2 - Xi, Your work is so amazing. I love the sculpture of the figure. it turned out really nice. i can't wait to see how your art will change. keep up the good work. i will see you around school
-tiffany (Comment this)
3 - hello..........first,,i like your work very much...i am a student now in south korea,r u an american or chinese?(i am chinese)...hope to make friend with u~~my msn:szwod@msn.com (Comment this)
4 - Xi Zhang, your work is incandescent. Very strong images. Did you know that all color is in your brain, not outside? Color is not a property of light. It's just radiation of different energies and wavelengths. (Comment this)
5 - plus Gallerymessage of the day
July 12 - August 18, 2006
YOUNG GUNS "Young Guns"
Biography
“Xi Zhang: The last kiss”, 2006, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 96 inches
About the Show
+ gallery celebrates it's 5th anniversary with a very special summer exhibition "In the Beginning" featuring the inveterate and charismatic Jack B. Weil plus a group of dynamic young artists culled from a year of curatorial explorations in Colorado. Travis Egedy, Martina Grbac, Ben Hill, Theo Mullen, Mayumi Nishida, Tenzing Rigdol, Jonathan Saiz, Harry Walters and Xi Zhang comprise the "Young Guns," a term coined in reverence to Weil's stature as the co-owner and front-man of Rockmount Ranch Wear, one of Denver's true treasures and a defining symbol of entrapreneurialism and the West. "In the Beginning" juxtaposes the old with the new to create a survey of art that relates to human levels of interaction and the spirit of inspiration. As a curatorial endeavor, each artist has a different basis for inclusion that goes beyond the traditional methods used by the gallery. In short, it is a celebration of community and a bridge for understanding how art begins, ebbs and flows.
2005 was an intense year for the gallery, one in which internal issues were in delicate balance with an increasing community profile. Opportunities arose for owner Ivar Zeile to periodically step outside the insular life of the gallery, a welcome but challenging condition within a not yet stable business. In the fall of 2005 Zeile accepted a position with the University of Colorado Denver Visual Arts Department with the purpose of curating a series of student exhibitions for downtown Denver's Marriott Courtyard Gallery as well as two BFA Thesis exhibitions at the Emmanuel Gallery on the Auroria Campus. Further invitations rose from local and state institutions including the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, the Curfman Gallery at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, and other various community platforms. Zeile also continued to review portfolios for a number of young artists upon request and made a point to visit particular venues catering to emerging talent.
The idea to create an exhibition relating to the swell of outside activity began one evening shortly after Zeile was introduced to Jack B. Weil by a gallery friend and prominent local patron of the arts. Zeile was already a big fan of Rockmount Ranch Wear and intrigued by the 83 year old gentleman who's lifestyle and history in Denver were well beyond typical. As an obsessive collector of both antiques and art, Weil's home makes a lasting impression, densely filled top to bottom with a vast array of treasures. What seemed most astonishing about Weil however was his history and methods as an artist. A devout republican and man of routine, Jack's most consistent daily practices include tending to business with his hundred and five year old father, attending or hosting social functions, and making paintings on an old mattress on the second floor of his home. Having painted for over forty years, Weil's creations often blend in seemlessly with the rare masterworks on his walls by renowned artists he has collected over the years.
Weil had recently begun a series of paintings that were beginning to pull further away from his most direct influences. The new abstract works were immediately engaging and displayed the same enthusiasm, playfulness and zest for life that Weil seemed to exude in every way. It had been some time since Weil had last shown his artwork to a Denver audience outside of his home, so the opportunity to exhibit seemed like a new and rare experience both for the man of 83 as well as the gallery. When asked what he would title an exhibition of his works, Weil with only a momentary beat replied "In the Beginning."
The title set the tone for a group exhibition that brings together a broad range of views in art, and a curatorial platform that keys off the notions of time, age and understanding of opportunity. The next step was to corral a group of artists that had inspired and engaged Zeile through chance meetings similar to that with Weil. A number of individuals immediately came to mind starting with Theo Mullen, a UCD student who had submitted two subtly engaging photos to a student exhibition at the Marriott Gallery in Zeile's first juried endeavor for the institution. Mullen later followed the studies with a larger body of work at the Denver Press Club and finally with inclusion in the current 2006 Rocky Mountain Biennial in Fort Collins. His depiction of sleeping figures transcends the medium in a thoughtful way, one showing experimentation, control and an intelligence the artist himself personally exudes in a rare way.
Two artists from Fort Collins were next, Martina Grbac and Ben Hill who Zeile and previous gallery director Gilbert Barerra had awarded at the annual Undergraduate Exhibition at the Curfman Gallery. Grbac, already nationally noted for her role in the band Matson Jones, had presented crude figures on paper that perfectly parallel the sensibilities of a young denizen of contemporary culture. Hill's work, however, showed the most dynamic reaction to traditional arts through a conceptual sculpture consisting of three pairs of shoes with trousers and shorts dropped down over the top. Not just a nice use of negative space, "Nice Pants" resonated with a flair for wit, composition and construction, something lacking in the majority of the student work submitted.
