Vertigo Art Space

One Point Twenty-One Jiggawats

2010-08-04T00:47:00.000-06:00

Exhibition Dates: 4 August–17 September 2010

Closing Reception with the Artists: Third Friday, 17 September 2010, 6p–10p

Artists Jason Sheppard and Scott Raby use materials and imagery which are egalitarian, favoring the shapes, textures, and forms found in a pedestrian landscape. Despite this, both artists have drastically different approaches to this working style; one clean, one dirty, one shiny, one rusted, one baroque, one understated.

While their work differs in outcome, it arises from a singular point of a disciplined energy which reshapes their everyday experiences into alarmingly opaque art. Despite using a lexicon of the daily, they transform signs and signifiers until they weave in and out of recognition, changing the familiar into the obscure.

In One Point Twenty-One Jiggawats, both artists will actively create and alter VERTIGO Art Space as a site to not only to reexamine the phenomena of the culturally banal but the unknowns and uncertainties in its collapse.

Ralph Wolfe Cowan: Selections from a Blue Chip Master Painter

2010-05-07T06:35:00.000-06:00

Exhibition Dates: 7 May–30 July 2010

Opening Reception: Third Friday, 21 May 2010, 6p–10p

Live Podcast Interview on The Untitled Art Show: Wednesday, 21 July 2010, 8p

Artist Reception: Fourth Friday, 23 July 2010, 6p–10p

Special Engagement: Let's celebrate with a rare engagement from master painter Ralph Wolfe Cowan of West Palm Beach, Florida. Often called a "Blue Chip" master painter, Cowan began his painting career in childhood and has well-known accolades as a "Celebrity Portrait Painter" who has had an extensive career painting on private commission from true Royals and celebrities from around the world. Cowan is recognized by The Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery as the only painter Elvis ever commissioned for a portrait. Cowan states, "My aim is to reflect contemporary man's ultimate desire for self-expression and living on the edge."

In the selection of paintings on display, VERTIGO shows the variety of trademark styles Ralph Wolfe Cowan has created throughout the decades of his illustrious painting career.

More About Ralph Wolfe Cowan

Many people have seen Cowan's work in some form or another, but few have realized it. Just after Michael Jackson's passing, his painting of Michael went ballistic through the worldwide media: Newsweek, "Oprah," "Forbes Profile of Michael Jackson", and more.
Cowan has been featured on numerous international news and talk shows including "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous," "To Tell the Truth," "Entertainment Tonight," "Texas Today," and several Japanese programs and Middle-Eastern shows.
Cowan was the only painter that Elvis ever commissioned for a portrait, and millions of people have seen his full-length painting of Elvis in the white jumpsuit hanging in Graceland, which is also the only portrait Elvis ever allowed to hang in Graceland.
One of Cowan's paintings of Elvis is the featured painting for the "One Life: Echoes of Elvis" exhibition currently on display at the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. During Elvis' 75th birthday, that painting was published worldwide, even in China, Kuwait, and the Czech Republic. Visit the facetoface blog of the National Portrait Gallery where you can listen to an interview of Cowan by “One Life: Echoes of Elvis” curator Warren Perry.
Cowan was named the number one portrait painter in the world in a 2009 lecture by one of the curators at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.
He has painted six portraits of Johnny Mathis which were all used for album covers.
Even Nancy Sinatra used the one her father Frank commissioned in 1967 on her recent album cover.
Nearly every article published on Monaco since 1956 has shown his now legendary portrait of H.S.H. Princess Grace. Anyone touring the Monaco Palace will see his 1981 portrait of the entire family hanging in the Throne Room.

See more of Ralph Wolfe Cowan's work at his personal Web site.

Press Coverage

Read an interview with Ralph by Nicole Pasulka of The Morning News. Read a commentary on the exhibition by Gene Davis of The Denver Daily News

A Something Or Other That Has No Name In Any Language

2010-03-02T19:04:00.010-07:00

Heads of Hydra, a photographers' collective. Curated by Richard Peterson.

