Interviewing Ursula Von Rydingsvard at Denver Botanic Gardens

Ursula Von Rydingsvard’s work seems simultaneously familiar and alien.

Ursula Von Rydingsvard impressed me for so many reasons. For one thing, she’s friendly and kind and seemingly humble, though she’s one of the most esteemed sculptors of our time. She has a long list of awards and honors and exhibitions and installations. And she’s an octogenarian still making monumental art, with the assistance of her team.

We sat together, just the two of us, in one of the three indoor galleries at Denver Botanic Gardens where her work fit exquisitely.

I had researched the artist and watched her documentary film to prepare for our interview. But nothing prepared me for the power of her art and the power of her story. She’s up there with the most interesting women I’ve ever had the good fortune to meet.

For the feature, I also spoke to the guest curator, Mark Rosenthal, also esteemed in the art world for his impressive curriculum vitae with top tier art museum roles and curation of marquee exhibitions.

Here’s a link to my feature published by Art & Object (no paywalls or pop-up ads!)

A highlight of my curation of the Denver Art Showcase: Daniel Sprick unveiled a new painting

In Denver, Daniel Sprick is represented by Gallery 1261, which released a new Sprick landscape for the Denver Art Showcase. To read the article, click here.

Curating the Art & Object Denver Art Showcase caused me to realize what a connected art web I have in Denver after more than three decades of reporting on the art scene — visual and musical — in the Mile High City. When my longtime publisher, Art & Object, recruited me to curate the Denver Art Showcase, the first artist that sprang to mind was Daniel Sprick. I told my publishers, based in Chapel Hill, NC, “We must, must, must, must, must have Dan Sprick in our showcase. He is the best in Denver.”

Dan is one of the most accomplished painters working in realism anywhere today, truth told. I’ve had the good fortune to interview the artist a number of times for articles over the years.

When I told Dan about curating the Denver Art Showcase, I said, “I must, must, must, must, must get you in my show,”

And so we conducted another interview, the basis of this article, linked with no pay-wall or pop-up advertisements.

Here’s another work by Daniel Sprick, “Dreaming Venus,” on exhibit and for sale in the booth of Gallery 1261 at the Denver Art Showcase online August 1-7, 2022. To visit our arm-chair art fair with dozens of Denver’s best artists, click here.

“Dreaming Venus” by Daniel Sprick is on exhibit and for sale in the Gallery 1261 booth of the Denver Art Showcase. Click here to link to the Denver Art Showcase.