exhibitions

This exhibit showcases the original works of Denver artist Cal Duran. Duran honors the ancestors with his installation of several large Ojo de Dios (God’s Eye), a paper mâché Quetzalcoatl (feathered serpent), and several sculls and skeletons.

Heidi Love Larraz is an American realist with influences of surrealism. Her work is most often inspired by the natural world, where she has found the majestic subjects that captivate her most. We see in her work the sublime power and beauty of nature.

Denver Arts & Venues presents textile artists of all types in "Woven Together," a dual exhibition at Buell Theatre and McNichols Civic Center Building, celebrating knitting, lacework, quilting, embroidery, crochet, cross-stitch and more! These artists from our community submitted works through an open call, and were selected to be showcased in these exhibitions.

Calaveras en Mi Ciudad is an annual mobile art exhibit that celebrates and pays tribute to Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), a holiday and day of remembrance in Mexico. The exhibit is a collaboration with Latino artists who were invited to participate: Anthony Garcia Sr., Armando Silva, Chelsea Lewinski, Juls Mendoza, Karma Leigh, Norberto Mojardin, Xencs L. Wing, Charlo G. Walterbach, Bimmer Torres, and Spaik, all who hand-painted the calaveras. The original papier-mâché mold of the calaveras was created by artist Ricardo Soltero. Each calavera is a personal statement that is unique to its creator – each expressing a visual story of who they are, where they come from and how they place themselves within the ancestral tradition of Día de los Muertos. The calaveras serve to remind us that our spirits continue after death. For this reason, the calaveras had particularly special meaning during the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to be one of the most well-known symbols of Día de los Muertos.

This exhibition highlights contemporary artists and current designs being created with fiber and textiles. This group show will feature innovation in the very tangible artforms of cloth, fabric, fiber, thread and yarn. Unique to this artform is the tactile nature, not only in the creation, but also in the experience of the artwork. While a sculptor creates in a very tactile manner, the viewer of the final artwork is not typically expected to handle the sculpture. Fiber art, on the other hand, is best experienced not only through sight, but also through contact; fabric, rugs, clothing and upholstery are meant to be touched as well as seen.

Co-curated by Paul Ramsey, independent expert and gallery owner, and Shanna Shelby, curator for Denver Arts & Venues, this exhibition explores multiple cultures through the lens of cloth and textiles, including clothing. Entitled Culture Cloth, this exhibition looks to the historic importance of a variety of materials and cloth. For more than forty years Paul Ramsey has traveled widely in Asia focusing on cultural textiles. A central part of this cultural expression is rug weaving, primarily in West and Central Asia, including the “Middle East.”

This series of metal works by Moses "Sonny" Valdez on display at the McNichols Civic Center Building are rich in color and have a glow about them. Visitors will appreciate this automotive technique in a new form. 

In honor of the many lives lost, especially creative lives, during the COVID-19 pandemic, áyA Con artist Marcos Garibay will create a special Ofrenda in the First Floor Community Gallery at the McNichols Civic Center Building. 

“Vibrant Accessibility” is a group show featuring artists Chloé Duplessis, Melanie Walker and John Bramblitt. Each artist creates accessible artwork, especially for low vision and blind audiences.

This exhibition includes a wide variety of artists and textile designers from the Mid-Century Modern era, such as Lucienne Day, John Piper and Marian Mahler. To complement the fabrics on display, the exhibition showcases furniture and home furnishings.

In June, 1983, a group of people living with AIDS came together and created The Denver Principles, a revolutionary affirmation that demanded respect, dignity and autonomy for those living with HIV. In honor of the 40th anniversary of this momentous declaration, we present “Eyes Wide Shut – Visual Meditations on the Plague."

The philosophy of Eternal Return centers on the notion that time, events and even matter repeat themselves in an infinite loop. Using this view, Trine Bumiller and Erika Osborne approach the occurrence of wildfire in the West through their artwork.

We will be back with new exhibitions Jan. 20, 2023. Happy Holidays!

This exhibition is a collection of new mixed media works with various levels of printmaking layered with painting and drawing. As an artist, Melanie Yazzie works to serve as an agent of change by encouraging others to learn about the social, cultural and political phenomena that shape the lives of contemporary Native peoples in the United States and beyond. Her work incorporates personal experiences as well as the events and symbols from Diné culture.

This collaborative exhibition explores Native American identities, stories and experiences through a first-person narrative while depicting an accurate representation of American Indian people living in 21st century, post-colonial America.

