Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone!
and finally…
Category Archives: Artist to Watch
Paper Fashion Show – A M A Z I N G
This is the Paper Fashion Show last year, March 2014. See for yourself. It is so fabulous, you won’t believe your eyes.
It was an Ooh, La, La visual wonderland. The 10th Annual ADCD ( Art Directors Club of Denver) Paper Fashion Show happened last night at the Seawell Grand Ballroom. And, it was a WOW. I had attended a luncheon in the Seawell Ballroom on Wednesday but last night the room shared no resemblance whatsoever. It was transformed into a vision of feminine colors, whimsical fashion illustrations, frills and outrageous dresses made out of P A P E R. The designs were absolutely amazing. I took photos for you …. see for yourself.
Fashion Celebrity Hosts, Tim Gunn & Mondo Guerra
What do you get when you cross a – fashionister in skinny pants, polka dot bow tie, thick curled pomaded, tri-color hair with – a skinny, hip, young & clever looking, green-haired fashionista girl wearing black from head to toe? Why of course, it’s photographers at the 2015, fundraiser fashion show.
The En Vogue Goodwill Fashion show, welcomed Emmy award-winning Tim Gunn and Denver’s own Mondo Guerra, to the cirque d’cool on Thursday night.
Of course it was snowing like a tasmanian devil outside. But that mattered little to the sold-out extravaganza, where fashionistas of all ages gathered at Union Station, come hell or ten foot snow.
Always a sell-out, this event benefits Goodwill’s career development programs. Mondo Guerra, wearing a self-designed tight-fitting Matisse-inspired black & white suit, polished off his look with spit-shined patent leather shoes and no socks. He told the audience how he loves Goodwill thrift stores. When he was just falling in love with fashion & design he spent lots of time and, little money, in thrift stores. He’d take the clothes home, take them apart to study the design, the stitching and fabric. It paid off. He was winner on the debut season of Project Runway All Stars. Today he has a clothes line and an exclusive eyewear collection inspired by pop culture.
Tim Gunn, “Under the Gunn,” a co-host and mentor of Lifetime’s Project Runway, met Mondo during season eight and, as they say, the rest is history. Gunn said each year when he’s en route to the west, he starts to think of Denver girls. He envisions them in jeans, boots, hats, big winter coats. But when he gets here, he is thrilled to see the fashion conscience females in this Western metropolitan city. He mentioned great taste in boots, sweaters, scarfs, jewelry and the creative mixing of stylish vintage and high fashion. Pat yourself on the back Denver Girlie Q’s.
The select fashion designers were high school students under Mondo’s directions. He suggested they create designs that were reminiscent of fleeting fashions which passed through these marbled walls of the hundred year old Union Station. They listened and went to work; elegantly mixing a Great Gatsby look with hip, sassy Western style that showed maturity and serious fashion-astute design talent.
…And the audience was pretty cool, too.
Fashion in Denver. Pay attention. Next up, the Paper Fashion show next month…
Merrily We Move Along
My dear subscribers,
Wherever you live I hope you are warm with a drawer full of clean tights & socks (you need both for really cold), and at least one pair of Uggs (fur lined boots any brand); one pair of thermal pants (any color), a down coat with a hood or a Prana hat (the best hat in the world) and of course a supply of ice cream, several bags of Doritos, hot chocolate, coffee and wine. Otherwise, bless your heart, it is too cold for you. Get on a plane and get out of there.
888MarketStreet is growing despite the weather. We’re happy to introduce the latest artists to join the gallery. We think they are amazing. Here they are: Art Silk, Allison Pickett and Ken Pledger. All three have traveled their own unique path. Art is presently on a bird kick; Allison is into indigenous plants and, Ken spends his days in beautiful meadows.
Art Silk, was formerly known as a fine art photographer. After years behind the lens he took a detour. Instead of capturing a bird in flight on his camera, he now brings his paintings to life with excellent color, shadows and highlights. Look at his birds, you’ll think the bird & Art know something we don’t. Make sure you click on one in Fine Art on menu, to see for yourself.
I am also excited to introduce Allison Pickett to the gallery. She lives in Boulder, but hails from Memphis, my old stomping grounds and the go-to city for BBQ & Beale Street blues. That’s why I liked her work. No really, what drew me to Allison’s work is its freshness, her free-flowing brush strokes, and the detail she executes with vivid acrylics and ink. If you’re looking for colorful, lively art, Allison’s paintings will make your wall pop. Check out her aspen trees on 888MarketStreet.com.
Ken Pledger is a long time ‘plein air’ painter with years of study and experimentation behind him. From his early photorealism style in oils and pastels, to an era of loose landscapes and Western desert paintings twenty years ago, Ken’s palette has continued to evolve. Painting plein air well, is what every artist strives for…taking the viewer to a beautiful setting of lush trees, snow-capped mountains, flowering meadows, the scene of a storm approaching or the Eiffel Tower at sunset.
