Rocky Mountain High, Part 1

Rocky Mountain High, Part 2: Still Life, High Life

Space Gallery
So if you're following my little adventure out West last week, after San Francisco I flew into Denver. The airport is quite a distance from town--closer to the state of Idaho, actually, than the Mile High City. You're not really aware of the architecture until you see it from a distance, and then it resembles either the snow-capped rockies or a community of teepees. In either case, quite a few Teflons gave their lives to make the enormous tented roof. It was my first time in the Rockies, and I found myself surprisingly short of breath.

The Denver Airport. Internet photo

My destination was Space Gallery, a large modernist structure, where the exhibition, Pattern: Geometric/Organic, was opening that evening (May 1). Gallery curator Michael Burnett had brought together nine artists from around the country--a mix of gallery and invited artists--whose work involves repeated elements. “The desire to create order in our lives is innate in all of us,” says Burnett. “We look for patterns naturally. We seek to control, to find the edges. It’s how we make sense of things. This show takes us to a different understanding of what’s built into each of us.”

I am one of the artists, so this is most definitely not a review. Consider it a walk-through of the show, with commentary. If the light looks different from frame to frame, it's because I took pictures at different times, and I've included the images of others as well. 

Space Gallery in Denver. Gallery photo

The gallery is aptly named. There's plenty of room for art, architecture and light

 From left on ground level: Jane Guthridge, Karen Freedman, Tyler Aiello, Lynda Ray. Second level:  Aiello, Ray, Mattera

Now we move slightly from where I was standing in the previous picture so that I can show you the entrance at left and Guthridge's three gorgeous works on paper (closer views coming); a suspended wall divides the space . . . .

. . . which gives you a good view of Karen Freedman's paintings;  Tyler Aiello's sculptural vessel; and a view in the distance of Corey Postiglione's paintings (more of which in a bit). Freedman has been working with a kaleidoscopic pattern that offers infinite variation via color. Below are two of the paintings shown on the left wall

Karen Freedman: Above, Ruche 0352.65, 2013; below, Ruche 0352, 2012; both encaustic on panel, 12 x 12 inches. Images from the artist's website

With Freedman's paintings beyond our left shoulder, we turn about 45 degrees to look at the work of Lynda Ray, a wall of succulent trompe l'oeil reliefs . . . 

 . . . like Fracture, 2012, encaustic on panel, seen in the far distance above and in closer view here. Image from the Internet

We continue with the sculptures of Tyler Aiello, who works with

 forged and patinaed steel. Here, the vessel, wall sculptures, hanging sculptures, and floor spheres

Below:  A better view of the surface and structure of Aiello's work, with with paintings by me and Ruth Hiller in the distance

Aiello, Mattera

Here's a closer view of a grouping of 12 x 12-inch paintings from my Chromatic Geometry series . . .

. . . and on the perpendicular wall, four 18 x 18-inch paintings from the same series, all 2014 or 2015; and a Ruth Hiller painting. Love those color relationships we share!

Joanne Mattera, Chromatic Geometry 28, 2015, encaustic on panel, 

18 x 18 inches

Ruth Hiller, Soft Geometry, acrylic on acrylic panel. Ruth Hiller photo

With work by me, Hiller and  Aiello in the distance, we view an installation by Jane Guthridge, which is the first thing you see when you walk into the gallery. The forms are pinned to the wall

Detail below: acrylic on Dura-Lar

We've come full circle in the large gallery, so let's look more closely at Guthridge's work and peek into the smaller side gallery. On far wall: Light Forms 3, 4, and 2; each acrylic on Dura-Lar  

Light Form 4, 

Light Form 2, both 30 x 42 inches framed 

The side gallery, visible as you walk in: Guthridge; Corey Postiglione; Hiller on far wall

Corey Postiglione, Work from the Tango series, oil on canvas

Postiglione, Hiller
I love the relationship of these two paintings--each sharing an achromatic palette and an off-kilter orientation

Completing the tour of the small gallery; Hiller on the far wall  with an acrylic-on-acrylic painting, and a wall of wax-on-panel paintings  on the right, all from her Soft Geometry series

Below: A peek into the larger gallery, with Lynda Ray's paintings, just so you know where you are

We're going to climb the stairs  to the mezzanine . . .

. . . where this panorama shows you the work of Nouman Gaafar and Amber George

Below: Nouman Gaafar, Untitled 2, oil on canvas, 40 x 40 inches

George, Aiello, Ray, Mattera

Closer view of two by Amber George 

Ray and Mattera in a quiet corner

A catalog of the exhibition, designed by Jane Guthridge, with my painting, Chromatic Geometry 29, is viewable online at no charge and is also available for purchase

Next: Rocky Mountain High, Part 2, A visit to the Clyfford Still Museum