Arts & Venues Celebrates Denver Arts Week With Free Events, and the Opening Of Buell Lobby Art Exhibition

Denver Arts & Venues is excited to celebrate Denver Arts Week, Nov. 5-13, with two FREE Denver Public Art tours, two FREE virtual discussions about McNichols Civic Center Building exhibitions, and the opening of the new Buell Theatre lobby art exhibition, "HERE again STILL," with a FREE reception and musical performance as part of the Art + Music Buell Balcony series.

"HERE again STILL" features the works of artists Sharon Feder and Dallas Parkins. As creative partners as well as life partners, they each have developed singular bodies of work. However, through their daily and planned travels, they have found that their works often reference the same subjects. While Feder develops her painting compositions based on numerous small snapshots of a building or location that catches her interest, Parkins' photographs are framed on location through the view-finder, thoughtfully and intentionally.

One of the most fascinating aspects of these combined solo exhibitions of large paintings and photographs is that "Still. Here." (an exhibit featuring many of the same artworks) was originally installed in February 2020, just three weeks before the Buell Theatre and all other Denver Performing Arts Complex venues were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "Still. Here." also opened just four days before Parkins was diagnosed with a serious and life-limiting medical condition. Equally remark-worthy, the 24 works in the exhibit portray structures in very stilled environments, presciently reflecting the world where we all soon found ourselves - a world of shuttered venues, closed restaurants and vacant store-fronts. Like empty stages awaiting a performance, the paintings and photographs also engage artistically; the photographs are composed with the sensibility of paintings while the paintings are abstract constructions of shape and color on close view that snap into identifiable structures when seen from further away.

To celebrate this (re)opening, Denver Arts & Venues will be hosting Art + Music, a FREE reception at the Buell Theatre including a performance by local synthesist, electronic musician, and multimedia artist Mark Mosher Friday, Nov. 12, 5:30 p.m. Attendees are asked to RSVP on Eventbrite.com.

Denver Arts & Venues will also be offering two FREE Denver Public Art Tours during Denver Arts Week. The Denver Performing Arts Complex Public Art tour on Sunday, Nov. 7, 1 p.m. will offer an insider's perspective on the art housed in the Arts Complex, including Jonathan Borofksy's abstract "Dancers" in Sculpture Park, John DeAndrea's hyper-realistic "Three Dancers" and "Maria Mosina and Igor Vassine," and Brian Brush's interactive piece "Resonance," a recent addition to the artwork at Arts Complex. While this tour is FREE and open to the public, availability is limited, so participants are asked to RSVP on Eventbrite.

The second Arts Week Denver Public Art tour will take participants down 14th Street which is the home to some of Denver's oldest murals by Allen True, and Lawrence Argent's famous "I See What You Mean" (a.k.a. The Big Blue Bear) at the Colorado Convention Center. Participants are asked to register on Eventbrite for this free tour Tuesday, Nov. 9 at 5 p.m.

Denver Arts & Venues also invites people to dive deeper into the two current McNichols Building exhibitions, "Stone, Ritual, Interior: Paintings by Louise Cadillac" and "Lifetime Artists: Michael Warren Contemporary," with FREE virtual discussions hosted by the guest curators of the exhibits.

Explore Louise Cadillac's life and artwork with a virtual discussion hosted by guest curators Sarah Magnatta and Christy Cattin. Cadillac, now in her mid-nineties, is considered by many to be one of Colorado's greatest abstract artists. The artworks featured are among those from her Stone Series, Ritual Series and Interior Series, first presented more than 30 years ago. Participants may register on Eventbrite for this Friday, Nov. 5, noon discussion.

Art enthusiasts are invited to register on Eventbrite for the Thursday, Nov. 11, 11 a.m. virtual tour of "Lifetime Artists" and online discussion with gallery owner Mike McClung. "Lifetime Artists" showcases the artwork of 12 contemporary artists who combined have almost six centuries dedicated to their careers.

"HERE again STILL" will be on display in the Buell Theatre lobby through March 27, 2022. Both "Stone, Ritual, Interior: Paintings by Louise Cadillac" and "Lifetime Artists: Michael Warren Contemporary" will be on display through Dec. 19 at the McNichols Civic Center Building.

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