“Notable” is an exhibition of interdisciplinary work inspired by everyday experiences and observations – from familiar routine to extraordinary events. The pieces were created in the spirit of sharing personal perspectives and seeing familiar objects in unexpected ways.

Rewind to the year 2020 during the pandemic. While many were readjusting to staying home, musicians were making music in their bedrooms. Visit the TIMESTAMP exhibit to witness a collection of music made by Colorado musicians, during times of social isolation in 2020.

Fashion is for every body, and everybody’s different body. We all deserve the right to feel comfortable in our clothes. Fabric knows no gender beyond what we, as a society, apply to it. Each of us deserves to wear what makes us feel cute, sexy or strong… to feel our very best. We all have the commonality of wearing clothes, and a simple layer of fabric is the only thing between us and our environment. We must be able to navigate this environment with confidence – in all honesty, it’s difficult to have a bad day in a good pair of shoes. This exhibit celebrates all of the forementioned, and the joy clothing brings to the PRIDE movement.

Guest Curated by Mary Grace Bernard and Genevieve Waller, this mixed media group show speaks to the intersection of disability and queer. The artists featured explore personal illness as it impacts femme, non-binary and queer bodies, as well as the institution and concept of marriage. 

Curated by Shanna Shelby, with a statewide call to artists participating in the University of Denver’s Prison Arts Initiative, “Chained Voices” features art created by people currently incarcerated at a Denver jail or Colorado Department of Corrections' facility. Artwork will be available for purchase and the proceeds will go directly to the artists.

This exhibit features portraits by Artist Kelle (Nigeria), Jordan Jones a.k.a. JJ The Artist (Florida), Yazz Atmore (Denver). Through their works, each artist showcases their own unique approaches to portraiture. 

“Tomorrow is a new day” is a popular Cambodian proverb with a message of optimistic perseverance through times of adversity. The artwork in this exhibition features deeply personal work from Open Studio Cambodia block print artist, Morn Chear, and Open Studio Cambodia founder, Lauren Iida, Japanese American papercut artist. Each has used art as a powerful tool to heal, grow and express their valuable and unique points of view.

Distortion. This singular word joins two bodies of work into a single exhibition. The question is, is the distortion a product of de-evolution or a matter of intentional design? With “Imperfect Pixels” and “Imperfect Union,” artist Travis Sheridan asks us to slow down to remember those the Black community has lost and examine the promises of the U.S. government that go unfulfilled. 

This beautiful exhibition celebrates the beauty of Japanese Zen gardens through the photographic medium. The dramatic, large format photographs of the late William Corey are rich with color and composition. Scott Dressel-Martin, long-time Denver Botanic Gardens photographer, captures the beauty of the changing seasons in the Gardens’ Shofu-En Japanese Garden.

“Lifetime Artists: Michael Warren Contemporary” salutes artists of longevity, highlighting those who are at least 70 years old and have been practicing their artistic craft for at least 45 years.

In 1989, an art critic noted Louise Cadillac’s paintings “work like a vivid but imperfectly understood dream." Cadillac, now in her mid-nineties, employs a number of experimental painting techniques in her work. The works shown here—a mere handful from the more than 700 acrylic paintings, watercolors, and monotypes Cadillac produced during the past half century—are a testament to her life’s work as one of Colorado’s great abstract artists.

Illuminati DIA: Tunnel Visions is a self-guided multi-site immersive art project inspired by the Denver International Airport. The entire project will consist of eleven related interventions happening between late September and early November, one located at McNichols Civic Center Building.

In honor of the All-Star Game, some of Denver's best-known muralists were commissioned by Major League Baseball to create baseball-themed murals.

Black Love Mural Festival Remix features 60 artists from the Black Love Mural Festival roster. Teams of 2-3 artists were invited to collaborate with each other to create 30 new works.

The critically acclaimed "Shades of Greatness" features 35 original works of art produced by 28 diverse professional artists from across the country. The art interprets the Negro Leagues Baseball experience on-and-off the playing field.

We all have experiences that we carry with us that may make us feel broken, but we each carry those broken pieces in different ways. Kintsugi teaches us that through the process of repairing the cracks between our broken pieces, we build resilience and strength. Our beauty shines through the cracks that might be perceived as weakness. How do we heal? How do we honor the strength within the imperfect parts of ourselves?

