FABULOUS SPACE FOR ART VIEWING OR PRIVATE EVENT.
Last fall while visiting Denver on vacation, I visited Space Gallery (SG) at its previous location for the First Friday Art Walk in October. The large collection of contemporary art at SG was stunning; by far and away the best collection I saw that night. In fact, one of my friends bought a piece from an artist we found on the second floor sort of hidden in the back. For me, exploring the building was as much fun as looking at the broad art collection that stretched from room to room.
Fast forward to this past Friday night when I had the pleasure of visiting SG again, but this time in it's new location, for the Colorado Symphony Fundraiser "Classically Cannabis" organized by Edible Events Co. Once again I was instantly impressed with SG's venue space and art collection. The high ceilings, clean lines, and simple display methodology conveyed a professionalism that can be lacking on the modern gallery scene. I prefer gallery spaces that are airy and allow visitors to move around the art freely as well as those that do not deploy the traditional salon style hanging. If you're looking to dip your toe in the contemporary art waters, SG is a great place to start. The art work is fresh, fun and accessible, not to mention affordable.
The bold colors and energetic tones of the "Natural Surroundings" exhibit provided a very interesting backdrop for the classical music. As a visual arts lover, the live music definitely enhanced my art viewing experience. I found myself lingering in front of the paintings to a look deeper at technique and style more than usual. At the end of the night, my two favorite pieces from the show were decidedly "Skin Deep" by Howard Hersh and "BX14 1B" by Bill Snider. Hersh's assemblage pieces captured my attention with their mix of 2D canvas flatness and the playful exchange of light, shadow, and line work typically associated with sculpture. Snider's work initially drew me in with it's bright orange background and seemingly nonsensical metallic typography. However, the longer I looked at this particular work, numbers with some type of historical meaning in my life started to pop out at me. First peeking around the bottom corner of the frame then sparkling and twinkling from upper quarter of the canvas.
"Classically Cannabis" itself was a lovely event that was very well-organized by Jane West and her crew at Edible Events Co. In addition to listening to musicians from the Colorado Symphony play classical tunes and viewing contemporary art, attendees enjoyed food truck catered dinner and dessert outside in the sculpture garden while mingling with community members and specialty cannabis purveyors like Gaia, Leafly, The Farm, and Wellspring. The "Classically Cannabis" concert series opens the door for people to enjoy, explore and experience fine art in a new away. My hope is that other galleries follow SG's lead and host more events like this to draw in new audiences for viewing and appreciating the arts as well as increasing overall gallery attendance. Frankly, I hope my experience Friday night is the wave of the gallery future.
PS. Make sure to check out sunset from the NW corner window on the 2nd floor. Such a beautiful view! read more