FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts: Rose Beetem, 720-913-0000
[email protected]
Shadia Lemus, 720-913-0096
[email protected]
Images available upon request.
June 2015: Summer of Flowers Kicks Off June 6 & 7, Last Call to See
Starring Linda and Joan M iró: Instinct & Imagination and Other Highlights
Note: The museum will be closed on July 4. Free First Saturday will be postponed to July 11.
(Denver) – May 20, 2015 – Drop by the Denver Art Museum (DAM) and kick off a summer celebrating flowers with
a weekend full of activities June 6 and 7. At the Summer of Flowers Kick Off Weekend, you can pick up a summer
family self-guide, featuring fun facts and activities, stop at the new Plaza Activity Cart and join in a bug-making
activity, enjoy a new Cuentos del Arte story with performances at 11 a.m., 1 and 3 p.m. or try out one of three new
summer Create-n-Takes. On level 4 of the North Building, visit an immersive Mexican courtyard garden inside the
museum constructed of paper, tissue and felt and craft a floral message at The Language of Flowers Create-nTake. All activities are included in general admission, which is free for members and youth 18 and younger. On
June 6, a Free First Saturday, museum admission is free for everyone.
The Martin Plaza Project
All summer, Martin Plaza will be activated with art
installations and flower-focused programming.
Similar to plants that sprout along streams in
mountain valleys, design firm Gensler’s project
Bloom is a temporary installation on the plaza that
strikes a soft organic line between the urban
hardscape and tall shadows of the DAM and the
Museum Residences. With Bloom, the design
team aimed to create three distinctly different
areas on the plaza, providing spaces to engage,
to sit and learn and to reflect.
During the Summer of Flowers Kick Off
Preliminary rendering of Pasture Raised.
Weekend, artist Meredith Feniak will be on-site
installing Pasture Raised, which pays homage to the Colorado plains and native grasses and to blue gamma grass
in particular, a grass essential to the prairie ecosystem.
The second installation on the plaza will be Alex Worden’s Lilypads and Petals, made in collaboration with
StudioTJOA. An oversized vase of flowers using macro crochet and irrigation tubing, Lilypads and Petals will
provide visitors and passersby a relaxing haven under an expansive, shady canopy created by dozens of massive
petals. Lilypads and Petals will be completed and installed by June 15. The Martin Plaza Project is generously
funded by the PB and K Family Foundation.
Related Programming in June:
All workshops are included in general admission; members and youth 18 and younger free.
A Seed Bomb Workshop for Monarch Butterflies (drop-in)
June 9 and 10, 2–5 p.m.
Make milkweed seed bombs to help migrating monarch butterflies with local artist Lauri Lynnxe Murphy.
Edible Plants Workshop (drop-in)
June 11 and 12, 2–5 p.m.
Local foragers Graham Steinruck and Nick Martinez teach how to identify and harvest edible plants.
Flowers and Flamenco
June 18, 2–5 p.m. June 19, 4-7 p.m.
Take a mini dance lesson with Natalia Pérez del Villar of Flamenco Underground and learn what flowers have to do
with flamenco.
Pastel Painting Workshop (sign-up required)
June 25, 2–5 p.m., and June 26, 3–6 p.m.
Local artist Paula Kehoe takes you through the process of pastel painting, from sketching to matting a finished
piece.
The Martin Plaza Project is generously funded by the PB and K Family Foundation.
COMING SOON AND NEW ON VIEW
Alec Soth: Colorado Dispatch
Opening June 7, 2015
Taking cues from the Depression-era documentary projects of the 1930s, photographer AlecSoth set out to create
a state-by-state record of American life in the early 21st century. Photographed over
the course of a 2013 road trip, Colorado Dispatch presents the core of Soth’s work
from the Centennial State. These photographs of ordinary citizens, familiar
landscapes and puzzling details of local culture offer an unromanticized, yet
affectionate, view of the land and its people. Included in museum admission.
Anderman Photography Lecture Series: Alec Soth
June 5, 7 p.m.
Photographer Alec Soth studies the habits and rituals of ordinary Americans, finding
moments of self-absorption and vulnerability that are specific to the people he
photographs, yet somehow common to human experience. A member of the
international picture agency, Magnum Photos, Soth has photographed throughout the
world and published many books of his own work. In 2010 the Walker Art Center in
Minneapolis presented a major retrospective of his work, From Here to There: Alec
Soth’s America. Tickets range from $5–$15. The Anderman Photography Lecture Series
Alec Soth, Dave and Trish, Denver, 2013.
