Museum of Outdoor Arts (MOA) is an extended family for many creatives

I’m pictured with a painting in the Madden Gallery at one of MOA’s signature Winter Solstice parties.

This article just published by Art & Object with no annoying paywall or annoying pop-up ads provides an overview of the many-faceted Museum of Outdoor Arts, (MOA) and its move to a newly constructed headquarters at Majorie Park.

The Museum of Outdoor Arts (MOA) is one of metro Denver’s most creative communities. I happened upon MOA in the mid-’80s when I took a watercolor painting workshop at the museum.

While I only dabbled in visual arts, I continued to publish feature articles about the arts in Denver. Eventually, I met MOA co-founder and CEO while on assignment for a magazine. We were fast friends, and MOA became for me as for so many an extended creative family.

I attended many openings and Winter Solstice soirees and other artful events produced by MOA. From time to time, I wrote for MOA exhibition catalogs or signage or reported on their exhibits. Years ago, MOA included me in their podcast series on 15 creatives in Denver. We enjoy a symbiotic relationship, and the MOA culture is collaborative.

When my longtime publisher Art & Object recruited me to curate the online Denver Art Showcase, I started with a long list of artists I wanted to invite into our vFair. When I realized that half a dozen artists were people I’d met through MOA, I approached MOA as a partner in the event.

After all, the timing was ideal: MOA is moving to a new location where they no longer will have indoor gallery space, so MOA saw the value of an online event. MOA knew well the high costs and many hassles of mounting art exhibitions, having produced more than 300 shows. MOA has vision, and they’ve always been ahead of the tech curve, so the museum is an ideal partner for our armchair art fair. My gratitude goes out to MOA!

Read more about MOA here at this link.

My maiden voyage as curator of an art show: Art & Object’s DENVER ART SHOWCASE

ART always has caught my eye.

When one of my longtime publishers, Art & Object, recruited me to curate their Denver Art Showcase, I couldn’t say no. I’m a longtime contributor to Art & Object — a national/international art news site, and I’ve reported on the arts in Denver for more than 30 years. I had a lot of contacts.

Here’s a link with more information, but no annoying paywall or pop-up ads.

The Denver Art Showcase includes some of Colorado’s most innovative galleries and dozens of Colorado artists. Works in the showcase range from pure abstraction to masterful hyper-realism of Daniel Sprick and Scott Fraser. Media include oil, acrylic and watercolor paintings; ceramic and bronze sculpture; fine art photography, textile art and mixed media works. 

Once regarded as a cow town, Denver has grown into a destination art metropolis. The Mile High City is home to world-class art museums, numerous art districts, scores of galleries and the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, a tax collected and distributed to nearly 300 cultural organizations in the seven-county Denver metro region, including Museum of Outdoor Arts, the vFair’s partner.

In curating the Denver Art Showcase, in many cases, I opted for related works by artists or works in a series. I often chose for works different from what a particular artist is known for, a case in point being still life works by William Matthews, a watercolorist famous for his cowboys, or abstracted landscapes, an evolving style for the painter Susiehyer.

An avid gardener, I included a lot of floral works in a lot of different styles. The florals seem perfect for a show the first week of August.

I also chose a lot of landscapes in various styles. You can’t live in Colorado without being staggered by our dramatic landscapes. Denver is a city with a view to the west dominated by the Front Range of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains that inspire so many artists, along with our dramatic skies and sunsets. The landscapes in the showcase capture the regional rugged beauty and the intense light of the American West.

Works in the show are for sale by the gallery or the artist, and the vFair offers an opportunity to exhibit to a wider audience for less cost and more ease. And while it goes without saying that seeing fine art in person is preferable, the virtual exhibition is open to the world, bringing the best of Colorado art in the Denver Art Showcase to art-lovers everywhere.

Click here for more information on the Denver Art Showcase.

Cherry Creek Arts Festival from a new point of view: that of an art show curator

Details from works by Colorado painters in the Cherry Creek Arts Festival

This year, when I attended the Cherry Creek Arts Festival, I had reported on the event for The Denver Gazette and my article published on opening day of the event with the headline from the CEO’s quote: “Art Can Be So Healing.” Link here

This year, I attended the festival with a totally fresh point of view: that of a curator of an art show. A few weeks ago, one of my longtime publishers — Art & Object in Chapel Hill, NC — recruited me to curate their Denver Art Showcase. How could I say no to a win for Denver artists and galleries, a win for the city of Denver, a win for my publisher and me and a win for our environment given that our vFair is entirely online.

I’ve been working day and night to curate the best art from Denver. I’ve been meeting with artists and gallerists, as well as art consultants and museum curators. It’s a huge learning curve! I have reported on the arts for 30+ years, but this is my maiden voyage as a curator.