Build your diverse reading list with the [margins.] book fair.

This virtual exhibit honors women of color physicians with portraits reflecting their determination, talent and tireless work.

“Listen” brings discovery and intrigue to the McNichols Civic Center Building website through a virtual experience: a series of stories is told by men who spent more than 20 years in prison. These are intimate and brutally honest stories about their childhoods, crimes, surviving prison and attempting to create ‘normal’ lives after their return to society.

The exhibition blends important milestones in Denver’s LGBTQ+ culture with contemporary art-making, focusing on a diversity of queer identities. This exhibition draws on histories of struggle for self-determination to help us imagine a more inclusive future.

Lavender Mist: Gay Men in Contemporary Art in Colorado zeroes-in on some of the state’s most significant contemporary artists who also happen to be gay, and attempts to locate a characteristic of “otherness” in the artworks - a distinctive sensibility regardless of the styles or subjects the artists embrace.

BORDER is a solo exhibit of works by Mongolian artist Tsogo Mijid featuring a mix of contemporary paintings, Tsam dance masks and soft sculpture works, curated by Eriko Tsogo. This exhibition is the outcome of Mijid’s residency with the International Yurt Art Residency Program in collaboration with the Mongolian Culture and Heritage Center of Colorado, and is supported by Denver Arts & Venues Cultural Partner Program. 

“Portrait of a City” focuses on Denver’s changing landscape. At first, Johnson could only see the lost pieces of her neighborhood, but through the changing landscape of Five Points, she’s building new relationships with her neighbors. “Portrait of a City” is the outcome of those new connections.

This print exhibition highlights works that explore abstraction in various forms, proposing the importance of a “spirit resonance” or vitality that results from the various printmaking methods.

Dearly Disillusioned, a boundary-pushing exhibit coinciding with the centennial of women's suffrage and the fourth annual Womxn's March. Curators and artists collaborate to explore new intersections of historical and contemporary narratives that inspire change in our community.

This photographic exhibition, a selection from Jacob Prado's “Ecosystem 06050” collection, focuses on Mexico City, the place that the artist now calls home. It is the portrait of a place where time seems to have stopped for centuries while simultaneously continuing, shouting the stories of youth whose vibrant pride harkens back to the moment their ancestors chose to inhabit this land.

https://www.hungerfreecolorado.org/news/events/The Hunger Through My Lens virtual experience is a multi-media exhibit featuring photography, video, audio and virtual reality to provide a journey of what hunger looks like in Colorado.

#28 Rubric is in installation by Denver-based artist Brandon Bullard. The piece will be on display outside of the McNichols Building throughout the Biennial of the Americas Festival and will serve as a visual representation of textile waste produced each year. 

Consisting of massive tapestries woven with vintage saris and video footage of international borders and barriers, Suchitra Mattai's Imperfect Isometry explores how our environments shape personal narratives, ancestral histories, and the creation of home.

For more than 50 years, these Chicana/o muralists have chronicled both the past and the present, while also offering new visions of a shared future.

The Bauhaus movement was forged in 1919 Germany, a school of thought focused on good design, and affordable, well-made objects. This exhibition is designed to inspire a conversation about sustainable practices, highlighting beautiful, well-designed and well-made objects likely to be kept long-term.

Through the award-winning Urban Arts Fund (UAF), Denver draws locally, nationally and internationally renowned artists to transform the blank canvases of ordinary urban walls into stunning works of art. The photos by Denver-based mural art photographer Peter Kowalchuk, showcase several Denver Urban Arts Fund highlights.

Through this large-format artwork, Carlos Frésquez and Francisco Zamora explore past indigenous histories through the complexity of current Chicano culture, two decades into the new millennium.

Translating the Building distills what might otherwise only be accessible to professional architects and city planners into a popular discourse.

An artistic reimagining of Chaco Canyon and an exploration of Pueblo Indigenous Futurisms, Electric Chaco engages visitors to think about time, space, culture, community, art, and invention.

John Kascht is one of the most celebrated caricature artists of the past 50 years. Since beginning his career as a freelance illustrator at the age of 14, John’s irreverent illustrations have appeared in most major US publications and on book covers, billboards, album covers and Broadway marquees.

Colorado abstract painters Homare Ikeda and Sandy Kinnee connect with their audiences on a very primal level. People are drawn to their use of ancient forms and symbols, and bright, beautiful colors. Sandy describes his large format 15’ paintings as short poems. Japanese artist Homare Ikeda’s line and seed-like forms appear almost primordial.