Exhibition Dates: 5 March–30 April 2010

Opening Reception: Third Friday, 19 March 2010, 6p–10p

Closing Reception: Third Friday, 16 April 2010, 6p–10p

The poetry for this image

In pursuit of Chance Elements and Unknown Pleasures, Heads of Hydra is:

This exhibition is based loosely on a 19th century French Symbolist writer's pursuit of the Unknown, Arthur Rimbaud. Instead of the usual scenario in which images are created to illuminate writing, poet Carson Reed summoned new words from a chance sequence of images. Carson's poetry, The Space that Binds Us (is also between us), was posted next to the images and became an integral part of the exhibition. Carson read his poetry at the artists' receptions on 19 March 2010 and 16 April 2010.

The poetry

"The Poet makes himself a SEER by a long, immense, and reasoned DERANGEMENT OF ALL THE SENSES. All forms of love, suffering, and madness; he explores himself, he tries out all the poisons on himself and keeps only their quintessences. Unspeakable torture where he really needs faith, all the superhuman strength there is, where he becomes in the midst of everyone else the great sick man, the great criminal, the great condemned — and the supreme Knower! — since he has reached the UNKNOWN!" –Arthur Rimbaud

Press Coverage

Listen to Richard Peterson discuss the exhibition as the featured guest on The Untitled Art Show. Read a review of the exhibition by Greg Cradick of Eye on Photography.

EMERGING 4

2010-01-13T01:43:00.058-07:00

Exhibition Dates: January 15–February 27, 2010
Opening Reception: Friday, January 15, 6-9 pm
Closing Reception: Friday, February 19, 6-9 pm
Featuring: Tyler Beard, Ben Dayton, Linda Lopez, Austin Parkhill, Alex Perrine, Lindsay Pichaske, and Allie Pohl

"Reine", 54x54 inches, Acrylic on Canvas, 2010 / Austin Parkhill

Lindsay Pichaske

Linda Lopez

"Bears" / Tyler Beard

Ben Dayton

"Female" (small) / Alex Perrine

"Ideal Woman: Astroturf A and B" / Allie Pohl

Curated by Robert D. Garner (who is also an emerging artist), the fourth annual Emerging Artist Show at VERTIGO features the talents of Tyler Beard, Benjamin Dayton, Linda Lopez, Austin Parkhill, Alexander Perrine, Lindsay Pichaske, and Allie Pohl. I am really looking forward to this one — it has been a big challenge and there is a very interesting connection that runs through the work.

Press Coverage

Read a review of this exhibition by Denver Post Fine Arts Critic, Kyle MacMillan. The Signtologist commented on the exhibition and has additional photos of the work.

In the House of Your Tomorrows: New Work by Alvin P. Gregorio

2009-11-04T15:10:00.042-07:00

Exhibition Dates: November 6–December 12, 2009

Opening Reception: Friday, November 20, 2009, 6-9pm (The artist will be present)

Alvin P. Gregorio collaborates with guest artists Mike Bernhardt, Amber Britton, Donald Fodness, and Anna Harber Freeman to create an environment that lies somewhere between the Villa Villa Kula of Pippi Longstocking (the place Where the Wild Things are) and indigenous bamboo hut villages of Gregorio’s Filipino ancestry. These artists have created visual expressions revolving around family history, the complexities of parenthood, and the cyclical nature of karma.

About the Artist

Alvin Pagdanganan Gregorio was born in 1974 in Los Angeles to immigrants from the Philippine Islands. He received his MFA from Claremont Graduate University in 2000, and soon after conducted cultural research in the Philippines on a Fulbright Fellowship. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Painting at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Artist's Statement

In the House of Your Tomorrows
By Alvin P. Gregorio

“Because I said so!” I cannot even begin to count the times he used this reason for not allowing us to do something. What the f@ck does that phrase mean anyway? As a younger person, it seemed rude, and thoughtless, and just plain mean. Now, as I am a new father...I get it. I actually get it.

