July 19, 2021
Word Around Town: Press Highlights
Check out some press highlights below of our current exhibitions: Keith Haring: Grace House Mural, Colorado in the Present Tense: Narkita Gold, Rick Griffith, Maia Ruth Lee and Nathan Hall, and Jaime Carrejo: Waiting.
July 15, 2021: The New York Times: Reconnecting With Keith Haring’s Grace House Mural (in 13 Pieces) by Ray Mark Rinaldi
The exhibit “Keith Haring: Grace House Mural” may not add up to the happy ending the Keith Haring Foundation envisioned for the sprawling 85-foot-long masterpiece the artist painted nearly four decades ago at a Manhattan youth center. Though it might be, at least in the short-term, happy enough. After all, the show does return to public view the action-packed artwork Haring installed in one evening along the Grace House’s three-story stairwell, a gift for the teenagers who frequented the Catholic-run nonprofit on the Upper West Side. Read the full article here.
July 6, 2021: Tech Wxrld Deal: Makin’ Art: “Waiting” With Jaime Carrejo by Makin-Stuff
Last winter, I spent many late nights at my friend Trey’s new studio and workshop after my workdays at SparkFun. He had pulled me onto a project to design and build some motor systems for an upcoming installation for his colleague Jaime. Jaime’s piece Waiting is currently at the MCA Denver until August 22. Jaime Carrejo is a prominent figure in the Denver art scene. He’s a professor and chair of Fine Arts at the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design and is an artist in residence at TANK Studios. He works with unique materials such as poured acrylic paint, vinyl, and rusting oxidation paint, often layering them to create paintings, sculptures, or immersive installations. His work largely explores themes such as immigration, place, identity, and nationalism. He uses intricate patterns, graphic landscapes, and barrier iconography to reflect on his diverse cultural heritage. Read the full article here.
July 1, 2021: CPR News: Keith Haring’s Pop Art At Denver’s MCA Includes The Walls That Helped Make Him Famous by Andrea Dukakis
Artist Keith Haring first made his mark with chalk drawings of figures on the walls of New York subway stations. He moved on to create large murals in his distinct pop art style. One of his works was a mural painted along the walls of a stairwell in a former youth center in New York. Denver's Museum of Contemporary Art transported the original wall panels to the museum. The museum's director Nora Burnett Abrams took CPR's Andrea Dukakis on a tour. Listen here.
June 29, 2021: Travel Lemming: 58 Epic Things to Do in Denver (According to a Local) by Nate Hake
Situated just south of Union Station, the Denver Museum of Contemporary Art is an underrated Denver museum offering thought-provoking, sometimes shocking, displays. Don’t miss the excellent rooftop cafe and bar, which somehow seems to never be crowded despite the pleasant views of downtown. Read the full article here.
May 30, 2021: Rocky Mountain PBS: After a turbulent year, four artists share their visions of the future by Julio Sandoval, Kyle Cooke
At the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver (MCA Denver), an exhibit shows how four artists are “responding to and reimagining the upended world in which we presently find ourselves.” The exhibit, titled Colorado in the Present Tense, displays the work of Narkita Gold, Rick Griffith, Nathan Hall, and Maia Ruth Lee. All four artists are based in Colorado.“Many of the artists created new work, added to existing work … that was in direct response to much of the tumultuousness of 2020,” said Nora Burnett Abrams, the museum’s director. “Through their interpretations and their responses, we ourselves are able to reflect on our own experiences over this very long year.” Read the full article here.
May 19, 2021: Hyperallergic: Maia Ruth Lee’s Artworks Pick Up Where Language Falls Short by Kealey Boyd
In The Language of Grief, Lee’s canvases read like a fragmentary novel, building out the story of a year through mundane bits and extraordinary pieces. Words promise clarity, commitment, and explanations, all of which are essential for a critic adrift in exhibitions on art in the time of COVID. Read the full article here.
March 8, 2021: Westword: Keith Haring's Grace House Mural Makes Exhibition Debut at MCA Denver by Michael Paglia
The MCA exhibit zeroes in on a mural Haring did in the early ’80s when he was hanging out at a place called the Paradise Garage. Located in a converted parking structure, Paradise Garage was an alternative nightclub that was famous not only for its sound system but also for its inclusiveness. It emerged as important to the development of dance, pop music, club culture, and the LGBTQ community. Haring was among the many future luminaries hanging out there, and it was there that he also met two street-savvy teens who were clients of Grace House and who then introduced Haring to the facility. Grace House was a Catholic center for at-risk youth, located in New York City's Morningside Heights neighborhood. Read the full article here.
February 26, 2021: 5280: MCA Denver Brings an Elusive Keith Haring Mural Back to Life by Noella Williams
Starting February 26, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Denver will display one of the famed artist’s most elusive works, Grace House Mural—a site-specific painting that originally adorned the walls of a stairwell inside a former Catholic youth center in Manhattan. Haring, who enjoyed working with children, created the mural in 1983–84 to uplift the spirits of New York’s at-risk teens. According to Nora Burnett Abrams, MCA Denver’s Mark G. Falcone director and the exhibit’s curator, some Grace House residents befriended Haring through New York’s downtown dance scene and begged him to create a work at the home. Read the full article here.
February 26, 2021: CPR News: Pandemic Art: New Shows At MCA Denver Reflect On A Year Of Struggle by Monica Castillo
With the anniversary of the coronavirus pandemic in sight, the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver invited artists from around the state to reflect on the events of the past year. In its new exhibits “Colorado in the Present Tense” and a solo exhibition “Jaime Carrejo: Waiting,” the works explore many of the emotions and ideas still fresh in the public’s minds as the pandemic continues. Read the full article here.