©Alec Soth
presents quarterly talks by the preeminent creators and thinkers in photography today. Series
funding generously provided by Evan and Elizabeth Anderman.
Creative Crossroads: The Art of Tapestry
Opening May 31
From around the world and across centuries, more than 20 tapestry-woven wall hangings, rugs, furniture covers,
garments and sculptural forms illustrate the creative possibilities of this technique. The selection on view includes
historic European tapestries made by large ateliers, 20th-century collaborations between artist and weaver and
works by solo artist-weavers who use tapestry as their creative medium.
While some designs are culturally specific, others borrow from, transform, or transcend tradition. Contemporary
tapestries join historic weavings from Europe, Turkey, China, Peru, Mexico and the American Southwest in the
main gallery, complemented by a selection of smaller tapestries in the Nancy Lake Benson Thread Studio. Included
in museum admission.
Showing Off: Recent Modern and Contemporary Acquisitions
Through Jan. 3, 2016
Gifts, promised gifts and works that the museum purchased over the last seven years are the focus of the new
rotation that spans the modern and contemporary galleries on level 4 of the Hamilton Building. Showing Off
consists of 53 works by artists Nick Cave, Leonardo Drew, Eric Fischl, Ben Jackel, Sol LeWitt, Agnes Martin, John
McEnroe, Julian Opie, Nam June Paik, Shinique Smith, Stacey Steers and Mark Wallinger, among others. This
installation includes approximately 25 works that have not previously been on view at the DAM.
Installation v iew of Revolt 1680/2180: Virgil Ortiz. © Virgil Ortiz
Revolt 1680/2180: Virgil Ortiz
Through Jan. 10, 2016
Revolt 1680/2180: Virgil Ortiz, a primary feature of Showing Off,
highlights 31 figurative ceramic sculptures, 23 of which are
promised gifts, and uses contemporary art to blend historic
events with futuristic elements. The exhibition is set against
American Indian artist Virgil Ortiz’s graphic murals, inviting
visitors to immerse themselves in a storyline that Ortiz created
about survival, self-determination and empowerment. The story
begins with the historic Pueblo Revolt of 1680 and ends in a
futuristic revolt in 2180. This is the first exhibition of his work to
visually tell the whole story. An exhibition catalog is available.
Revolt 1680/2180: Virgil Ortiz is included in museum admission.
CLOSING SOON
Starring Linda: A Trio of John De Andrea Sculptures
Through June 21
Don’t miss your chance to see Linda, a visitor favorite since her first
appearance in 1984. On view for the first time since 2009, Linda—
composed of environmentally fragile polyvinyl—will soon return to
darkened, climate-controlled storage to ensure her preservation. The
exhibition also features two other sculptures by John DeAndrea,
Clothed Artist and Model, and the newly completed piece, Nude with
Black Drape.
John DeAndrea, Nude with Black Drape, 2014. Oil painted bronze,
50 x 68 x 24 in. © and courtesy of John DeAndrea.
Joan Miró: Instinct & Imagination
Through June 28
Joan Miró: Instinct & Imagination focuses on artworks the Spanish artist created during the last two decades of his
career (1963-1981). Joan Miró's (pronounced Jwan mr-OH) imagination and creativity extended well into his old
age. Later in life, he continued the inventive forms for which he is known and began exploring new materials,
including bronze. This exhibition features bronze sculptures rarely seen outside of Europe.
An exhibition catalog is available in The Shop at the Denver Art Museum. Joan Miró: Instinct & Imagination is
included in museum admission.
ADULT PROGRAMS & LECTURES
Textile Talk (June 3) and PreVIEW Open Window
Wednesdays, 10:30 a.m.-noon
On the first Wednesday of the month, Textile Talk explores the DAM’s techniques of handling, examining, treating,
and installing complex textiles. On June 3, hear about the challenges of installing 3-D tapestry. Every other
Wednesday at PreVIEW Open Window, visitors can observe and interact with staff and learn about tools,
processes and the “hows and whys” of conservation. Included in museum admission; no reservations required.
