FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 5, 2020 CONTACT: Brett Matarazzo, 303-808-8912, brett@tarazzoVO.com Amy Norton, 303-204-5183, amy@thecreativeangle.co (.co not .com)
ZEEL presents The Space Between: Beauty and Release for a Separated Community A “Window Gallery” in partnership with Unico Properties and the Mental Health Center of Denver (Denver) In good times and bad, artists play a vital role in reflecting society, facilitating conversation, connection, and social awareness. As the coronavirus pandemic hit Denver, the art community had to stop this pursuit in its tracks— abruptly canceling exhibits, events, and other projects, to stay healthy and comply with the city’s stay-at-home orders. In other ways however, artists became busier than ever, creating new works, planning virtual exhibits and innovating ways to safely share their work for the enjoyment of others, and out of urgent economic necessity.
The artists of ZEEL are doing their part with a “window gallery” show about separation, isolation and the human spirit; to bring a little beauty and share a sense of releaseand emotional connection through personal expression. The exhibit, featuring works by Eric Anderson, Dana Barak, Michael Dowling, Brett Fox, Brett Matarazzo, Carmen Richards (who also curated the show) and other participating guest artists, will be unveiled on May 9, 2020 at 1615 Platte Street in the ground-level windows of the Circa building, located next to the entrance of the Highland Bridge. There will be no gathering or special event celebrating the show, but rather, as Denver begins its Safer-at-Home phase, ZEEL hopes to provide enjoyment to those who live or work in the area, and who walk down Platte Street during their daily routine. The sidewalk will be marked to indicate proper social distances for viewing the show. The artwork will remain up indefinitely to be shared with more people as it becomes safer to do so. Works may be purchased through the contact information listed at the site.
Made possible by Unico Properties, owners of the Circa Building, the window exhibit will also benefit the Mental Health Center of Denver (MHCD) during a time of heightened need for mental wellness and the annual Mental Health Month, a national movement to raise awareness, occurring each May. Throughout the pandemic, MHCD has remained a vital resource in responding to the added mental health challenges created by social distancing. The artists will be generously donating 50% of art sales from this exhibit to MHCD.
About MHCD The Mental Health Center of Denver is a place for recovery, resilience and well-being, known locally and nationally as a model for innovative and effective community behavioral health care. Find mental health resources and ways to support their organization at www.mhcd.org About the Circa Building The Circa Building, owned, developed and managed by Unico Properties, is a class-A office and retail building in the heart of old Denver. An historic location and exceptional parking combined with a forward-thinking amenities package and the best visibility in Denver’s urban core make it ideal for innovative companies looking to change Denver and the world. www.thecircabuilding.com
About ZEEL ZEEL is a community of eclectic artists coming together to evoke inspiration, ideas and conversation through art. Started in December of 2016 in a temporary space in the Stanley Marketplace, they have since moved on to produce pop-up exhibits in other locations, such as the well-received “Indivisible” and “Blood Ties” exhibits. Follow them on Facebook @ZeelArtistGroup and on Instagram @zeelartists.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 16, 2020
CONTACT: Amy Norton, 303-204-5183, amy@thecreativeangle.co (.co not .com) Dan Drossman, 917-703-2563, dbobdross@gmail.com
Artist Dan Drossman invites the public to color their art out.
(Denver) With digital technology overtaking our lives, the hands-on, meditative process of “coloring” has become a popular way for adults to unplug and let the child-like joy of an “analog” creative process sooth the mind. In 2017, with an understanding of this trend, artist Dan Drossman took his edgy, street-art inspired illustrations, stripped out the color, and published a coloring book based on his own original art. While his intricate drawings feature wary-eyed post-industrial characters immersed in a frenzy of stimuli, the act of coloring the images themselves serve as a cathartic anecdote to that very lifestyle.
In 2019 Drossman was commissioned to paint a colorful outdoor mural in this same illustrative style, outside a dispensary in Denver’s Washington Park neighborhood. As he went about this work, he became inspired to replicate the “coloring book” experience as an interactive community art project. Two months later his intricate mural was completed and Drossman went about bringing the project to life.
His first step was to reproduce a few drawings as large prints on paper. He then wheat-pasted them to vacant buildings in RiNo and the Art District on Santa Fe, attaching a bucket of markers and crayons, along with signage inviting passers-by to add color to the piece. Soon he had folks stopping by to participate. He periodically checks on the progress of what he calls “Guerilla Coloring Book Pages” and replenishes supplies that inevitably go missing or wear out.
His hope is to find more places along the beaten path where he can create spontaneous interaction around his artwork and bring small moments of joy into the community. He welcomes building owners to contact him with permission to add a temporary coloring sheet (the wheat paste and paper will eventually succumb to the elements and peel off) to their property. For those looking for a more permanent display, he is also available for mural commissions.
Drossman’s Guerrilla Coloring Book Pages can be found in on Larimer St. between 26th and 27th Avenues and on the west side Santa Fe Drive between 7th and 8th.
His painted mural can be seen outside the Herbal Cure dispensary at 985 S. Logan St. Teetering the Line: An Adult Coloring Book: Street Art Interpretation of Post-Modern Life can be purchased on Amazon.com or through his website www.dandrossmanart.com/teetering-the-line.
Drossman grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, received his BA from Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina, and holds an MFA from The School of Visual Arts in New York. He has had solo and group exhibitions throughout New York and North Carolina and Denver. He currently lives in Denver, Colorado and is represented by Ruler Art in New York City (www.rulerart.com). His contemporary abstract work is currently featured in the No Show Exhibit at Bitfactory Gallery in January/February of 2020. He can be found working in his space at Bitfactory Studios on Santa Fe Drive, or online at his newly refreshed website www.dandrossmanart.com and on Instagram @dandrossmanart.