Ken Pledger has always been an exceptional artist who has the talent to delve into different genres and mediums when the urge occurs. The paintings on 888 show a softer, mature, at-peace artist who just wants to paint. Every day he finds an open space, sets up his easel and gets to work. Keep an eye on Ken. His paintings are versatile – with the hand and eye of an old pro.
YeeHaw, Ya’ll
You’re probably not a cowboy or cowgirl but that’s ok. When January rolls around in the West, everyone wants to be one.
Coincidentally, the 109th National Western Stock Show opened January 10, 2015, with one of the best displays of Western art in the world. The Coors Western Art Exhibition & Sale premiered to rave reviews and enormous sales. That seems to be the case each year. And here’s to tell you the historic stock show has much more than livestock and boots to experience and purchase.
Featured Coors 2015 artist is Teresa Elliott. She’s in good company with: Tony Angell, Duke Beardsley, Allen Birnbach, Gordon Brown, Sophy Brown, George Bumann, Kenneth Bunn, G. Russell Case, Dan Chen, Len Chmiel, Neil Clifford, Don Coen, Mark Daily, Glenn Dean, John Demott, Caroline Douglas, Sharron Evans, Scott Fraser, Terry Gardner, Ulrich Gleiter, Brent Greenwood, David Griffin, David Grossmann, William Haskell, Rocky Hawkins, Quang Ho, Tony Hockstetler, T.D. Kelsey, Steve Kestrel, Amy Laugesen, T. Allen Lawson, Richard Loffler, Kim Lordier, Leon Loughridge, Michael Lynch, Jerry Markham, Walter Matia, William Matthews, Dean Mitchell, Jim Morgan, Julia Mulligan, Arlo Namingha, Dan Namingha, Joel Ostlind, Howard Post, Susan Raymond, Karen Roehl, Brad Rude, Jo LeMay Rutledge, Tim Shinabarger, Preston Singletary, Jill Soukup, Michael Stano, Don Stinson, Karmel Timmons, Susan Tirrell, Kent Ullberg, Barbara VanCleve, Skip Whitcomb, Laura Wilson, Seth Winegar, Dinah Worman, Melanie Yazzie, Dan Young.
Here’s a sprinkling of the fabulous art to be seen at the stock show’s Coors Western gallery.
• High Noon, Teresa Elliott
• Duke Beardsley
• Leon Loughridge
• Skip Whitcomb
• Seth Winegar
• Barbara VanCleve
Downtown at Abend Gallery, the gallery that miraculously stays on top of the West’s best emerging artists and, the best selling like Dave Santillanes, Elsa Sroka, Lorenzo Chavez, Lindsey Bittner Graham, Bruce Gomez, Stephanie Hartshorn, Elizabeth Sandia, Clyde Steadman, opened their Western show featuring pop and tradition.
The stylistic paintings of David Kammerzell, Travis Walker and Stephanie Hartshorn are a stretch from the very traditional Dave Santillanes or Bruce Gomez classic western genre. A comprehensive taken from this show is temperament. The show has personality created by first class painter’s narratives which follow a Western theme.
Old Traditions / New Frontiers, was no doubt designed to coincide with the stock show and, without gushing, it’s a very good show. The West is ‘in’ in January. Christine Serr, gallery owner, just gets it. Traditions/Frontiers combines classic Western landscapes intermingled with campy, retro styles and subject matter reminiscent of Gene Autry and Pecos Bill illustrated story books. The interesting mix creates a full bodied show of classic landscapes topped with humor and color.
• David Kammerzell
A real cowboy! (Model for Lindsey B Graham)
• Dave Santillanes
• Lindsey Bittner Graham
• Stephanie Hartshorn
• Michelle Conrad
• Bruce Gomez
Denver galleries are numerous and the owners have great taste in art and artists. If you’re thinking rodeo, think art too. An art trip to Denver is a trip in itself.
The Coors Exhibit is at the National Western Complex off I-70 & Brighton Avenue; from downtown, just north of Coors Field. Abend Gallery is at Colfax & York, east of the Capitol Building.
Matt Sesow tags Access Gallery
It was last Friday, I planned to meet friends for…whatever, maybe it was the movie, “Land Ho.” (I think it was). As is the case with most Facebookers, I had a minute. I opened my laptop and saw an invitation from the artist Matt Sesow at Access Gallery. I thought why not? It’s less than five minutes from my house. It was 5 ish, and before 6:00 p.m. it’s possible to find a parking spot on, or close to Santa Fe Drive. I jumped in the car, found a parking spot, walked a couple of blocks in the rain and, was happy to meet Matt Sesow and his delightfully, colorful, profound, politically correct/incorrect art. The politics are irrelevant. His art is refreshing, exciting, hip, well executed and, this guy is making a name for himself in the bizarre, continually growing street art genre.
