Show Preview | Arts at Denver: Beyond the Obvious

Denver, CO
October 18-November 9

Michael DeVore, Vessels, oil, 14 x 18.

This story was featured in the October 2013 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art October 2013 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story!

While the Colorado artists represented by Arts at Denver are often inspired by majestic mountains, many of them also choose to paint indoor scenes and elegant still lifes. “Painting indoors changes an artist’s perspective,” says Arts at Denver director Paula Conley. “A still life is arranged according to the artist’s vision: each object placed just so, the lighting subtle or dramatic. The conversation shifts from your interpretation of what is in front of you to what you have created. The artist seeks out the uniqueness of each intimate space, room, object, and shadow, going beyond the obvious.”

Teresa Vito, Just Picked, oil, 16 x 20.

Arts at Denver’s latest show is titled Beyond the Obvious: Still Lifes and Interiors, and it opens with a reception for the artists from 5 to 8 p.m. on October 18. The show offers more than 35 gallery artists the opportunity to display oil and watercolor paintings that feature some of their favorite indoor arrangements and scenes.

For oil painter Jeremiah J. White, objects have meaning beyond their appearance. In his painting EGGSHELLS AND RIBBON, the broken eggshells in a clear glass symbolize people who are broken in one way or another. A red ribbon winding through the painting symbolizes the love that connects us all.

Still lifes are an important part of Michael DeVore’s body of work. Lately, DeVore has been interested in painting bright, shiny metal objects, like teapots and kettles. “I always like to try new things,” he says. “Describing light coming off bright copper pots has been really fascinating for me.” DeVore says his most recent still-life paintings are a little more colorful than his past works. “They’re realistic,” he says, “but I’m pushing the color. The enhanced color gives the paintings more life.”

Teresa Vito’s garden in Pueblo, CO, is the inspiration for many of her still-life paintings. In the painting JUST PICKED, Vito depicts a bowl of just-plucked apricots sitting on her kitchen table, bathed in sunlight. “I paint whatever flowers, fruits, and vegetables are in season in my garden,” she says. One of her paintings for the show is an interior scene of the living room of one of Vito’s good friends in Pueblo. “He has a beautiful apartment with modern furniture and a big window with blown-glass vases and sculpture in it,” she says.

Other artists contributing interior scenes and still lifes to the show include Robert MacPherson, Cecilia Thorell, Carol Jenkins, and Chris Sedgwick. —Emily Van Cleve

contact information
303.722.0422
www.artsatdenver.com

Featured in the October 2013 issue of Southwest Art magazine–click below to purchase:
Southwest Art October 2013 print issue or digital download
Or subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss a story!