No matter how much I am refusing to agree with that way of thinking, I actually understand. It’s not that he didn’t have a legitimate reason; it is just that sometimes parents don’t have the energy to go into why we worry. It is often irrational and a bit paranoid. Although, I’m starting to realize that the wall many of us have built around our emotions as a protective barrier or defense mechanism doesn’t just instantly end with the borders of our own physical bodies. That metaphoric wall somehow, someway encapsulates our offspring. How could it not? We are together for better or for worse.

My father has seen and experienced more than one person should have. I will spare you with the details, but when I say that my father has seen and experienced more than one person should have IT IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT. And so did his father, and so did his mother, and so did my own mother and so did my own sister, and so did I. So did I.

I am learning more and more how we inherit our familial trauma; it is passed down through our own actions, and energies, and through stories, and memories. If we do not resolve our painful memories, we gift them to our offspring. The protective wall that was formed to protect us now is the very culprit that suffocates and strangles our offspring. This sounds a lot like how I understand karma.

So what do we do? What can I do to protect my child from the pain and suffering that is his birthright? Can I overcome generations of unresolved sorrow? How do I create a door within my protective wall so that hand in hand, my son and I can turn that knob and push open the door within that wall that will inevitably destroy us both? How can I resolve the inherited trauma, as well as my own? I cannot do this alone; I need his help.

He is less than two years old. How can he help? I am hoping that his smiles, and his cries, and his tears, and his laughter will nourish me when I no longer have the strength to fight this battle. I want to need to build him a House for his Tomorrows. Where he can be freed of the burden that has plagued my beloved family. Where he can live with his own family, away from the yesterdays.

Press Coverage

The Denver Post first listed this exhibition as a Visual Art "Best Bet", then followed it with a longer review by Denver Post Fine Arts Critic, Kyle MacMillan. Listen to an interview with the artist as the featured guest on The Untitled Art Show.

MIA MULVEY ~ NEW WORK

2009-09-04T18:28:00.030-06:00

Exhibition Dates: September 4–October 31, 2009
Opening Reception: Third Friday September 18 6-9pm, 2009
Closing Reception: October 16th, 6-9pm

Artist's Statement for NEW WORK

This body of work is taken from 3-dimensional prints of actual biological specimens. Replicating anatomy that is "true" and tied to a once-living, individual animal has been central to this work. These animals exist as X-ray CT scans of specimens in the Digital Morphology Library at the University of Texas in Austin. The 3-D scans were then printed on a 3-D printer and/or CNC milled out of foam and reproduced in porcelain.

The animals I have chosen to work with are all protected and thus threatened in the wild. They represent a larger population of animal species and their current status in the world. As humans, our views of these animals, and all of nature, is most often as a place “out there”, limitless and enduring. Our views are also often cluttered with romantic notions of exotic travels and attractive museum displays.

Our world's animal population is dwindling due to the fragmentation and loss of habitat from deforestation, farming, human encroachment, hunting, and climate change. These works deal with the ideas of beauty, collection, extinction, death and ultimately our relationship with nature.

Press Coverage

Read a review of this exhibition by Denver Post Fine Arts Critic, Kyle MacMillan. Listen to an interview with the artist as the featured guest on The Untitled Art Show with hosts Erik Isaak and Michael Keen.

Brighter Than Real: New work from Mathew McConnell

2009-08-06T20:54:00.032-06:00

Exhibition Dates: Friday, August 7–Saturday, August 29, 2009
Opening Reception: Friday, August 7, 6-9pm, and Friday, August 29, 2009, 6-9pm

Artist Statement

Brighter Than Real

VERTIGO Art Space, August 7-29, 2009

In a conversation with a friend I had not seen in several years, she described to me a project she had been working on. During her short description of what she was creating I realized the project she had taken up was not altogether unfamiliar to me. What she had described was a project that I had once described to her, a project I had helped another artist with, a project that was never fully realized. I chose not to remind her of our long-forgotten conversation.

My most recent project bases itself in the work of other visual artists. Often using a singular form or image of another artist’s creation as a starting point, I recreate the work with alterations to suit my own aesthetic and conceptual preferences. The resultant forms vary between what could be mistaken as a miniature facsimile of another artist’s work and original artworks with a source seemingly outside any individual referent.