Cambodian artist Leang Seckon's painting and collages bring unlikely figures together, layering images both literally and symbolically.

Systemic challenges today, like inequalities in housing, education, income, criminal justice and health are far from separate issues. These challenges are rooted in a deep and entangled history of policies, practices and processes that remain unrevealed and misunderstood. As new forces begin to transform cities and towns, decisions about interconnected challenges are therefore often made ‘in the dark.’

Gone unanswered are fundamental questions about our communities: how did we get here, and what does that mean for where we are going?

Undesign the Redline explores these reframed opportunities from a shared value perspective, and grounds discussions about race, wealth, opportunity and power in an honest context that is not about guilt and blame. This allows everyone to contribute their value to the design and development of projects, partnerships and decisions that seek to transform communities and move beyond the challenging and often clouded situation of our entangled past.

This exhibition highlights the very best of Denver Fashion Week’s ten-year history. Featured fashion photography will take you behind the scenes of multiple memorable runway shows. Unique installations will showcase exclusive local designs. The Best of Denver Fashion Week will surprise and delight you with a look at what’s been happening in Denver’s fashion scene.

Elemental Construction is a photography collage exhibition featuring the work of ten local and out of state photographers. The exhibition explores the ways photographers use collage in both traditional and digital form.

Through a model partnership that brings together the local music community, public schools, the nation’s leading housing authority, and the philanthropic sector, Youth on Record is a powerful example of what’s possible when musicians and nonprofit/public sector leaders embrace an entrepreneurial spirit and band together around a common cause.

Heralded by Time magazine "as among the most famous creators of Christian iconic imagery in the world," Father William Hart McNichols creates paintings inspired by centuries-old tradition, masterfully brought to the present through a thoughtful selection of subjects. 

Street Art Ink: From the Body to the Wall explores the intersection of tattoo and mural art. Denver artists Casey Kawaguchi and Sandi Calistro transform the third floor of the McNichols Civic Center Building with impactful murals inspired by tattoo art and honoring the tattoo tradition. The work of body art photographer Richard Todd from Los Angeles captivates and engages his audience highlighting the beauty and magnificence of tattoo art.

The Denver Housing Authority and the Denver Office of Immigrant & Refugee Affairs, present an exhibit celebrating the diversity, strength, and determination of Denver residents.

This exhibit reflects the dynamic nature of Native American creativity and the changing realities of life and culture across the Americas. Featured artists include Neal Ambrose-Smith (Salish/Kootenai), Alistair Bane (Shawnee), Jeff Kahm (Plains Cree), Gregg Deal (Pyramid Lake Paiute) and Virgil Ortiz (Cochiti Pueblo) in collaboration with Emilio Lobato, all working in a variety of styles and media. There is an opportunity to hear diversity in Native American voices if we are willing to listen.

Giving Voice is a partnership between Access Gallery and professional graphic designers from the greater Denver Metro Area. The program is designed to empower teens living with disabilities to give voice to a social cause that’s important to them. Working with professional graphic design mentors, the teens share their views on a significant cause and in partnership, they work to develop and produce a graphic image that captures their views and commitment to critical social issues. 

Presented by Month of Printmaking (Mo’Print) and The Invisible Museum, and curated by Mark Lunning, the exhibit features notable Colorado printmakers working in a diversity of techniques.

From the group of artists represented by Denver's William Havu Gallery, art critic Michael Paglia has selected a group of contemporary artists active in Colorado and other Western states. Considering the Western core of New Regionalisms, there are the expected contemporary takes on the landscape, the main current of art in the West for more than a century, as well as abstract work that ranges from expressionist to hard-edged, likewise trading in Western themes. 

The Lumonics Mind Spa is a site-specific art installation by Dorothy Tanner created for the McNichols Civic Center Building first floor community exhibition space. It features light sculptures by Dorothy and the late Mel Tanner, and music and video by Dorothy Tanner and Marc Billard.

Explore "Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads" in depth. Learn the history of the art, the process of bronze-casting, the life of the artist and more.

From the early 1930s through the early 1980s, the Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa (1907-1997) helped forge and evocative and enduring image of Mexico. Among the most important cinematographers of the Gold Age of Mexican Cinema, Figueroa worked with leading directors from Mexico, the United States and Europe, traversing a wide range of genres while maintaining his distinctive and vivid visual style. This exhibition features film clips and photographs from the Televisa Foundation collection.

