Brief sketches of what's happening in the Denver art scene.
By Michael Paglia
Typically, the show in the main room at Pirate: a Contemporary Art Oasis (3659 Navajo Street, 303-458-6058) has nothing to do with the one in the associates' space. That's not the case this time, though. Pirate member Marie E.v.B. Gibbons is a friend of Pirate associate Jimmy Sellars, so the two have coordinated their exhibits. Not that there's anything about Gibbons' ceramics that's remotely like Sellars' photos -- it's that both artists used water as a metaphor.
•
For
Float,
Gibbons created a group of installations. Hanging on
the walls are small, beautifully glazed bas-reliefs
depicting fanciful sea creatures. On the floor is the
title piece, "Float" (detail above), an evocation of
a swimming pool filled with bathers -- fifty
self-portrait heads. Gibbons chose the number fifty
because that's her age, and each head indicates a
different stage of her life. She's "submerged" the
heads at various "depths," though it's all an
illusion since the "water" is made of tile and
nothing will actually sink into it.
In Dive,
Sellars continues his exploration of gay politics
through GI Joe action figures photographed in
sexually evocative poses. Sellars uses a black
background in these works that, when combined with
the gray color of the figures, results in an
extremely dignified presentation despite the inherent
levity of beefcake shots of dolls.
Sadly, these may be among the last shows in what Phil
Bender, the co-op's guiding light, calls "Big Pirate"
-- as opposed to the "Little Pirate" that is coming
on line. Landlords Chandler Romeo and Reed Weimer are
reconfiguring the space so they can rent out the
portion beyond the current front door as a separate
unit (at a jacked-up rent). Too bad.
Float
and
Dive
are on view
through July 3 at what's still the Big Pirate. See it
-- and them -- while you can.