Choosing works to remake and alter is as intuitive as it is arbitrary. I find myself primarily drawn to objects that question their role as objects of art. Conversely, I am also interested in objects that raise questions about their potential role in the world if they were not to be viewed in the context of the gallery space. Many of the objects and images I am interested in have a direct lineage to the works of a previous generation of artists; they too are a reworked response to their predecessors and contemporaries.

In the construction of these replicant objects and assemblages I often find myself trying to pinpoint the exact moment at which the work becomes more mine than theirs. Sometimes this moment occurs in the mere selection of a form, and at other times it does not occur at all. Through careful arrangement of these simulated, manipulated, exalted, and subverted forms, I find, at the best of times, a means of reconciling the difference between what is the art of someone else’s creation and what is an art of my own.

Mathew McConnell (photo by Ken Hamel/DenverArts.org)

Press Coverage

Read a review of this exhibition by Ken Hamel at DenverArts.org.

DMB Ideas

2009-07-01T19:06:00.019-06:00

Exhibition Dates: July 3-30 2009
Opening Reception: July 3, 6-9pm
Featuring: DMB Ideas

With an exercycle-powered dance party, an unforgettable acapella ensemble, and “deep discounts,” the DMB Collective enjoys doing things the wrong way. Building on a shared sense of the absurd, these three artists question the value of language and the objects surrounding us. By practicing the most blatant misappropriation and misuse, the DMB explores overlooked opportunities in the commonplace and obsolete objects we live with.

Press Coverage

Listen to an interview with the artists as the featured guests on The Untitled Art Show with hosts Erik Isaak and Michael Keen.

Lauren Mayer: Tracing

2009-06-04T18:02:00.009-06:00

Exhibition Dates: June 5–June 27, 2009
Opening Reception: June 5, 6–9 pm

VERTIGO will be open First Fridays and third Fridays for Collectors Preview Nights from 6–9 pm throughout the event.

This summer VERTIGO will feature MFA grads from CU Boulder. The first in this series is Lauren Mayer with a provocative installation of porcelain objects titled "Tracing".

Mayer states, “An object, be it a letter or a piece of furniture, possesses the capacity to act as a proxy for things beyond itself and its seemingly simple material existence. They can subtly disclose elusive, but poignant aspects of someone’s internal life— of the places they have called home, perhaps whom they have loved, and what they have left behind out of necessity or sheer abandonment.”

Body Ephemeral

2009-04-15T21:37:00.016-06:00

When: April 3–May 30, 2009
Artist Reception: Rescheduled for Friday, May 15, 2009, 6-10 pm, because the original one on April 17 was fizzled out by a late spring snow storm! Featuring the music of Roger Green.

Another inspirational show at VERTIGO, featuring the photographic works of Richard Peterson, Rayna Manger Tedford, and Chris Perez.

Richard Peterson

Rayna Manger Tedford

Chris Perez

While these three artists are local, and accomplished artists using the medium of photography, the concept regarding abstraction of the figure will enable this exhibit to cross boundaries between the medium of the photographic technique, the relevance of an ever controversial portrayal of the figure in an art context, and most importantly the conceptual (perhaps psychological ?) vision that lies between process and image. Mind, Process, and esoteric Beauty.

Press Coverage

Commentary and additional photos by Ken Hamel at DenverArts.org.

Decadence and Assemblage

2009-02-21T02:45:00.000-07:00

When: February 20-March 21, 2009 Opening Reception: Friday, February 20th, 5–9pm. Featuring the works of Kim Polomka, with Assemblage and furniture by Donald Fodness "Delicious Decadence" (detail) By Kim Polomka, Acrylic on canvas "Delicious Decadence" (detail) By Kim Polomka, Acrylic on canvas "Untitled Assemblage" By Donald Fodness, Mixed media VERTIGO will be open First Fridays and third Fridays for "collector preview nights" from 6–9pm throughout the event.

