Things to Do Denver: Art Openings and Gallery Shows in Denver – Westword

This weekend brings a strong lineup of new shows and events in galleries of every stripe, interspersed with performances, big names, an eye on printmaking and plenty of representation from co-ops and collectives not to mention a free progressive art dinner. Head out into the city and try on a few of these for size.

Jeff Horton, Fillingthe VoidKelton Osborn, A Moment, in the Project RoomMichael Warren Contemporary, 760 Santa Fe DriveJanuary 14 through February22Opening Reception: Thursday, January 16, 5 to 7 p.m. Jeff Horton, a newcomer to Michael Warren from Little Rock, Arkansas, mines his background as an architect to create architectonic oil-on-wax-medium paintings, which began as a hobby and later blossomed into an additional career. In the Project Room, gallery artist Kelton Osborn shares a series of gestural works on paper.

Katie Caron and fellow printmaking educators get their due at the Arvada Center.

Katie Caron

528.0 Regional Juried Printmaking ExhibitionImprint: Print Educators of ColoradoArvada Center for Arts and Humanities, 6901 Wadsworth BoulevardJanuary 16 through March 29 Opening Reception: Thursday, January 16, 6 to 9 p.m.Free, RSVP recommended in advanceThe Arvada Center opens its spacious galleries to a pair of key printmaking shows in conjunction with the citywide MoPrint 2020 celebration, beginning with the 528.0 Regional, a big group show by artists living within a 528-mile radius of Denver. 75 printmakers were culled from 422 entries for the juried exhibition, while Imprint, on the upper floors of the center, pays tribute to Colorados invaluable teaching printmakers. The exhibition schedule includes a free Print Madness community celebration with workshops and demos for all ages on March 21 from noon to 4 p.m.; RSVP in advance.

Gretchen Marie Schaefer, Folding (detail), 2019.

Gretchen Marie Schaefer

3rd Law Dance, Theater Immersive PerformanceBoulder Museum of Contemporary Art, 1750 13th Street, BoulderThursday, January 16, 6 and 7 p.m.Admission: $8 to $12Gretchen Marie Schaefers winter show, Folding and Thrusting, ends this week on a high point, with an immersive performance by 3rd Law Dance within an installation of paintings and photographic works commenting on the relationship between humans and the geologic earth. There will be two back-to-back ticketed performances in one evening; registration in advance is recommended.

Lynda Tygart, Stonehenge, mixed-media photography on wood panel.

Lynda Tygart

New Works by Karin Kempe, Liz Lautrup, Lynda Tygart and Clark ValentineSync Gallery, 931 Santa Fe Drive January 16 through February 15 Opening Reception: Friday, January 17, 6 to 9:30 p.m.Four Sync associates share the gallery walls for a month, juxtaposing landscape-inspired paintings and photography by Karin Kempe, Liz Lautrup and Lynda Tygar with spiritually centered minimalist tobacco drawings by Clark Valentine.

Melanie Clemmons and Zak Loyd, "SensoryGarden."

Melanie Clemmons and Zak Loyd

Brutal RealitiesDairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut Street, BoulderJanuary 17 through February 23Opening reception and performance: Friday, January 17, 5 to 8 p.m.Artist and curator Drew Austin joins forces with CU Boulders legendary new-media pioneer Mark Amerikaat the Dairy for a four-gallery multimedia spectacular exploring technologically derived alternate realities. Dig the future now and meet the artists at the free opening, where an evening of discussion with live performances in the Carsen Theater will hammer home the brutal realities intimated by the entire exhibition series. Check your disbelief at the door.

New works by Lui Ferreyra, Ryan Magyar, Emmett Culligan and Jenny Day go on view this weekend at the Havu Gallery.

William Havu HGallery

Lui Ferreyra and Ryan Magyar, New WorldsEmmett Culligan, Formal Inflations Jenny Day on the MezzanineWilliam Havu Gallery, 1040 Cherokee StreetJanuary 17 through February 29Opening Reception: Friday, January 17, 6 to 9 p.m.At Havu, Lui Ferreyra builds geometrically formed figures and landscapes on the canvas, while Ryan Magyar manipulates hot colors and live-wire brush strokes for another interpretation of the fleeting landscape, and Emmett Culligan brings powerful steel sculptures to the floor in counterpoint. Meanwhile, Santa Fe painter Jenny Day brings a whole new look to the gallery mezzanine, where her collages and collage-like paintings rewrite the landscape of nature and everyday life.

Alicia Ordal: Marginal SliceRhinoceropolis, 3553 Brighton BoulevardOpening Reception: Friday, January 17, 6 to 10 p.m.Versatile multimedia artist Alicia Ordal, a former Redline resident with underground appeal, might bring anything to the table, walls and general airspace of Rhino. Just go and appreciate the artists aesthetic imagination.

