5 art shows you need to see around Denver this summer

Art galleries and museums are a big draw in July and August They offer a way to beat the heat and see a sampling of the best new work being made at present Curators and artists seize the moment by unveiling specific of their majority of exciting exhibitions of the year The Front Range has a number of promising shows this summer though these five are stand-outs Sarah Sze Sleepers Denver Art Museum through July Roland Bernier s work combined abstract painting and text bringing together two trends from American art in the th century Image provided by the Lone Tree Arts Center There is something old and something new in the Denver Art Museum s latest exhibition a presentation of Sarah Sze s Sleepers The museum just acquired the piece and wasted little time putting the multi-media showstopper lights projections sound before the citizens Sleepers is a six-channel video installation that projects moving images on hand-torn pieces of paper suspended along the walls in a darkened gallery Sze captured a great number of of the images on her cellphone and replayed together they question the human experience memory and our appreciation of the conditions that surrounds us The show also brings back DAM s badly missed Fuse Box series which started in and disappeared as the museum realigned spaces and materials over the last minimal years Fuse Box focuses on pioneering new media works often driven by growing technologies that are making their way into the art world That makes the work very much of-the-moment and certainly different than a lot of the static art that galleries and museums present here The installation stays up for a year making repeat visits part of the allure More info - - or denverartmuseum org The Artistry of Roland Bernier Lone Tree Arts Center through Sept This moderately sized retrospective of work by Roland Bernier is one of the surprise shows of summer Bernier who died in was for decades one of Colorado s preponderance important artistic voices as well as an enthusiastic advocate for the cultural scene in Denver He is best known for works that combined abstract painting and text bringing together two trends that dominated American art in the th century This show part of the center s Commissioner s Choice exhibition series which makes the the majority of the theater s outer lobby spaces taps work from three series Bernier created in the late s and early s titled Abstract Graffiti and Arty Fax That makes it a swell look-back for both fans and newcomers to the artist because it displays his most of popular styles combining hyper-bright colors geometric color blocks and mysterious threads of text The works can be a challenge and a pleasure to decipher More info - - or lonetreeartscenter org Understudy is located at the RTD light rail stop at the Colorado Convention Center It s free to visit Image provided by Vinni Alfonso Vinni Alfonso The Great Wait Understudy through July This off-beat show really more of an climate than a series of individual works is yet another reason why the incubator lab Understudy is one of the majority of crucial art attractions in the city Understudy provides both the space and the tools for regional artists to experiment with highly conceptual ideas Alfonso makes good use of this opportunity with The Great Wait an installation that explores the intricacies of waiting something we all have to do at times with both resignation and anticipation The entire piece has only a insufficient elements to it a painting a three-dimensional sculpture and a soundtrack so the experience of seeing it is really about just feeling the time pass and waiting But is that for something to start or something to end Or have you indeed arrived and you are already a part of the action Understudy is a glass-windowed storefront so the show in fact begins on the outside with carefully-arranged exterior views of the contents inside the gallery Approach from afar and ease your way into the interior There s no hurrying with this one More info denvertheatredistrict com understudy A Century of Art in Latin America Denver Art Museum ongoing Carlos M rida El Hijo Pr digo from The painting is part of DAM s showcase of Latin American Art Image provided by the Denver Art Museum The Denver Art Museum has worked mightily to improve its collection of art from Latin America and this in the last few days unveiled arrangement of its permanent exhibition space is meant to enjoy the fruits of that labor It s a well-deserved moment The museum has truly emerged as one of the country s best showcases for captivating new objects from that sprawling region This show looks back with works from landmark muralists such as Mexican Diego Rivera and Chilean Roberto Matta But it also speaks to the present day with pieces by popular contemporary artists who are leading the Latin American art scene now such as Venezuelan photographer Alexander Ap stal and Haitian painter Tessa Mars There is also work from Colombian textile artist Olga de Amaral who is experiencing a career resurgence at the age of It s impossible to present a comprehensive survey of a region so vast or a time period so long but this exhibition aims to demonstrate how a museum like DAM can put together a solid collection and bring it to local audiences in a way that is both informative and a global thrill to visit More info - - or denverartmuseum org Made in Colorado Emmanuel Gallery through Sept I will get back to this show with a longer review but it is a sure bet for summer gallery hopping and a solid exhibition to have on the radar That s largely because it offers a chance to see work from a wide variety of regional artists all at once Related Articles New show Artists play with the concept of time to challenge fact fiction and memory Things to do John Cena Cobra Kai at Fan Expo Cherry Creek Arts Fest What s wrong with a dancing elephant There s more to Kevin Sloan s paintings than meets the eye How this nomadic museum in Colorado rewrote the rules of art shows Rhingo the rhino statue stars at Denargo Field Emmanuel makes this effort every two years soliciting submissions from across the state and narrowing them down to a curated exhibition with help from a guest juror This year that is Larry Ossei-Mensah who in recent months put together a winning retrospective of painter Amoako Boafo at the Denver Art Museum There are dozens of artists in this mile-high extravaganza and here are just a minimal Anna Kaye Rian Kerrane Carlos Fresquez Libby Barbee Trine Bumiller Tony Ortega and Laura Merage The rest are equally familiar and it kind of feels like home to see them all gathered into Emmanuel s main space on the Auraria campus More info - 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