Colorado AIDS Project 2nd annual Emerging Artist Show

2009-01-06T22:53:00.020-07:00

When: January 2–February 14, 2009

Artist/CAP Reception: January 16th, 6pm–9pm, or much later

Featuring Kel Payton with Kyle Goodrich, Barry Whittaker, and Slawomir Turynski (image by Kel Payton, this year's winner)

Please come and support this year's event! 20% of this year's Emerging Artist sales will go to the CAP program (info below)... we are also featuring Adam Taubman and the Corporate Zombies Bluegrass Band ( the CZBG'S).

Colorado AIDS Project is the largest community based organization in Colorado responding to HIV and AIDS. This year alone, CAP will serve 1,800 people living with HIV and AIDS through services such as case management, counseling, financial assistance, housing and the award-winning CAP food bank. To combat the spread of the disease, CAP will also reach 30,000 more individuals with messages about HIV prevention and safety. Currently, there are over 10,000 individuals diagnosed with HIV and AIDS in Colorado. More than a million people are living with HIV and AIDS in the United States, and there are more than 40 million infected with HIV around the world.

Robert Strohmeier: CHAOS/STRUCTURE

2008-11-06T11:21:00.005-07:00

Exhibition Dates: November 7–December 31, 2008 Opening Reception: November 21, 2008, 6–8pm A collection of large scale works that are among Robert Strohmeier's most recent work, informed by his nearly eight decade career as an artist. “I want my work to be strong, not pretty,” states Strohmeier. This is not a retrospective, but a current perspective on the artist's work. Strohmeier will be present for a gallery walk through with his work at the opening reception, November 21, 2008, 5:30–8pm.

Greater Than - An Advance on Greatness: A New Paradigm for Mythical Heroism

2008-10-17T22:34:00.011-06:00

From the Mind of BARCHAEL Exhibition Dates: October 18–November 3, 2008 Opening Reception: October 18th, 6–10pm

Artist Statement

With the theme of the cult of personality as their inspiration, Barchael investigates the consequences of self-idolization prevalent in politics, moralism, and celebrity. Barchael makes mythical heroes out of their joined personality, lionizing themselves in a multimedia expression of their own supposed greatness. Barchael is the combined creative identities of Michael Bernhardt and Barry Whittaker. Exploring issues of communication, identification, and myth, Barchael navigates a range of media confusing themselves as well as their audience. Their ultimate goal is to undermine self-rightiousness, while seriously spreading the ridiculous.

Real Work

2008-08-30T15:22:00.009-06:00

Mark Moskovitz
Exhibition Dates: August 15–October 15, 2008 (see description following the images below)
Artist Reception: First Friday, September 5th, 2008, 6–9pm (Mark will be present all the way from Clevland, Ohio!)

Brought in especially for the time of the DNC in Denver, the current show entitled "Real Work" by Mark Moskovitz is another one of VERTIGO'S must-see installations. Moskovitz is an artist practicing in Cleveland, Ohio. His recent work demonstrates his continued faith and certain skepticism in the object. He often creates pieces that remind us of our forgotten roots and the slow pleasures in materials and artifacts that keep us connected to the essentials of our existence: food, water, clothing, and shelter. The work is rendered with a mixture of high and low technology, humor and craftsmanship, culture and crudeness. This Installation also incorporates video:

Mark Considers himself "a Luddite on the bleeding edge, as inspired by fine art and design as he is by prisoner and survivalist inventions."

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY:
Moskovitz is also a full-time visiting artist at the Cleveland Institute of Art, where he teaches design and sculpture classes. Straddling the worlds of art and design, he has formed unique relationships with institutions such as the Cleveland Museum of Contemporary Art, where he has shown in its galleries and museum store. He has also created commissions for its subscribers, and been a guest speaker on several discussion panels. Additionally, he has shown work in galleries and institutions in New York, Chicago, Detroit, Berlin, and Saint-Etienne, France. Currently he is showing at the Wolfsonian Museum in Miami, as a part of a show entitled "Thoughts on Democracy", which is up through Art Basel in December of 2008. His work has been featured in art and design publications in the US, Taiwan, and across Europe. In 2005 Mark received the first Daimler Chrysler Financial Services Emerging Artist Award upon the completion of his graduate studies. That year he was also named one of Wallpaper Magazines’ most sought after designers. In 2008 his work was nominated for the 2nd Biennial 01SJ Green Prix Award Winner for Environmental Art.