In the footsteps of Banksy, Haring, Fairey, Basquiat and Scharf, Sesow creates a style that comes closest to fine art graffiti. He doesn’t tag buildings, trash dumpsters or, fences. He tacks a canvas to his studio wall, many as large as 6 ft. x 6 ft., and paints. When he is done he rolls up the painting, treks to his openings in Washington, D.C., London, New York. It’s kind of nice, galleries do not have to ‘hang’ his shows. The acrylic paintings, when he arrives, are simply unrolled then tacked to the gallery walls and viola, he’s in business.
Matt paints in his studio in D.C. where his art career has gained momentum by utilizing a wacky take on social issues. With great joy he doesn’t avoid politics nor issues which keep the rest of us irritated and awake at night. Instead of spewing hatred and making a stand on Facebook he draws on his creativity and humor to express a political view on news worthy absurdities. With tons of B.S. at his fingertips he delights in poking fun at politics through his art. He was recently commissioned to create a stamp for the United Nations and travels frequently to Europe where his art has created an international following.
“Access Denied,” show runs through September 13th at the Access Gallery.
“Border Crossing,” by Matt Sesow. Painted during his stay in Denver.
Access Gallery + Studio is located at 909 Santa Fe Drive. www.accessgallery.org
The Frick Collection
What an important figure in the art world. His vision and legacy is unsurpassed. If you live in Colorado, enjoy the video / story on this cold & snowy day in MAY.
Street photography. The local scene
Look what I found. Street Photography from Jason. Enjoy his stark, beautiful images of life.
Over the last couple of days I have been walking from one end of the local high street to the other, my Nikon on my tummy, 35mm lens. ISO set high enough to yield a smallish aperture to get a safe depth of field. More or less. So much for the technicalities. The more interesting bit is the people who walk to and fro and generally inhabit this half mile of shops, paving stones and tarmac. From the quirky, to the pensive, the aggressive, the ugly, the resigned, the damaged, is there nothing that a camera cannot make look interesting? There’s little more to say on the matter. The true genius of photography lies in the ability to capture and freeze an instant of so called “normal” life, to be scrutinised at an almost forensic level, by anyone, at any time, and for however long into the changing future, as…
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Love always, Paris on the Platte
Paris on the Platte is an unusual name for a coffee shop that sits at the edge of I-25 and downtown Denver. When Faye opened the shop in 1986, Platte Street was still part of a decaying industrial area and hard to find. There was nothing significant about the street excepting, the legendary My Brothers Bar sat kitty-korner at the end of the street. People didn’t just go down there, but, it was a little known back-street-route to the highway from downtown Denver. You probably remember when the 16th Street viaduct was still there, then it was gone. I can’t even remember where it stood now.
PoP is funky and cool. The old used books section is gone replaced by a solid wooden bar and dining area lined with original brick walls. I still cherish a book I bought there in the early 1990’s, Best of Vanity Fair, 1930-1940’s, with the original cover sleeve, tattered & torn, but so lovely.
The grit and bricks have been power washed. The original atmosphere has remained the same by utilizing few changes in the once dark coffee house. The Paris has stayed in step with the now hip Platte street restaurants, outdoor patios, Colorado Outdoor shops, dress stores, the REI anchor store, Natural Grocers, the Kayak shop, bike shop. There’s colorful public art tucked between the high-rise apartment buildings. When you’re there, you’ll want to end your errands at the park along the Platte, relax on the steps and benches which line the sidewalks and river. The REI deck is perfect for sipping Starbucks, watching bikes, babies, tubing, kayaking and dogs enjoying a hidden playground in the middle of Denver. P.S. there is a dog park on the other side of the Platte on Little Raven.
The Paris opened with artists in mind. Nowadays, the coffee shop, wine bar and cafe continues to display art by local artists. Friday & Saturday nights feature live music. The Paris has shifted slightly to accommodate the local trends on the street which is teeming with people day and night. People live, work and play there. All dogs are welcome along the two block neighborhood. I like to think of it as Denver’s bustling European village tucked away on the other side of the river.
Rebekah Robinson’s work is displayed through May. On the day I met Candice for coffee, we saw Rebekah and a few other long time locals who still wander in from time to time.
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- Still dark inside but not as dark as it was years ago.
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- Left, Kim Allen, photographer; Candice Pulliam, Art Services Co.; Errol Cerovsky, art collector
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- From the inside looking out on Platte Street. Plenty of outdoor patios, water bowls and doggie biscuits for your convenience.
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- Rebekah Robinson
John Singer Sargent For Your Saturday
I’m sorry to do this to you….700 slides of John Singer Sargent’s paintings. It takes a good long while, but oh what a beautiful artist he was. You’ll see illuminated portraits, detailed watercolors, lively sketches & charcoal drawings. Others may compare with his talent but none have ever surpassed John Singer Sargent. Reblogged from Adrienne Middlemay. Thank you, Adrienne. Happy Easter!
denverartmatters.com 