Art Attack: Ten Ways to See Art Live or Otherwise This Week

It’s time to get outdoors to enjoy the arts — or not, depending on your safety zone — with lots of outdoor fests, co-op openings and online art sales elbowing for room this weekend in and out of Denver  Whatever you choose, remember to mask up if you go out, and if you don’t, please support your local artists via online sales.

Peter Durst, “Hawaiiana,” stoneware.

Peter Durst

DelecTABLE: The Fine Art of Dining 2020Art Students League of DenverOnline exhibition, through August 31COVID or no, the show must go on at the Art Students League of Denver, where the organization’s annual DelecTABLE: The Fine Art of Dining, a national juried exhibition focusing on ceramic and two-dimensional food-themed works, will set its table online in 2020. A gorgeous selection of imaginative teapots, platters, butter dishes, bowls and pitchers is available at the ASLD website for first-come, first-served purchase; metro-area purchases can be picked up at the art school, 200 Grant Street, while pieces sold to buyers outside of this area will be charged an additional shipping fee at the time of shipping. How will you dress up your table?

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Ramon Bonilla and Brenton Weyi host this month’s online Untitled: Creative Fusions at Home.

Courtesy of the Denver Art Museum

Untitled: Creative Fusions at HomeDenver Art MuseumOnline event: Friday, July 31, 7 p.m.Free, access from Facebook or the DAM websiteThe Denver Art Museum’s Untitled: Creative Fusions quarterly Final Friday series continues by online broadcast in July, with the team of painter Ramon Bonilla and versatile author/speaker Brenton Weyi leading an exploration into a theme of “Re:viewing.” Inspired by the DAM exhibition Norman Rockwell: Imagining Freedom, the interactive live stream includes a guest cast of comedians, a cappella storytellers, artists, poets and others, all opining with modern views on the morphing American stories first portrayed by Rockwell decades ago. All you need for this arty night out is the Internet.

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Katie Hoffman, “Shelter in Place,” oil on canvas.

Katie Hoffman

Katie Hoffman, I’ll See You in My DreamsKen Peterson, Yellow Duck Tales From the CryptSara-Lou Klein, new workEdge Gallery, Pasternack’s Art Hub, 651 West Colfax Avenue, LakewoodJuly 31 through August 16Reception: Friday, July 31, 6 to 9 p.m.A couple of new co-op exhibitions will debut at the Art Hub in Lakewood, beginning with three member shows at Edge Gallery, including new strange and dreamy paintings from Katie Hoffman, who’s back in action after a four-year hiatus; photographs and paintings from Ken Peterson; and whimsical visions by Sara-Lou Klein. Be prepared for COVID-19 protocols, and wear a mask.

J. Bruce Wilcox, RIOT! The Politics Of EverythingRichard Neff, Improbable DimensionsGina Smith Caswell, The Dog PrintsCore New Art Space, Pasternack’s Art Hub, 6851 West Colfax Avenue, LakewoodJuly 31 through August 16First Friday Reception: Friday, August 7, 6 to 9 p.m.Core New Art Space is also debuting three member shows: J. Bruce Wilcox unleashes a politically charged array of art quilts; printmaker Gina Smith Caswell offers print works depicting dogs in their natural state; and Richard Neff unveils a new set of geometric illusions while also making room for work by his son, Michael Neff. As above, arrive ready for safe viewing and social distancing.

Edica Pacha, multiple-exposure in-camera photograph, wheat-pasted on wood.

Edica Pacha, IRL Art

Final Friday Art WalkDairy Block, 1800 Wazee StreetFriday, July 31, 5 to 8 p.m.Free, RSVP online at eventbrite.comThe Dairy Block’s summer art walk series is curated this year by IRL Arts, a platform that helps artists market their work. Participating artists will rotate every month through October at the free outdoor event, which includes live-art demos, food and drink, and art-viewing indoors in a gallery open Wednesdays through Sundays during the length of the series. Arrive wearing a mask (when not eating or drinking) and ready to comply with CDC guidelines.

Gregory Block, “High Noon,” oil on board.

Gregory Block

Bootstraps Weekend in the West Art Show and SaleOnline Art Preview: Through July 31Online Art Sale: August 1 through 14The Bootstraps Weekend, normally an annual event at Evergreen Fine Arts to benefit a scholarship fund for art students, has gone virtual in 2020 for your safety, so rest assured: You can still preview (through July 31) and buy Western art by 25 artists online, beginning on August 1. Help the organization whoop it up this year: It’s the art show’s 75th anniversary.

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Muralist Detour preps for a new mural in downtown Aurora.

Courtesy of Colfax Canvas Mural Festival

Colfax Canvas Mural FestPeople’s Building, 9995 East Colfax AvenueSaturday, August 1, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.Self-Guided Driving Tour, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. (see online map for directions)Live events at People’s Building, 2 to 6 p.m. (sign-up for mural walking tour is full)Mural fests keep spreading to Denver suburbs, but the Aurora Cultural Arts District was one of the first districts to allot walls for street art. Because of COVID, Aurora’s annual summer street festivities are on hold this year, but ACAD teamed up with the Black Actors Guild and We Are Denver to present the smaller-scale Colfax Canvas Mural Fest, with ten artists — Detour, Dread, Zehb One, Hiero, Aaron Golbeck, Phero, Patrick Kane McGregor, Chad Bolsinger and Casey Kawaguchi — adding new wall works to downtown Aurora’s collection. The event’s timed-entry walking tours are full, but you can still use the fest’s mural map and go on a safe driving tour that might end with a drive-by to enjoy the live music at the People’s Building.

Jamie Zerr-Lockwood

Heart of Art FestivalLamar Station Plaza, 6501-6791 West Colfax Avenue, LakewoodSaturday, August 1, noon to 8 p.m.Free, RSVP in advance at eventbrite.comTo the west, Lakewood will also celebrate art on the small scale at the second annual Heart of Art Festival, hosted by Hammered & Hung and taking place in the shadow of Casa Bonita. Mask up, ride in on light rail and enjoy live music, art and craft vendors, food trucks and more. Hammered & Hung will also be part of another celebration on August 1, when Edgewater Public Market, 5505 West 20th Avenue, reopens its retail stores, with an art exhibition throughout the complex.

73rd Annual Gilpin County Arts Association Juried Art ShowWashington Hall, 117 Eureka Street, Central CityAugust 1 through September 19Opening Reception: Saturday, August 1, 5 to 8 p.m.The Gilpin County Arts Association Juried Art Show is a Central City old-timer in its 73rd year, which goes down live and in person on August 1 after a COVID-based setback. Right now, COVID protocols will be fiercely adhered to at the opening, where the food by JKQ BBQ will even be wrapped for your safety, and at 5 p.m., there will be a mask contest with funniest and most creative categories to address the situation with a smile. But the time-honored juried art show does run through mid-September, when fall colors should be starting up in the area, so pace yourself.

ArtWalk Longmont Summer on the StreetsMain Street, Historic Downtown LongmontSaturday, August 1, 5 to 8 p.m.FreeLongmont’s art-walk series continues on August 1 with live art, musicians and buskers along historic Main Street. If you’re not ready to take to the streets, the participating Firehouse Art Center has an online art market at your service on selected dates, so you can shop without a mask. Hallelujah!Interested in having your event appear in this calendar? Send the details to editorial@westword.com.

Susan Froyd started writing for Westword as the “Thrills” editor in 1992 and never quite left the fold. These days she still freelances for the paper in addition to walking her dogs, enjoying cheap ethnic food and reading voraciously. Sometimes she writes poetry.