Two recent graduates also stood out from Zeile's final curatorial endeavor for the University of Colorado Denver. Mayumi Nishida's visually hypnotic "Nocturne in Glass" proved to be more dramatic than the Marriott Courtyard Exhibition space would allow, it's sensitivity to light warranting a variable gallery context as well as an audience that could appreciably interact with the work. Tenzing Rigdol's tight, colorful illustrations juxtapose symbols of contemporary society with the traditional patterning of the artist's homeland of Tibet. His leap to canvas with the extraordinary painting "World War IV" showed an advanced skill that exhibited one of the greatest progressions Zeile had witnessed amongst the young artists he'd visited and an emerging talent that would likely develop a unique position within the greater art community.
Zeile was introduced to Jonathan Saiz through a mutual friend and collector of contemporary art during an evening home-tour sponsored by the gallery. The young, untrained artist’s work showed all of the obvious signs of a budding talent who had yet to find his true voice. What the artist lacked in focus he more than made up for in bravura, as witnessed in his self-sponsored single-night exhibition at a defunct downtown nightclub several months later. The dramatic improvement in his paintings was apparent, possibly a sign of his recent mentoring and friendship with + gallery artist Jenny Morgan or simply talent unfolding as it should and more than enough to warrant an opportunity as a "Young Gun."
Zeile met RMCAD student Xi Zhang at the 2005 "Freedoms and Liberties" exhibition at Capsule Gallery, his first invitation as a juror by the Denver venue. Zhang's paintings were a distinct and complex representation of struggle with the conformist mindframe, a perfect fit for a young Chinese student of the arts. Whereas Zhang's initial paintings were dark and foreboding, further investigation showed his later works to be a great liberation within the artist towards the freedom of art and American society, exhibiting a playfulness that was positively refreshing. Zhang proved to be prolific and eager during a campus portfolio review in the spring of 2006, fully divested in his art and making tremendous forward progress.
The recent paintings and output of RMCAD graduate Harry Walters had always intrigued Zeile, and the artist's most recent exhibition "You Break it You Buy It" which had inaugurated the nearby Stay Gallery confirmed Walter's presence as one of the most engaging artists in town. With Walter's departure to Miami on the horizon, it seemed appropriate to invite the talented and largely misunderstood artist to create a new painting as part of the "Young Guns," perhaps as a swan song for Denver. True to his style, Harry has created a work that turns the notion of painting on its head, complete with a video component revealing the development of the piece.
Upon hearing that his schoolmate Xi Zhang and friend Harry Walters were invited to exhibit at plus, RMCAD student Travis Egedy emailed the gallery and requested / possibly threatened that he be included in the exhibition, knowing that Zeile had also enjoyed his recent show of paintings at the nearby Rhinoceropolis. Seeing that one more wall was indeed available and appreciating his forwardness and tenacity, Egedy was invited to be the final "Young Gun.”
Every art exhibition seems like a new beginning for artists young, old, experienced, novice or in-between. For + gallery the endeavor to unveil new talent is at the heart of the business and presents opportunities that can carry forward to great experiences, friendships, and perhaps long-term collaborations. "In the Beginning" exemplifies the standard and is the perfect celebration of five years striving towards a distinctive model for the arts community in Denver and beyond.
Artist biography
Artist listing.
home current exhibition events artists gallery info scrapbook sponsors and links + gallery
2350 Lawrence Street
Denver, CO 80205
303.296.0927
info@plusgallery.com
+ gallery - 2350 Lawrence Street - Denver, CO 80202
-tiffany (Comment this)
July 12 - August 18, 2006
YOUNG GUNS "Young Guns"
Biography
“Xi Zhang: The last kiss”, 2006, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 96 inches
About the Show
+ gallery celebrates it's 5th anniversary with a very special summer exhibition "In the Beginning" featuring the inveterate and charismatic Jack B. Weil plus a group of dynamic young artists culled from a year of curatorial explorations in Colorado. Travis Egedy, Martina Grbac, Ben Hill, Theo Mullen, Mayumi Nishida, Tenzing Rigdol, Jonathan Saiz, Harry Walters and Xi Zhang comprise the "Young Guns," a term coined in reverence to Weil's stature as the co-owner and front-man of Rockmount Ranch Wear, one of Denver's true treasures and a defining symbol of entrapreneurialism and the West. "In the Beginning" juxtaposes the old with the new to create a survey of art that relates to human levels of interaction and the spirit of inspiration. As a curatorial endeavor, each artist has a different basis for inclusion that goes beyond the traditional methods used by the gallery. In short, it is a celebration of community and a bridge for understanding how art begins, ebbs and flows.
2005 was an intense year for the gallery, one in which internal issues were in delicate balance with an increasing community profile. Opportunities arose for owner Ivar Zeile to periodically step outside the insular life of the gallery, a welcome but challenging condition within a not yet stable business. In the fall of 2005 Zeile accepted a position with the University of Colorado Denver Visual Arts Department with the purpose of curating a series of student exhibitions for downtown Denver's Marriott Courtyard Gallery as well as two BFA Thesis exhibitions at the Emmanuel Gallery on the Auroria Campus. Further invitations rose from local and state institutions including the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, the Curfman Gallery at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, and other various community platforms. Zeile also continued to review portfolios for a number of young artists upon request and made a point to visit particular venues catering to emerging talent.