Artist Topher Straus launches into decade with a big success and new opportunities.
(Denver) In 2018 and 2019 after a career shift away from bi-coastal film production, Topher Straus entered the Denver art scene with an enthusiastic ambition to make a name for himself as an artist. Armed with a love of the outdoors and original approach to depicting colorful landscapes on a striking aluminum material, he serendipitously launched his series of national park paintings in January 2019 while the nation was focused on a government shutdown and subsequent detrimental effects on the closed parks. After two popular solo exhibits, various museum shows on both coasts, and a year of diligent marketing and production, he is parlaying his successes into new shows and opportunities for 2020.
Straus’ work is currently on view at Racine’s Restaurant at 650 Sherman St. in Denver through early March. After traveling to San Francisco to participate in the Superfine Art Fair in late February/early March, Straus returns to prepare for Bitfactory Gallery’s “Open Spaces” group landscape show March 20–April 9, then a two-person show with internationally acclaimed artist Howard Harris at Niza Knoll Gallery from July 31 through September 5, 2020. This show will feature Harris and Straus' unique style in new pieces inspired by the great works of the masters such as Picasso, Miro and Matisse.
Straus’ solo exhibit, focused on Colorado Landscapes will also run the entire summer at The American Mountaineering Museum in Golden, his second show in this venue.
While his new works are getting more complex and his palette is constantly evolving, they expand on the same themes of nature and architecture, including the Great Sand Dunes National Park, the Denver skyline at night, and various paintings inspired by Iceland’s stunning environment.
Straus has a decidedly commercial approach to his art business and aims to make his work accessible to art lovers at each end of the income spectrum. His prints on metal are now available in 3 different sizes. The singular originals are printed at a stunning 45x90 inches and range from $16K to $23K. A limited-edition of 25 30x60 inch prints are available for $3,200 and small “souvenir size” of 5x10 inches offered at a $75 price point in retail outlets and online. His business continues to flourish, having recently sold the spectacular “Maroon Bells” original piece to an Aspen buyer for $23,000!
Colorado native Topher Straus left the state to attend Syracuse University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film Art. He pursued a career in documentary, narrative films and advertising that took him to Los Angeles and later, New Zealand. Upon returning to Denver in 2012, he shifted gears and began fervently working in his studio as a full-time artist, quickly landing his first solo exhibit. His second solo show, The Parks, was featured at Niza Knoll Gallery early in 2019. He is an active, enthusiastic promoter of his own work and the art community as a whole. Follow Topher on Instagram @CreativeTopher for his engaging posts and popular IGTV show The Landscape. For more information visit TopherStraus.com.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 16, 2020
CONTACT: Jennifer Ghormley: moprint.colorado@gmail.com Amy Norton: 303-204-5183, amy@thecreativeangle.co
Month of Printmaking Launches 4th Biennial Celebration
(Denver) The Month of Printmaking (Mo’ Print) is a biennial celebration of the art of making original, fine-art prints. By partnering with a critical mass of participating artists, galleries and other partners it serves to promote exhibits, workshops, demonstrations, and events that inspire, educate and promote awareness of this art form throughout the Denver area and Colorado. The planners are delighted to announce the launch of 2020 programming that begins in January but has a focus of events during March—the official month of celebration—and some extending into April. The first Mo’Print took place in 2014 with enthusiastic attendance, and is marking its 4th run, deferring, every other year to the comparable Month of Photography.
This year there are fifty exhibitions alone to explore across the front-range, that kicked-off with some early openings on January 16th at the Arvada Center. 528.0 is a regional juried printmaking exhibition including artists residing within a five hundred- and twenty-eight-mile radius of Denver. Imprint: Print Educators of Colorado is an exhibition of print educators from institutions of higher education from across the state of Colorado. Next to open at this location is the Spirit Resonance: The Vitality of Printmaking which runs from January 18 – April 5, 2020.
The following are official Mo’Print coordinated events: Friday, March 6 - Black Ink: A Mo'Print Fundraiser at TRVE Brewery, 7pm-Midnight Saturday, March 14 - Open Portfolio day at RedLine, 1-4 pm Saturday, March 21- "Print Madness" Demo day at the Arvada Center, 12-4 PM March 28 & 29 – Studio + Print Tour, 10am-4pm
Another popular event includes the exciting Steamroller Printing on where over-sized woodblocks are inked and printed under the drum of a 2-ton steamroller. Artists can sign up to have their prints made, and the community is invited to observe on Saturday, April 18, 2020 10 AM – 4 PM on the RMCAD campus, 1600 Pierce Street, Lakewood, CO 80214 A full listing and calendar of exhibitions, workshops and events can be found at www.moprint.org . Some of the hand-on workshops do require registration and fees. Participants are encouraged to register early to ensure your spot.
Mo'Print would like to thank the following 2020 sponsors and programming partners for their assistance with this exciting celebration: Invisible Museum, Art Gym, Arvada Center, Awagami Factory, Trve Brewing Company, Genghis Kern, Speedball, RedLine Contemporary Art Center, Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, Lakewood Cultural Center, Museum of Outdoor Arts, Kirkland Museum of Fine and Decorative Art.
For more information and to sign up to the email list visit www.moprint.org. Follow on Instagram @moprintcolorado and Facebook @MoPrintDenver. Searchable social media hashtags include #moprint2020, #moprintcolorado, and #moprint.