Denver, CO
Space Gallery, November 17-December 3
Greg Block, Seaside, oil, 10 x 20.
This story was featured in the November 2016 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art November 2016 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
Collectors and art lovers who attend the Windows to the Divine show can expect some exciting changes this year. For the first time the presentation takes place in Denver’s Santa Fe Street arts district, inside Space Gallery, a sprawling, contemporary venue known for its light-filled interior. Titled Abstraction & Representation: Finding Common Ground, the show, which opens on Thursday, November 17, also spotlights, for the first time, a host of abstract artists alongside the usual cadre of mainly representational artists.
Chairperson and president of Windows to the Divine, Shannon Robinson, says it’s time to appreciate the impact, relevance, and creative genius of both abstract and representational artists working in America today. “It is particularly important in this post-modern world that often prizes divisiveness, isolation, and innovation, at the expense of our shared humanity, to encourage viewers to appreciate high-quality art of all traditions,” she says.
Thus the show features works by 50 top artists representing both styles, including Daniel Sprick, Quang Ho, C.W. Mundy, Patricia Aaron, Kate Beck, and Monica Aiello. One of the show’s highlights is the presentation of the Fra Angelico Artist of the Year award, an honor bestowed on a master artist who inspires and serves the art community. This year’s recipient, Albert Handell, is a gifted teacher and painter with works in museum collections across the country.
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- Albert Handell, A Passing Moment, pastel, 12 x 18.
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- Dan McCaw, Solitude, oil, 24 x 18.
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- Olga & Aleksey Ivanov, Denver Neo Art Deco, egg tempera/gold leaf, 12 x 15.
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- Mitch Baird, Wet Clay, oil, 16 x 20.
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- Ann Gargotto, Glorious Peonies, oil, 16 x 16.
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- Teresa Vito, Surfacing, oil, 10 x 8.
The Santa Fe artist has three paintings on display, each showcasing his fascination with geology. In A PASSING MOMENT he offers a close-up view of rock formations in Palm Springs, CA. “I like looking at the cracks in the rocks, imagining the areas that will eventually break off, and then putting the rock back together in my mind,” Handell says.
Colorado painter Gregory Block brings an abstract eye to realism as demonstrated by his painting SEASIDE. Block explains that he created the work’s dominant element, folded cloth, by depicting numerous geometric shapes. He also offers an intriguing idea about the work’s inspiration. “I thought about the Windows to the Divine concept and wanted to create a painting that was like looking into a snapshot of a dream through a window into the divine and subconscious,” he says.
The show’s gala is one of four major ticketed events held during what is billed as the Collectors for Connoisseurship Weekend. The two-day confab kicks off with a Patron’s Party an hour before the gala opening at 6 p.m. The following day, Friday, November 18, the Abstraction & Representation: Finding Common Ground National Symposium takes place from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Space Gallery. The symposium includes presentations by Dr. Gwen Chanzit, the Denver Art Museum’s curator of modern art. Later that day founding members of Collectors for Connoisseurship, a national network of art enthusiasts, are invited to Denver’s Clyfford Still Museum for an exclusive tour with the museum’s director.
The show is free and open to the public Wednesdays through Saturdays through December 3. All events are hosted by the Colorado Dominican Vocation Foundation, a Denver-based foundation that encourages patronage and philanthropy through the arts. The Dominicans serve the poor and elderly and are supported by the proceeds from the art sales and events. —Bonnie Gangelhoff
contact information
303.679.1365
www.windowstothedivine.org
This story was featured in the November 2016 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art November 2016 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
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