Denver Art Museum opens blockbuster Monet show

Being an arts writer has its advantages, for example, media previews of the hottest
exhibitions in town. Last week, I got a sneak peek of “Claude Monet: The Truth of
Nature” now open to the public until February.
“This is the most comprehensive Monet exhibit in the U.S. in the past 25 years, and
this is the only venue in the U.S.,” said Angelica Daneo, Denver Art Museum chief
curator and curator of European art before 1900. “This is going to be a big show
with 125 works from all over the world: private collections and public institutions.
It will encompass all three exhibition spaces and activate the whole Hamilton
Building.”
The DAM co-organized the exhibition that will show only in Denver and at Museum
Barberini in Potsdam, Germany.
“This is not a canned show, not a show we bought,” said Daneo, who added that
DAM will make a fresh contribution to the already immense scholarship on Monet.
Daneo, who grew up in Italy near the border of France, also is fluent in French,
which allowed her to read Monet’s letters without the fog of translation.
“The layout and design of the show is divided into galleries and groupings looking
at places roughly chronologically, but by place,” said Daneo. “We try to use materials
from the time. We use lithographs and color as good ways to signal transitions, but
we also focus on the art and some breathing room around the paintings.”
For Daneo, the excitement of the exhibition lies in providing the opportunity for
visitors to appreciate more deeply one of the world’s most popular artists.
“Many have been given a Monet mug or poster. He’s an artist out there a lot visually.
He’s everywhere,” she said. “My wish is for people to enter the exhibit and look at
the art in person and form their own opinion. They may come to the same
conclusion that Monet is a great master and incredible innovator, a bridge from the
19th to the 20th century, and there is a reason he endures.”

Delve into the full article here:

https://www.artandobject.com/articles/monets-letters-paint-picture-man-behind-masterpieces

#ByColleen Smith #MonetAtDAM #DenverArtMuseum #MuseumBarberini #ClaudeMonet #MonetWaterLilies #DenverBotanicGardens #FrenchImpressionists #Monet #Impressionism #DenverArt

Monet was a masterful gardener. His water lilies at Giverny are famous, but his letters also express concern for his roses and Japanese peonies.

Interviewing one of my heroines: Missy Franklin

When I got the assignment to interview four influential Colorado women for the
magazine Colorado Expression, I was particularly excited that the short list included
Missy Franklin, the standout swimmer from the U.S. Olympic team who made a big
splash in the 2012 games when she won four gold medals and set world records at
age 17. During our interview, Franklin and I shared some belly laughs and also
some quiet tears of reminiscing because about an hour beforehand, her 7-year-old
backstroke world record had been broken. Shattered, in fact, by another 17-year-old
swimmer: Regan Smith
Franklin is as bubbly and gracious as she seemed during the Olympics. She did not
begrudge the breaking of her record, but talked, instead, about the nature of elite
athletes constantly improving performance possibilities. Franklin praised Smith,
happy for her accomplishment and hoping her own career had somehow in some
small way inspired the younger swimmer.
As a former lifeguard and a devoted lap-swimmer, interviewing the ebullient
Franklin left me especially buoyant. For more about Franklin, check out her website
and also the documentary film “Touch the Wall,” which chronicles her life in and out
of the pool.
The feature on Colorado’s influential women also includes the following:
• Mimi Roberson, CEO of Pivot Denver
• Beth A. Brooke-Marciniak, an executive named 11 times to Forbes’ list of “World’s
100 Most Powerful Women”
• Diane Boyer, president of Skea Limited, a women’s skiwear company
The new issue of Colorado Expression is now in newsstands, in professional offices
and elsewhere.

 

Dive into the story here:

https://www.coloradoexpression.com/featured-stories/role-models

#ByColleenSmith #MissyFranklin #USOlympics #USOlympicSwimming #ColoradoExpression #PivotDenver #Skea #TheTrevorProject

 

“There’s a beautiful cycle of inspiration in sport,” says Missy Franklin.