Kevin Sloan, "A View of All Souls Pond."

Kevin Sloan

Kevin Sloan, CathedralKelly Duffield, HavenNatalee Marquez, Your Body Knows the TruthNaropa University, Nalanda Campus, 6278 Arapahoe Avenue, BoulderJanuary 17 through 31Opening Reception: Friday, January 17, 5:30 to 8 p.m.Pop-surreal painter Kevin Sloan contributes dreamy views of sacred spaces, mixed-media collage artist Kelly Duffield places well-drafted figures and symbols in strange juxtaposition, and Naropa grad student Natalee Marquez contributes mixed-media acrylic paintings and installation work to this trio of exhibitions opening on the same night at Naropas Nalanda campus.

Celebrating Corn Mother Rita WallaceCHAC Gallery, 222 Santa Fe DriveFriday, January 17, 6 to 8 p.m.The local Chicano community celebrates folklorist Rita Wallace (aka Rita Flores de Wallace) an expert practitioner of indigenous arts and crafts and a key member of the Corn Mothers club, which honors women making contributions to cultural preservation with a reception hosted by the Chicano Humanities and Arts Council. The evening begins with refreshments and remarks by CHAC director Lucille Rivera, followed by a paper-cutting workshop led by Wallace, and finishes off with a biscochito tasting and contest. If youre an aficionado of the tasty anise-inflected cookie native to New Mexico, test your baking mettle and bring a dozen for the judges.

Justin Beard, "The Pull and the Calling."

Justin Beard

Justin Beard, The Pull and the CallingJulien Palmilha, ThirdPirate: Contemporary Art, 7130 West 16th Avenue, LakewoodThrough January 26Shows by Justin Beard and Julien Palmilha opened a week ago, but if you missed the opening, Beards installation of a jerky magic carpet and a manipulated landscape viewed through a hole in a black curtain is a mysterious standout you wont want to miss. It remains on view this weekend and next.

BYOB* (Bring Your Own Buddy) ShowKanon Collective, Pasternacks Art Hub, 6851 West Colfax Avenue, LakewoodThrough January 26 Artists Reception: Friday, January 24, 6 through 10 p.m.Kanon Collective members invite friends to show work alongside theirs at this annual show, an exercise in fellowship with the artist community. As is often the case, expect to find affordable works to add to your collection.

Art Hub Progressive DinnerPasternacks Art Hub, 6851 West Colfax Avenue, LakewoodSaturday, January 18, 6 to 9 p.m.All of the galleries at the Art Hub Next Gallery, Core New Art Space, Kanon Collective, Edge Gallery and Flourish will chip in with appetizers, soups, salads, entrees, desserts and drinks at each consecutive space. Its the Art Hubs way of saying thanks to friends and supporters and a great way to take in a lot of art (and food).

Marie-Dolma Chophel, "Beginnings," for Spirit Resonance.

Marie-Dolma Chophel

Spirit Resonance: The Vitality of PrintmakingDearly DisillusionedEcosistema 06050McNichols Building, 141 West Colfax AvenueThrough April 5 (Ecosistema 06050 runsthrough January 31 only)McNichols Project: Spirit of the People reception: Saturday, January 18, from 5 to 8 p.m.Three floors of art grace the McNichols Building this month, with Spirit Resonance, an early entry for this springs citywide MoPrint 2020 printmaking biennial, and Dearly Disillusioned, a quartet of feminism-related installations by four local art collectives that coincide with the centennial of women's suffrage in America and Denvers fourth annual Womxn's March, both running through April 5, and Ecosistema 06050, a show of images of Mexico City by Jacob Prado, on display through January 31. All three will be showcased during The McNichols Project: Spirit of the People, an opening celebration with live music on Saturday, January 18, from 5 to 8 p.m. Admission is free, but an RSVP is requested in advance at eventbrite.com.

Paul Pfeiffer, Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse series.

Paul Pfeiffer

Paul Pfeiffer, Revelation 21Mary Harris Auditorium, Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design, 1600 Pierce Street, LakewoodTuesday, January 21, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.Free, RSVP required in advance at eventbrite.comRMCAD continues its year-long Visiting Artist, Scholar and Designer Series on the theme of Patterns with a public talk by sculptor and multimedia artist Paul Pfeiffer, whos studied the rise of media-driven spectacle and global populisms effect on world cultures. Plug into an ongoing conversation relevant to artists and everyone else.

Interested in having your event appear in this calendar? Send the details to editorial@westword.com. For more events this weekend, find details in this weeks 21 Best Things to Do in Denver.

Susan Froyd started writing for Westword as the "Thrills" editor in 1992 and never quite left the fold. These days she still freelances for the paper in addition to walking her dogs, enjoying cheap ethnic food and reading voraciously. Sometimes she writes poetry.

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Things to Do Denver: Art Openings and Gallery Shows in Denver - Westword