FAC mentioned in Westword article about DAM's Lewis Sharp

In a nice article about the retiring Denver Art Museum Director, Lewis Sharp, Michael Paglia writes, "(H)e transformed the DAM from the rather modest place it was into a nationally renowned regional museum. In thinking about it, it's impossible to overstate the positive effect he's had on the DAM and, by extension, on the city itself. In fact, he's remade the museum in so many different ways that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he's had a greater effect on the institution than anyone else in its 100-year-plus history."

The FAC adds its congratulations to Lewis for all he has done for art in the state of Colorado. He is a true gentleman and friend.

Later in the article ... Paglia remarks on Sharp's effect on the DAM permanent collection:

"To give you an idea of how much the DAM's permanent collection has changed during Sharp's reign, consider that a generation ago, the collection at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center was generally regarded as being more important."

Read the complete story here.

Curator + 10 video

Check out this short promo video on YouTube about the newest exhibit in the FAC's permanent collection, Curator + 10: Broadmoor to Bemis created from beginning to end by ten Bemis School of Art students.

Denver Post: Mexican ceramics fire up fun

The Denver Post's Kyle MacMillan reviewed our permanent collection exhibit Color, Whimsy and Humor: Mexican Popular Ceramics today, calling it "entertaining and down-to-earth" and "a visual carnival that anyone can enjoy."

"Art can inspire, inform, enlighten, provoke and comfort. And, sometimes, it can just be fun. Put an ongoing exhibition at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center solidly in that last category. Its title aptly sums up the anything-but-highfalutin artwork on view: "Color, Whimsy and Humor: Mexican Popular Ceramics." The 29 playful, festively decorated clay sculptures draw on a variety of folk traditions and take the form of everything from fanciful animals to masked figures, ornate candelabras and even a miniature bullfighting arena. They are handsomely arranged in a gallery boisterously decorated to match..."

FAC makes the Post's Winter Arts Preview

In Kyle MacMillan's Winter Arts Preview for the visual arts, he gives the Colorado Abstract exhibitions the major emphasis, mentioning the Fine Arts Center's related exhibit, Colorado Springs Abstract, opening in February.

"Colorado artists have enthusiastically pursued abstraction since its emergence in the early 20th century, building a legacy that continues even as other styles and approaches have taken center stage. A series of exhibitions opening this month explores multiple facets of the state's contributions to abstraction, none more important than a pair of shows centered on a newly published book, "Colorado Abstract: Paintings and Sculpture."

"The Center for Visual Art is spotlighting more recent, primarily living artists, and the Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art is focusing on historical contributors such as Charles Bunnell, Mary Chenoweth, Vance Kirkland and William Sanderson."

The FAC contributed two pieces to the fabulous Kirkland from our permanent collection: Ken Goehiring's Landscape #1 (pictured) and Watson Bidwell's Song of the Last Act. So get up to Denver and check it out.

The book was written by frequent FAC visitors, Denver art writers Michael Paglia (Westword) and Mary Voelz Chandler (Rocky Mountain News), and the exhibits were curated by Paglia.

Biddle's Portrait of Frank Loper on view now

George Biddle, featured recently on NPR, was a highly regarded and influential painter and muralist, who helped develop the 'American scene' in the 1930s and 40s. Currently on view at the FAC is Portrait of Frank Loper, a gift of the Friends of the Fine Arts Center in 1937. Loper was a slave for Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America. After the Civil War, he was released from slavery. He moved to Colorado Springs at the request of Jefferson Hayes Davis, grandson of Jefferson Davis and VP of First National Bank. For 20 years, Loper was a renowned doorman for the Antlers Hotel and in his later years was the doorman for the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center.

FAC artist George Biddle featured on NPR

From NPR's Morning Edition: "The Justice Department headquarters was built when America was struggling through the Great Depression. The country's most prestigious artists of the day competed to win commissions for paintings that would show how law and justice could make life better for everyone." George Biddle, FAC permanent collection portrait artist/muralist, is featured online and in a slideshow. To hear the story, see the pictures, visit NPR.

Gazette: Exhibit looks at faith, humanity

An exhibition for the FAC Permanent Collection – Sacred Spaces – was featured on the cover of Friday’s Go!, the Gazette’s weekly A&E section ... “Las Vegas, New Mexico,” Alex Harris (right). This marks the first time a work of art from the permanent collection has ever been on the cover of the Go! T.D. Mobley-Martinez writes, “At a time of year when religious imagery is as common as our drive to gift, gift, gift, Sacred Spaces looks at faith in a very different context. The exhibition … speaks to the delicate thread that connects us all: our humanity.”

Also in the Friday Gazette, Theresa Farney’s food column, Table Talk, features information about Café 36 and our incredible two-for-one entrée special for FAC Members available through April.

Blake Milteer 'among the top art-world talents on the Front Range,' says Westword

Michael Paglia of Westword reviewed the Edie and Walt exhibitions last Wednesday, concluding "(Blake) Milteer's pairing of these two bodies of work is brilliant and reveals a young curator who is among the top art-world talents on the Front Range and one of only a handful in the region capable of putting on a great show — or, in this case, two of them.

Laura Gilpin Masterworks on display in Denver

An exhibition of photographs by legendary Colorado Springs photographer Laura Gilpin (1891-1979) opened in Denver at the Byers-Evans House Gallery, consisting of over 40 platinum and silver prints spanning Gilpin’s six decades as an artist in the American Southwest. Images from all periods of her career will be on display, including rare examples of her pictorial period and her exemplary documentation of the Navajo during the depression years and later. There are several Gilpin prints on display in the FAC Dickinson Gallery.

Pard Morrison debuts in Dallas gallery

Colorado Springs and FAC Permanent Collection artist Pard Morrison is featured with an exhibit in the Marty Walker Gallery in Dallas. New Work by Pard Morrison marks the artist’s first solo show with the gallery. Drawing from minimalism and geometric abstraction, Pard’s brightly colored aluminum box-like configurations function as both painting and sculpture. Two of Pard's works are also on display every day in the FAC Permanent Collection's Loo Gallery.

Denver Post: Center's treasures revealed

The Fine Arts Center was featured on the front page of the Denver Post A&E section Sunday, complete with four articles and eight photos. About the FAC Permanent Collection, art critic Kyle MacMillan wrote, "The return of a little more than 200 permanent works to public view is among the most exciting aspects of the arts center's newly opened addition ... No comprehensive story of Colorado art, which for much of the 20th century was centered in Colorado Springs, can be told without including selections from the arts center's extensive collection."

"A major boost to those holdings came with the July announcement that 67 paintings from the extraordinary Colorado Springs collection of Katherine and the late Dusty Loo would be given to the institution. A selection of 27 pieces is on view.

"The Loos were highly discriminating in their purchases, managing to find a, if not the, definitive example of virtually every artist represented in their collection."

Center's treasures revealed: Rediscovering the Collection
Curating the Future: What's next for the Fine Arts Center
Miro and Monet: Impressionist and Modern Masters