Denver Post: Designing Women is 'completely unexpected and wonderfully audacious'

Our Designing Women exhibition, which closes Jan. 25, has received its second positive review from the Denver art critics. We’ve heard from Michael Paglia of Westword, now Kyle MacMillan of the Denver Post gives his opinion.

“ … the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center has veered in a completely unexpected and wonderfully audacious direction.”

“The exhibition has no connection to the museum's permanent holdings, which are focused on Latino, Southwestern and modern art, and that's the point: something offbeat and startlingly different … (and) has gained the institution heightened credibility nationally. The Textile Museum in Washington, D.C., has just agreed to present the exhibition from May 15 through Sept. 12, 2010.”

“Boosting their appeal is the museum's handsome, viewer-friendly installation, with introductory wall panels on the three designers, each including a painted enlargement of one of their trademark patterns by exhibit designer Laurel Swab.”

Westword: 'Designing Women' is interesting, thoughtful and beautiful

Michael Paglia reviewed, Designing Women, in his weekly Westword column on Dec. 17.

“A few weeks ago, I went to see the Walt Kuhn/Edie Winograde shows there ("Myth America," November 26) with the thought that I would also write a brief notice on the other exhibition, Designing Women: Art and the Modern Interior From Postwar Britain. But the minute I entered the gallery, I knew I'd have to scuttle my plans and devote a full-blown review to Women — not just because it's surprisingly large, but because the quality of what's included might make you think that you've been transported to the Cooper-Hewitt Museum in New York or, maybe more to the point, the Victoria and Albert Memorial in London.

“I can't say enough about how interesting, thoughtful, intelligently laid out and beautiful Designing Women is. I wasn't surprised to learn that curators from various museums in Britain as well as from the Cooper-Hewitt, the Wolfsonian and even the Museum of Modern Art have made their way to Colorado Springs to see it. Suffice it to say, it wouldn't kill you to exert a fraction of that effort to do the same.”

Congratulations to the curator Tariana Navas-Nieves, exhibit designer Laurel Swab and the curatorial team for another great exhibition and positive review.

Designing Women Opening Video

On Sept. 27, Colorado Culture Cast joined us for the opening of the Designing Women exhibition. Craig Richardson interviews curator Tariana Navas-Nieves and Art Collectors Jill A. Wiltse and H. Kirk Brown III: