Art Attack: Twelve Ways to See Great Art in Denver This Weekend

Air-conditioning and cool breezes might help when the weather’s this torrid. But rest assured, the new art on view around town will be hotter than hot as you tour your way through nods to Pride Month, co-op artists, pop art and pop-up art.

Here are twelve shows you don't want to miss, whether indoors or outdoors, in person or online.
LandMark Naturalist Tour
Kendrick Lake Park, 9351 West Jewell Avenue, Lakewood
Thursday, June 17, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Free
Take an early evening stroll with naturalist Lindsay Gillis through Kendrick Lake Park in Lakewood, where artist Eileen Roscina’s sculpture "Shelter," a part of the LandMark exhibition of outdoor art, is situated. The woven-willow-branch form, reminiscent of a bird’s nest, stands near a well-kept xeriscaped garden.
MaryV: Loving You Virtual Artist Talk
Thursday, June 17, 5 to 7 p.m.
Free, RSVP at Eventbrite
KiKi: Virtual Movie Screening
Saturday, June 19, 6 to 8 p.m.
Free, RSVP at Eventbrite
Photographer and Instagram sensation MaryV, a Denverite now living in Brooklyn, is known for documenting queer life — and in the Union Hall exhibition Loving You—Documenting Kia Lopez and Chella Man, now on view through July 10, her own personal transgender circle of friends. Learn more about MaryV’s dynamic when she and her subjects chat online. On Saturday, Union Hall will also stream the 2016 film Kiki, a documentary about New York City’s Ballroom culture and community. Both events are free and dial right into upcoming Pride festivities in Denver.
Ulla Meyer, Lynda Tygart and Cyncie Winter, Sanctuary
Sync Gallery, 931 Santa Fe Drive
June 17 through July 10
Sync members Ulla Meyer, Lynda Tygart and Cyncie Winter explore the meaning of sanctuary, each in her way — Meyer through fluid brushstrokes colliding in organic abstracts, Tygart with misty photographic landscapes both wild and urban, and Winter in soulful abstract paintings inspired by nature’s alchemy.
Tiffany Matheson, Give Me Some Space
Suzanne Bates, Where Do We Go From Here?
Pirate: Contemporary Art, 7130 West 16th Avenue, Lakewood
June 18 through July 4
Opening Reception: Friday, June 18, 6 to 10 p.m.
At Pirate, the always-interesting installation artist Tiffany Matheson mixes media like nobody’s business for Give Me Some Space, an immersive journey through the many meanings and connotations of “space,” from the uncharted universe to the personal journey of a breakup. Suzanne Bates, on the other hand, trips through nature’s subtle patterns and hidden visuals to uncover the details we sometimes miss.
Us Exhibition
Bitfactory Gallery, 851 Santa Fe Drive
June 18 through July 8
Opening Reception: Friday, June 18, 6 to 9 p.m.
Denver-based queer artists Jeremy Patlen, Clint Ramstetter, Autumn Thomas, Louis Trujillo and Jason Van Tatenhove share their non-straight points of view in artistic form for Us, a group nod to Pride that invites understanding and inclusion, regardless of gender choices.

Into the Rainbow: Denver Pride Art Showcase
Spectra Art Space, 1836 South Broadway
June 19 through July 25
Opening Reception: Friday, June 18, 6 to 10 p.m.
To visit the gallery, RSVP at Eventbrite for timed-entry slot
Spectra also dives into the Pride state of mind with Into the Rainbow, a big collaborative showcase of art by queer artists and allies that riffles through a variety of media as diverse as all of LGBTQIA culture. More than 85 artists are participating in the show in an all-encompassing call to bring folks together under the rainbow colors.
Deborah A. Abbott, Color Fields
Kathryn Cole, Just Life
Michelle Lamb and Family, It’s All Relative
Core New Art Space, Art Hub, 6851 West Colfax Avenue, Lakewood
June 18 through July 4
Opening Reception: Friday, June 18, 5 to 10 p.m.
Core members Deborah A. Abbott and Kathryn Cole travel different routes as artists. Abbott applies color theory to arrangements of landfill findings, and Cole paints summery figures in beach chairs and vacation spots — while Michelle Lamb shares her space with friends and family for a mixture of fun assemblage art, painted tree-trunk slices and ceramic and glass sculptures.
Katherine Johnson, Changing Life
Phil Rader, Authentic Explorations
Rachael Amos, Thoughts on Roots With Fungae
Gail Wagner, Diverge
Edge Gallery, Art Hub, 6851 West Colfax Avenue, Lakewood
June 18 through July 2
Abstracts steeped in nature, impermanence or experimental processes, earth-toned studies of things growing above and below the ground, and Asian influences all creep through this set of shows by four Edge artists.
Julio Alejandro, I’m feeling healthy, I want to be around
Black Book Gallery, 3878 South Jason Street, Englewood
Saturday, June 19, 7 to 10 p.m.
Denver artist Julio Alejandro’s comic book and pop-culture references will fly at this one-night open house at Black Book Gallery, which extends its stay online and by appointment only through July 14.
Devon Dikeou, Mid-Career Smear, Public Reception
Dikeou Pop-up, 312 East Colfax Avenue
Saturday, June 19, 3 to 6 p.m.
Free
See another view of Devon Dikeou’s retrospective exhibition Mid-Career Smear beyond the main display in the Dikeou Collection’s downtown high-rise gallery when a second arm of the show pops up for one afternoon at the Dikeou Annex, located inside the former Jerry’s Record Exchange shop on East Colfax. Brand-new works will mingle with some of Dikeou’s earliest ones, adding depth to the full show, curated by Cortney Lane Stell of Black Cube.

Yard Art 2021
1625 East 3rd Avenue (corner of 3rd Avenue and Gilpin Street)
Saturday, June 19, 10 to 5 p.m., and Sunday, June 20, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Annie DeCamp and fellow Yard Art friends Michael Dowling, Jen Starling, Brett Matarazzo, Joey Kerlin, Kristina Davies, Dan Drossman, Jess Davis and Julie Havel will set up in Denver’s Country Club neighborhood for another outdoor pop-up that’s something like a yard sale, only way artsier. Come as you are, but keep in mind that wine will be served.

Solstice Garden Exhibition
Courtyard, Art Students League of Denver, 200 Grant Street
Through August 15
Opening Reception: Sunday, June 20, time TBD
This exhibition is not just open-call — it’s also fully open to rock art, driftwood sculptures and other weather-hardy media as manipulated by the artists, as long as they lean toward the theme of floral arrangements and the power of the sun. If you missed the call, rocks will be available to paint for artists of any age at the reception.
An Inside Look: Ten Virtual Curator’s Talks on the Martin Building Collections
Various Tuesday dates, June 22 through September 28
Tickets: $15 each session (full series pass available)
Can’t wait for the Denver’s Art Museum’s newly renovated Martin Building and the collections therein to reopen in October? Scratch that itch with this online lecture series, a curatorial survey of what’s in ten of those collections, led by knowledgeable curators in each period and place. It’s a grand learning experience and a chance to see old favorites that have been hidden away since the building closed, as well as pieces that haven’t seen the light of day in your lifetime. The series tips off Tuesday, June 22, at 6 p.m. with “European and American Art Before 1900.”