Rauschenberg exhibit in metro Denver

The Museum of Outdoor Arts (MOA) closed its doors as did every other museum faced with the coronavirus pandemic. But you can get a look at the show and learn a lot about the artist and Colorado’s first solo Rauschenberg show at these links.

• For Denver Business Journal, I interviewed four individuals who knew Robert Rauschenberg personally. This article also includes a Q&A with the MOA founder/CEO, Cynthia Madden Leitner, who first dreamed of having a Rauschenberg exhibit when she met the artist at a cocktail party at her parents’ home on Captiva Island in Florida.

Read the article here:

https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2020/02/07/rauschenberg-art-exhibit-englewood.html

• For Art+Object.com, I drew from an interview I’d conducted with the artist Darrell Pottorf.

Read the article here:

https://www.artandobject.com/blog/inside-robert-rauschenbergs-life-story-moa

“Rauschenberg is a tremendous artist who altered the course of American and international art, so an exhibition of his work is really important.”

#RobertRauschenberg #Rauschenberg #MuseumofOutdoorArts #MOA #artmuseum #Denverart #DenverBusinessJournal #DBJ #Art+Object #CynthiaMaddenLeitner #CEO #DarrellPottorf #artist #coronavirus #COVID-19

Daniel Sprick keeps it real

Daniel Sprick is widely acknowledged as one of the most accomplished realist painters working in our time.

I’d interviewed Dan before, years ago, and since our first article together he went on to accomplish a variety of milestones:

• Denver Art Museum honored him with a gallery exhibiting his painting process, and the exhibition was on display nearly 10 years.
• The DAM also gave Sprick two one-man shows: an exhibit of his still life paintings and another of his almost photorealistic portraits.
• Museum of Outdoor Arts (MOA), long a champion of the artist, produced a PBS documentary film titled “Daniel Sprick: Pursuit of Truth and Beauty.”

Interviewing Dan recently in his spacious and tidy Denver studio, I mentioned that he is known for still life paintings, but also portraits and figures, interiors and surreal landscapes. I asked him which he prefers painting. His response: “It might be good if I’d pick just one and discard the rest, but I’m still interested in all of them. Now I’m interested in combining them.”

The combinations promise to be captivating, as all Sprick paintings are.

Dan shared a lot in our interview, and you can read our Q&A along with a feature published in Denver Business Journal at this link:

https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2020/03/18/denver-artist-daniel-sprick.html

 

 

#ColleenSmith #AmericanRealists #DanielSprick #SprickPainting #MuseumofOutdoorArts #MOA #MesaCollege #UniversityofNorthernColorado #GalleryHenoch #Gallery1261 #CynthiaMaddenLeitner #GrandJunctionColorado #GrandJunction #Realist #Realism

 

Voyage Denver features Colleen Smith as a Trailblazer

I must admit, when Voyage Media contacted me about featuring me as a “Trailblazer,” I bit immediately because of the title. I’m a 4 on the Enneagram, which means I’m an “Individualist” so I liked the idea of being perceived as a trailblazer.

But I wouldn’t be blazing any trails without the women who broke trail ahead of me. And I failed to mention during the interview that I also have taken the good advice to surround myself with outstanding people. The big, multi-media projects I wrote and art-directed were successes in large part due to a dream team I recruited and worked with for the long term — some of them almost 25 years.

So thank you to Voyage Denver for featuring me, and thank you to the women who blazed trails before me and to all the people who have supported me along the trail.

Here’s my interview:

http://voyagedenver.com/interview/conversations-inspiring-colleen-smith/

#VoyageDenver #Trailblazers #DenverColorado #Denver #Colorado #Enneagram #Individualist