism, interstate travel and cultural taboos. Together we will examine the process of gathering ideas from disparate sources and combining them with one?s own thoughts, perspective, and personal style. With demonstrations, discussions, and review of participants? previous work, we?ll explore drawing in a wide variety of media, including graphite, colored pencil, marker, and collage to find new sources of inspiration and new ways to express your unique vision.

Registration required by 2/10, for more information visit http://asld.org

NEW PLUS GALLERY VIDEO NOW ONLINE! JENNY MORGAN: SELF PORTRAIT

"Jenny Morgan - Self Portrait" is the first video composition of the acclaimed young painter from New York City who began her career in Denver, CO with Plus Gallery just eight years ago. Morgan discusses the more intimate details of several of her most compelling paintings of the last 4 years, works that have defined her as one of the top emerging talents in the US. Known for her exquisite and revealing self portraits as well as her interpretations of other people in her life, Morgan's body of work redefines the genre of contemporary portraiture.

Filmed in August, 2011 at the end of her summer residency in Denver, Colorado. Directed by Plus Gallery owner Ivar Zeile and assistant Ryan Pattie. Composition and editing by Ryan Pattie.

http://vimeo.com/36023482

Jenny Morgan - Post Denver

NINE JENNY MORGAN PAINTINGS FROM PRIVATE COLLECTIONS GO ON VIEW THIS THURSDAY AT THE CVA IN THE EXHIBITION "OUT / FIGURED"

Plus Gallery artist Jenny Morgan will have nine recent paintings on view, including her most recently completed self portrait "Can't Believe,"  in the group exhibition "Out FIGURED"  opening this Thursday evening at Metro State's Center for Visual Arts.

"Can't Believe," detail, 2012

The CVA will host members and the artists for a private reception from 6-7pm, followed by the public reception from 7-9pm.

Jenny will be in town for the exhibition, we expect a good fan-club to be in attendance for the opening of this terrific exhibition, a pre-cursor to her upcoming solo exhibition this May here at Plus Gallery.

For more information visit http://www.MetroStateCVA.org
The exhibition is on view through April 7, 2012

CVA Hours: Tuesday-Friday 11am-6pm, Saturday noon-5pm.
Admission is free.