Frolics and Frippery

2008-07-04T18:53:00.005-06:00

Janice Jakielski Exhibition Dates: July 4th-August 5th, 2008 Collectors Preview Night: Friday, July 18th, 2008 VERTIGO Art Space will be exhibiting the work of Janice Jakielski from July 4 through August 2, 2008. An opening reception to meet the artist will be held on Friday July 18th from 6-9pm. In her solo exhibition Frolics and Frippery Jakielski creates intimate objects for the body. Her work deals with themes of perception, body awareness and desire. Working across many disciplines, the pieces in this exhibition combine sculpture, fashion and installation. This work is a social experiment of sorts, a mediated experience to explore communication, comfort and complacency through play. Boulder based artist Janice Jakielski received her BFA in 2000 from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, Alfred, NY and her MFA in Ceramics in 2008 from the University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado. Janice Jakielski will begin teaching ceramics this fall at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. For more information and images please visit Janice's site.

Molly Hatch

2008-06-03T20:04:00.002-06:00

Exhibition Dates: June 3–28, 2008 Collector’s Preview Opening: Thursday, June 5, 2008 First Friday Opening: Friday, June 6, 2008

2008 Spring Show at Vertigo

2008-04-15T20:09:00.004-06:00

Featuring Photographs by Richard Alden Peterson & Bob Coller Jewett, Stone by Scott Davis
Exhibition Dates: April 15–May 31, 2008
Artists' Opening Reception: Friday, April 18, 2008, 6–9 pm
Closing Reception: Friday, May 16, 2008, 6–9 pm

L.A. Stories

2008-02-01T18:48:00.003-07:00

A Collaboration Between Thomas Mueller and Samantha Scherer Exhibition Dates: February 1–March 15, 2008 Opening Reception: February 1, 2008, 6–10pm L.A. Stories contrasts personal realities with the images that Hollywood creates. Taking its form from story telling and drawing, this exhibit features drawings by Scherer, created from stories of real events—a mustard fight between Jack Black and Kyle Gass, Nicholas Cage buying cheap gas at ARCO, standing behind Bishop Magic Don Juan at the Hollywood post office—as told by Müller. Through emails and telephone conversations, Scherer draws her interpretations of Müller’s experiences combined with her own vicarious impressions of Hollywood and Los Angeles. Drawn on sheets of paper embossed by Müller from the streets and sidewalks of L.A., each drawing gives a literal imprint of the city, stains and all, over which a new reality is constructed.

Anatomy and Process

2007-11-13T18:45:00.003-07:00

The Drawings of Kate Aspinall and the Metalwork of John Murphy Exhibition Dates: November 13–December 28th, 2007 Collectors Preview Night: Friday, November 16, 2007, 6–9 pm

REBECCA HUTCHINSON - NATURAL ORDER

2007-09-26T00:21:00.002-06:00

Exhibition Dates: September 26 - November 10, 2007

Bolder Clay

2007-08-16T00:50:00.000-06:00

Exhibition Dates: August 3 - September 21, 2007 Featuring: Molly Hatch, Mathew Mc Connell, Lauren Mayer, and Janice Jakielski

Theresa Ducayet-Clowes and Tracey Russell

2007-07-06T20:26:00.001-06:00

Exhibition Dates: July 6–31, 2007 First Friday Opening: July 6, 6–10 pm Artists' Reception: Friday, July 20, 2007, 6–9 pm

Articulation

2007-06-01T18:01:00.003-06:00

Conrad Hamather Exhibition Dates: June 1–June 30, 2007

Marina Graves + 2

2007-05-03T23:00:00.000-06:00

Featuring Marina Graves with Mark Sink and Rachel Hawthorn
Exhibition Dates: May 3–28, 2007