Arvada Center's New Gallery Season

September 4, 2009

For Immediate Release
. . . September 4, 2009   

Media Contact:  Jerry Cunningham  
Phone:    720.898.7272     
Email:      jcunningham@arvadacenter.org
Cell:    720.620.6200     
Fax:      720.898.7217     


Arvada Center's New Gallery Season

ARVADA, CO –.  Leveraging the momentum of last year when the Gallery Division doubled the number of exhibitions, this year the Arvada Center exhibition schedule is shaping up to be equally extensive and represents our commitment to partnering with other arts organizations both public and private. Our partnerships have broadened our scope and provide greater access to artwork and artists.
“Art is flourishing here at the Arvada Center,” states Gene Sobczak, Executive Director of the Arvada Center. This fall’s exhibitions demonstrate the strength of collaboration and diversity. Showing in our three galleries are: Continental Divide – a collection of work by 47 regional ceramic artists, Calaveras – Skulls, Skeletons, Devils and Demons in Mexican Folk Art and Patrick Marold – Sculptures in Locally Reclaimed Wood.  
  “Our partnerships with other arts organizations have enriched and invigorated the galleries and the artwork we showcase, claims Sobczak.  “Our plans for the Winter 2010 include working with the Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art,” Sobzcak goes on to say.
The opening reception for the Arvada Center’s fall exhibitions will be held Thursday, September 17 from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. with the exhibitions running through November 15, 2009.  A special exhibition tour and discussion will also be held Monday, September 21 at 10:00 a.m. Gallery exhibitions, receptions and tours are free to the public.

Continental Divide – Main Gallery
    The National Council for Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) and the Arvada Center are partnering in this exhibition venture that explores the similarities and disparities among ceramic vessels and ceramic sculptures.  The show is called Continental Divide because it presents recent contemporary expressions by 47 leading ceramic artists—both established and emerging talents—who happen to live and produce their work in Wyoming, Montana, New Mexico and Colorado. Of special note, the exhibition features select pieces by internationally-recognized Colorado ceramists Paul Soldner and Betty Woodman.
    NCECA, headquartered in Colorado, is a non-profit organization founded in 1966. Today, it boasts a membership of more than 4,000, including not only artists but also educators, students, individual patrons, gallery owners and museum curators.  It is the world’s largest organization dedicated to ceramic arts and ceramic arts education.  http://www.nceca.net/

Calaveras – Upper Gallery
Skulls, Skeletons, Devils and Demons in Mexican Folk Art
    The Calaveras exhibit has more than 75 Day-of-the-Dead-themed objects or sets of objects and is graciously on loan from a from a local private collector. Complementing the Calaveras exhibit, the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center is also lending 12 Calevera-series broadside prints by José Guadalupe Posada (1852-1913).  Posada, the best-known and most prolific popular illustrator of his era in Mexico, produced an estimated 20,000 different drawings and prints over his lifetime. The exhibition is presented in partnership with the Mexican Cultural Center and the Consulate General of Mexico in Denver.

Patrick Marold – Theater Gallery
Sculptures in Locally Reclaimed Wood
     Patrick Marold Small Sculpture exhibition seems a natural fit for exhibition at the Arvada Center.  Born and raised in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, he has an in depth understanding of the elegance and simplicities of nature and natural material. Marold stated, “My core ambition to each piece comes from a desire to sculpturally represent my responses to particular relationships in the environment.” Marold is also known nationally for installations and commissioned sculptures, such as 2007’s The Windmill Project for which he created a large wind-generated light installation in the town of Vail. Interestingly, this Small Sculpture exhibit features works of art fashioned in reclaimed wood from the Arvada Center grounds and elsewhere in the Denver metro area.


The Arvada Center galleries are free and open to the public Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.; Saturday, 9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.; and Sunday, 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Free docent-led tours of the Arvada Center’s gallery exhibitions and history museum are available to groups of ten or more. To schedule a tour, call the Arvada Center’s gallery/museum tour line at (720) 898-7255.
The Gallery also hosts the Music with a View series. Relax with fine art and fine music with one-hour concerts in the intimate setting of the Arvada Center's Main Gallery.  More information can be found on our website http://arvadacenter.org/galleries.

The Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities is one of the nation’s largest cultural attractions, devoted to all aspects of the arts. It is generously supported by the Scientific & Cultural Facilities District (SCFD). For more information on the Center’s galleries, call the Arvada Center box office at (720) 898-7200 or visit arvadacenter.org

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