As spring quarter comes to an end, students find themselves in a mid-quarter crisis: Should I start studying for finals? Or enjoy the nice weather while it lasts? With galleries transitioning into another month of new exhibits, the option of not doing work seems to outweigh any willpower to stay inside and study. Here are four new exhibits that will help erase those on-campus blues we all feel during this quarter’s crunch time.
CAMP
Where: Leon Gallery
Opening reception: May 9, 7-10 p.m.
Ends: June 7
Cost: Free
The Leon Gallery is opening a solo exhibit, CAMP, by Rene Farkass on May 9. Farkass has been a Colorado resident since 1995 and works with several different art materials and mediums that change depending on his subject matter. Sheet music, ink, charcoal, pastel and cartography are just a couple of the many materials he blends together in his mixed media art pieces. Regardless of the different combinations, all of Farkass’s work plays with the human form in relation to its surroundings, whether that be environment or emotions.
In CAMP, Farkass’s work embodies objects and colors that are indicative of the camping experience. One piece, its title unknown, is a sketch of a landscape—a lake surrounded by trees and mountains—with green painted on top of it. Another drawing of the Channel Catfish also has tints of green. Simple yet vibrant, his work evokes a strong urge to drop everything and head for nature.
Thief Among Thieves
Critical Focus: Monique Crine
Kim Dorland: Everyday Monsters
Where: Museum of Contemporary Art Denver
Opening reception: May 14
Ends: June 28
Cost: $5 for College Students
On May 14, three exhibits, completely different in style, will open at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver.
Thief Among Thieves is a group exhibit highlighting the work of 20 different artists. As can be expected, the work of these international and local artists range in both style and medium.
“The title is drawn from the idea that artists continually borrow from what surrounds them, “stealing”—from both art history and from any place—past or present, real or imagined,” stated Sarah Baie, the Director of Programming, on the Museum website. Los Angeles artist Matthew Brandt and London artist Raqib Shaw are just two of the many artists presenting their work at this exhibit.
Critical Focus is a series of photographs by Denver artist Monique Crine that focuses on football as an American paradigm. Her work is dramatic by nature as a way of addressing the theatrics of the American football culture.
“This tension between stylized characters and real people parallels precisely how perceptions of celebrities frequently skirt the boundary between reality and fantasy,” stated MCAD in its press release.
“Everyday Monsters” is a solo exhibit displaying the work of painter Kim Dorland. Dorland’s paintings combine aspects of conventional reality and fantastical figures of fiction. Zombies and monsters are placed in forests or other everyday scenes. Something as common as a sunset is linked with mythical creatures, creating a tension between fiction and nonfiction. His work often contains color, but in this exhibit it tends to take on a much darker tone.
These exhibits are a great excuse for a study break because one doesn’t have to plan around weather. Denver’s bipolar spring weather won’t keep you from attending these exhibits and you can still feel as if you’re escaping from your indoor study routine.
