FAREWELL TO DENVER POST ART CRITIC KYLE MACMILLAN

Serious art coverage in Colorado took a major hit last week as Denver Post Art Critic Kyle MacMillan announced his acceptance of a buyout package from the paper.  MacMillan reflected on his departure over the weekend with the following article:

http://www.denverpost.com/entertainment/ci_19451576?utm

MacMillan had a very poignant statement to make towards the end of the article, one that we think bears repeating here:

"The arts are not a luxury but an essential part of life. They probe the very essence of what it means to be human, taking us on emotional journeys that bring us face to face with our weaknesses and sorrows, but that also lift us to incredible heights of joy."
We couldn't agree more.  There is much doubt as to whether the Post will find a replacement for MacMillan and to what extent his departure will diminish their arts coverage.  We can only see it as a big loss for our community and another black-mark on regional arts journalism in general following the demise of the Rocky Mountain News two years prior.

PLUS GALLERY ARTISTS IN EXHIBITIONS THROUGHOUT COLORADO AND NY

Jon Rietfors: "Value Added" solo exhibition. Opens December 9th, on view through March 25th at the Loveland Museum of Art

Kate Petley: "Gline: Time and Light" installation in group exhibition. Opens December 2nd, on view through January 14th at the Lincoln Center Art Gallery in Fort Collins

Tsehai Johnson: "Strange Beauty: Baroque Sensibilities in Contemporary Art" group exhibition. Opens December 6th, on view through February 14th, 2012 at IDEA Space in the Edith Kinney Gaylord Cornerstone Arts Center, Colorado College, Colorado Springs

Justin Stewart: "Fully Empty #2" installation in group exhibition "The Longest Night. "Opens December 9th, on view through December 18th at Gowanus Ballroom in Brooklyn, NY

Melissa Furness: "A Feminine Contemporary Sublime" group exhibition. On view through December 21st at the A.I.R. Gallery in NYC

PLUS GALLERY LIMITED EDITION HOLIDAY T-SHIRTS FEATURING BILL AMUNDSON ARTWORK NOW AVAILABLE!

Long time followers of Plus Gallery can rely on one thing each year:  A classy design on a t-shirt featuring artwork by one of our artists.  Not quite true, we failed to deliver last year, but we are more than making up for it with a new t-shirt design this year with imagery and text culled from Bill Amundson's recent block-buster exhibition, specifically his scathing commentary on the art-world found in "Art Speak Remote."  This year's design is printed on high-quality American Apparel shirts which feel great against the skin.  We've also upped the ante with a three-color silk-screen, the first in gallery history!  The men's version is slightly different than the ladies, but all are available in three different sizes and limited to an edition of 36 of each.  Get yours now, we'll have them available starting tomorrow evening at Frank T. Martinez opening reception and Plus Gallery holiday soiree at a cost of $35 each.  Get yours while you can!

Frank T. Martinez models Plus Gallery holiday shirt

PLUS GALLERY CONCLUDES 2011 WITH RETURN OF FRANK T. MARTINEZ IN "OUT/LINE"

OPENING RECEPTION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8TH FROM 6-9PM

Plus Gallery welcomes Denver artist Frank T. Martinez back with his fourth solo exhibition "Out / Line" from December 8th, 2011 through January 21st, 2012.  Since debuting with the gallery in 2004, Martinez has become one of the most appreciated and acclaimed abstract painters in the region. Martinez works in series, each an extension but quite different from the last, exploring a particular concept in depth and to its conclusion.  His paintings generally combine multiple layers of paint applied through different techniques, the end result typically loaded with symbolic content that is thoughtful and visually captivating.  "Out / Line" might be his most dense and fascinating body of work yet, the new series exerting intricate line-play that hints at subtleties beneath the surface as well as bold flashes bursting through that create a gorgeous, compelling surface texture.  The new collection is an extremely rich exploration into pattern, architecture, color, and density, all seeming to combine with a poetic tension that stimulates the visual senses. The exhibition is presented in conjunction with the grand opening of the Clyfford Still Museum as an extension of hallmark ideas and the continuation of abstraction as a formidable practice in painting today.  Join Plus Gallery in welcoming Frank T. Martinez back to the gallery with an opening reception and holiday party on Thursday, December 8th from 6-9pm.

On Wednesday,  January 18th at 7pm Plus Gallery will host "New Abstraction Today: Four Essential Plus Gallery Artists." This forum brings together four of the gallery's represented artists who have consistently upheld new methods of abstraction within the Denver community and beyond. Frank T. Martinez, Kate Petley, Bruce Price and Dave Yust will discuss their place and what abstraction means in the contemporary milieu.  Presented in conjunction with the community celebration of the opening of the Clyfford Still Museum.  Reservation required, please RSVP to ivar@plusgallery.com

TELLURIDE'S TAKE ON CLYFFORD STILL MUSEUM

By now most everyone has either visited or heard about the latest in Denver's significant new infrastructure of institutional gems dedicated to art with the recent opening of the Clyfford Still Museum.  Two of our good friends from Telluride were recently in town for a tour, and has this report to share on their Still experience in their blog tellurideinside:

http://www.tellurideinside.com/2011/11/clyfford-still-museum-open-in-denver.html

JON RIETFORS ADDS VALUE TO THE LOVELAND MUSEUM OF ART STARTING DECEMBER 9TH

Plus Gallery artist Jon Rietfors has been a curator's favorite ever since emerging as an artist with his trademark approach to dimensional photography, utilizing consumer packaging as the substrate for his creations.  Denver's Center for Visual Arts just featured the artist in the summer group exhibition "Reclamation" with three recent examples of his work, and next month the Loveland Museum of Art follows suite with a more expansive solo exhibition of Rietfors work as a post-Chuck Close tribute to a particular approach to contemporary art.

Rietfors "Value Added" will open next Friday, December 9th with a reception up in Loveland, and will remain on view through March 25th.  Don't miss this opportunity to see one of the regions most original bodies of work in depth.

View of West Glenwood Springs with Nerds Candy Packages (2009)

PATTI HALLOCK TO SPEAK ON ROBERT ADAMS TONIGHT AT CPAC, 7PM

Plus Gallery artist Patti Hallock, who exhibited earlier this year at the gallery with the solo exhibition "The West is Here," is going to be speaking at the Colorado Photographic Arts Center this Wednesday night, November 30th at 7pm. This is the third lecture in a series that focus on a different book by Robert Adams, and in conjunction with the CPAC exhibit titled "Situating Robert Adams". Patti's lecture is inspired by the book "Along Some Rivers" which is a book of interviews with Robert Adams in regard to his work, career and thoughts about photography. She will discuss the ways in which his photographs and words have inspired her own work.

Patti Hallock's "Trailview" from her 2004 body of work "Nocturnal Suburbia"

The talk will take place at the CPAC gallery which is located in Lakewood in the Belmar district. For directions and info visit

http://www.cpacphoto.org/how-to-find-the-center/