Marking the tenth anniversary of the Extreme Ice Survey, this exhibition features nationally-known Boulder artist James Balog’s stunning color photography. For more than 30 years, Balog has broken new conceptual and artistic ground on one of the most important issues of our era: human modification of our planet’s natural systems. He and his Extreme Ice Survey team share images that give a provocative insight into how changing climate affects the global landscape.

In this exhibition, Denver artist Rochelle Johnson has brought together a group of Colorado artists to explore themes of complex connections of racial identity through artistic expression. Underrepresented in the mainstream art scene, the diversity of these artists shows what true inclusion can look like.

2017 marks the 100-year anniversary of William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody’s death in Denver. In honor of this centenary, Denver Arts & Venues highlights the diversity in his Wild West shows by borrowing from the poster collection of the Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave in Golden.

The works in this retrospective show are primarily monotypes, etchings and monoprints. A number of her paper works start with a base of calligraphy and other imagery, and then layered wtih inks and chine-collé materials  to give depth and richness to each unique work of art.

Across the country each year, Veterans enrolled at Veterans Affairs health care facilities compete in a local creative arts competition including 51 categories in the visual arts division.

Curated by Bobbi Walker (Walker Fine Art) Tectonic SHIFT is a collective exhibition of regional artists exploring the concept of change.

This exhibition features work by participants from local and international Picture Me Here programs since the organization’s inception four years ago.

SPOKES: A tribute to Colorado's Cycling Culture Through Art
Curated by Ivar Zeile
Supported by Denver Arts & Venues, White Rhino Customs and New Belgium Brewing Company

SPOKES is a tribute to Colorado’s cycling culture through art. The multi-faceted exhibition takes place at the McNichols Building in Denver, Colorado’s Civic Center Park, organized to coincide with the building’s most recent renovations.

“Elevated” by Ian Houghton and Steven Derks.
Made of steel and aluminum.
Sponsored by New Belgium Brewing Company and Visit Denver.

This exhibition presents the work of legendary Denver photographer Rich Clarkson, known for his work featuring American sports icons.

Colorado is one of the most bicycle-friendly states in the nation. Bicycling and bicycle design can inspire and influence the creative process of the artist. Exploring that theme Colorado artists have created original work in a variety of media including installations, murals, video, paintings, written word and sound displayed alongside the classic or unique bicycles that inspired them.

In the exhibition 100 Paintings for 100 Years the artist commemorates the 100th anniversary of Rocky Mountain National Park by showcasing 100 paintings from her immersive residency experience.

Exhibition featuring work created during the Biennial Ambassadors residencies in Denver and Mexico City.

This exhibition highlights the early years of Rock & Roll when rock music was accessible to all and popular music played an undeniable role in defining the character and spirit of the 1960s.

Kevin Robb is a Colorado contemporary metal sculptor whos unique, free flowing sculptures can be found throughout North America, Europe and Australia.

Press Play is presented by RedLine as part of a series of city-wide exhibitions to engage all ages and demographics in play.  This site specific exhibition includes a series of digital prints, video projections, video games and large scale installations.

This exhibition highlights the work of renowned American portrait photographer Philippe Halsman (1906-1979) and a selection by current members of the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP). Philippe Halsman was the first president of the ASMP, an organization dedicated to serving the professional photographic community for over 70 years.

Culture Catalyst features historical elements reflecting the ground-breaking inaugural collection at Denver International Airport, new temporary commissions in celebration of twenty years of cultural impact and a sneak peek of what lies ahead for the fifth busiest airport in North America.

Three large-scale sculptures by Denver artist James Dixon are featured at the McNichols Building. Dixon created each piece using a combination of iron and metal recycled clothes hangers. Although previously known for his bronze sculptures, these more recent works are part of Dixon’s series exploring transparency and textured surfaces. Inspired by Imagine 2020, this exhibition supports the cultural plan’s goals of integrating arts, culture and creativity into daily life, work and play, and celebrating our local talent. James Dixon is represented locally by Walker Fine Art. 

The exhibition Fashion/Culture showcases Colorado artists using photography to explore the intersections between art, fashion, beauty and contemporary culture.

The American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), the national professional association for design, turns 100 in 2014. This exhibition celebrates the accomplishments of AIGA Colorado and the impact design has had as a creative form in Colorado’s design history.