Conversation with Curator
June 5, 4 p.m.
Curator Angelica Daneo leads a tour of Real vs Imaginary: Landscape through Time. Conversations with Curators
feature lively discussions with different curators on the first Friday of the month. All Conversations are free with
museum admission; no reservations required. Meet at 4 p.m. in the elevator lobby on level 6 of the North Building.
Tactile Tables (on the second Friday and Saturday of every other month)
June 12 and 13, 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
Get hands on with art! Regularly scheduled, bimonthly opportunities to experience
art in a hands-on way, Tactile Tables are facilitated by specially trained docents.
Available to all visitors who desire a multisensory, hands-on experience with art,
including those visitors who are blind or have low vision. Included in museum
admission.
Drop-in Drawing (on the second Tuesday of each month)
June 9, 1–3 p.m.
Through the subtractive method of scratch art, strengthen your skills in utilizing layers of lines to develop volume in
a composition. Choose a subject on the DAM’s plaza and cross-hatch, hatch, stipple, contour and scribble your way
to a finished drawing. All experience levels welcome. Bring your own supplies or use one of the museum’s
communal sketch pads. Included in museum admission; no reservations required.
Drop-In Writing (on the fourth Tuesday of each month)
June 23, 1–3 p.m.
What is home, and where is it? Writing and stories often relate to the idea of home, and how that safe place is often
lost. Use Rupprecht Matthies’ installation ¿Being Home? to inspire your own word play, explore these concepts,
and recast the various places in your life that have served as home.
Untitled: Habitat
June 26, 6–10 p.m.
At Untitled: Habitat, traverse new terrain by exploring national parks,
Colorado history and lounging in art-inspired environments. At Untitled
Final Fridays, January through October, enjoy offbeat art encounters,
community collaborations, unique detours, local music, cash bar,
munchies and more. Included in museum admission; youth 18 and
younger are free and college students with ID receive 2-for-1 tickets
during the event. Untitled is sponsored by Macy’s and CultureHaus, the
DAM’s young professionals support group, and made possible by the Scientific
and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD). Catering by Kevin Taylor.
FAMILY FUN
Free First Saturday
June 6, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
On the first Saturday of every month, enjoy the museum’s art collections and non-ticketed exhibitions without
spending a dime! Be sure to check out some of the DAM’s many family and kid-friendly activities. Free museum
admission tickets available on-site starting at 10 a.m. Free First Saturdays are sponsored by Target and made possible by
the citizens who support the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD).
CelebrARTE on Free First Saturdays
June 6, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
At CelebrARTE on Free First Saturdays, enjoy bilingual fun for everyone, with a 2 p.m. Collection Highlights tour in
Spanish, Create-n-Takes and a new storytelling program. Cuentistas tell the tales of artworks through music,
movement and art during Cuentos del Arte with stories para todos—for everyone—at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Fox Tale Sunday
June 14, 10 a.m.–noon
Families are invited to stop by the museum on the second Sunday of the month, October through May, for in-gallery
performances by Buntport Theater Co. starring Foxy and Shmoxy (inspired by the DAM’s artwork Fox Games) at
10:30 or 11:30 a.m. Check in at the Family Activity Cart to get a special letter from the Fox Box and follow the clues
to find the foxes! Afterwards, check out all of the other activities available for families, including the Fox Games Art
Tube. Included with museum admission; kids and youth 18 and younger are free. No reservations required.
Create Playdate: Friends Forever
June 10, 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
Drop in with your little ones, aged 3 to 5 to become Friends Forever with art in our collection. Create art, read
stories, and play art games in the galleries. Included with museum admission; kids and youth 18 and younger are
free. No reservations required.
Media Resources
• Online Newsroom: www.denverartmuseum.org/press
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/denverartmuseum
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/denverartmuseum
• Instagram: www.Instagram.com/denverartmuseum
Denver Art Museum
The Denver Art Museum is an educational, nonprofit resource that sparks creative thinking and expression through
transformative experiences with art. Its holdings reflect the city and region—and provide invaluable ways for the
community to learn about cultures from around the world. Denver metro citizens support the Scientific and Cultural
Facilities District (SCFD), a unique funding source serving hundreds of metro Denver arts, culture and scientific
organizations. For museum information, call 720-865-5000 or visit denverartmuseum.org.
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