The idea to create an exhibition relating to the swell of outside activity began one evening shortly after Zeile was introduced to Jack B. Weil by a gallery friend and prominent local patron of the arts. Zeile was already a big fan of Rockmount Ranch Wear and intrigued by the 83 year old gentleman who's lifestyle and history in Denver were well beyond typical. As an obsessive collector of both antiques and art, Weil's home makes a lasting impression, densely filled top to bottom with a vast array of treasures. What seemed most astonishing about Weil however was his history and methods as an artist. A devout republican and man of routine, Jack's most consistent daily practices include tending to business with his hundred and five year old father, attending or hosting social functions, and making paintings on an old mattress on the second floor of his home. Having painted for over forty years, Weil's creations often blend in seemlessly with the rare masterworks on his walls by renowned artists he has collected over the years.
Weil had recently begun a series of paintings that were beginning to pull further away from his most direct influences. The new abstract works were immediately engaging and displayed the same enthusiasm, playfulness and zest for life that Weil seemed to exude in every way. It had been some time since Weil had last shown his artwork to a Denver audience outside of his home, so the opportunity to exhibit seemed like a new and rare experience both for the man of 83 as well as the gallery. When asked what he would title an exhibition of his works, Weil with only a momentary beat replied "In the Beginning."
The title set the tone for a group exhibition that brings together a broad range of views in art, and a curatorial platform that keys off the notions of time, age and understanding of opportunity. The next step was to corral a group of artists that had inspired and engaged Zeile through chance meetings similar to that with Weil. A number of individuals immediately came to mind starting with Theo Mullen, a UCD student who had submitted two subtly engaging photos to a student exhibition at the Marriott Gallery in Zeile's first juried endeavor for the institution. Mullen later followed the studies with a larger body of work at the Denver Press Club and finally with inclusion in the current 2006 Rocky Mountain Biennial in Fort Collins. His depiction of sleeping figures transcends the medium in a thoughtful way, one showing experimentation, control and an intelligence the artist himself personally exudes in a rare way.
Two artists from Fort Collins were next, Martina Grbac and Ben Hill who Zeile and previous gallery director Gilbert Barerra had awarded at the annual Undergraduate Exhibition at the Curfman Gallery. Grbac, already nationally noted for her role in the band Matson Jones, had presented crude figures on paper that perfectly parallel the sensibilities of a young denizen of contemporary culture. Hill's work, however, showed the most dynamic reaction to traditional arts through a conceptual sculpture consisting of three pairs of shoes with trousers and shorts dropped down over the top. Not just a nice use of negative space, "Nice Pants" resonated with a flair for wit, composition and construction, something lacking in the majority of the student work submitted.
Two recent graduates also stood out from Zeile's final curatorial endeavor for the University of Colorado Denver. Mayumi Nishida's visually hypnotic "Nocturne in Glass" proved to be more dramatic than the Marriott Courtyard Exhibition space would allow, it's sensitivity to light warranting a variable gallery context as well as an audience that could appreciably interact with the work. Tenzing Rigdol's tight, colorful illustrations juxtapose symbols of contemporary society with the traditional patterning of the artist's homeland of Tibet. His leap to canvas with the extraordinary painting "World War IV" showed an advanced skill that exhibited one of the greatest progressions Zeile had witnessed amongst the young artists he'd visited and an emerging talent that would likely develop a unique position within the greater art community.
Zeile was introduced to Jonathan Saiz through a mutual friend and collector of contemporary art during an evening home-tour sponsored by the gallery. The young, untrained artist’s work showed all of the obvious signs of a budding talent who had yet to find his true voice. What the artist lacked in focus he more than made up for in bravura, as witnessed in his self-sponsored single-night exhibition at a defunct downtown nightclub several months later. The dramatic improvement in his paintings was apparent, possibly a sign of his recent mentoring and friendship with + gallery artist Jenny Morgan or simply talent unfolding as it should and more than enough to warrant an opportunity as a "Young Gun."
Zeile met RMCAD student Xi Zhang at the 2005 "Freedoms and Liberties" exhibition at Capsule Gallery, his first invitation as a juror by the Denver venue. Zhang's paintings were a distinct and complex representation of struggle with the conformist mindframe, a perfect fit for a young Chinese student of the arts. Whereas Zhang's initial paintings were dark and foreboding, further investigation showed his later works to be a great liberation within the artist towards the freedom of art and American society, exhibiting a playfulness that was positively refreshing. Zhang proved to be prolific and eager during a campus portfolio review in the spring of 2006, fully divested in his art and making tremendous forward progress.
The recent paintings and output of RMCAD graduate Harry Walters had always intrigued Zeile, and the artist's most recent exhibition "You Break it You Buy It" which had inaugurated the nearby Stay Gallery confirmed Walter's presence as one of the most engaging artists in town. With Walter's departure to Miami on the horizon, it seemed appropriate to invite the talented and largely misunderstood artist to create a new painting as part of the "Young Guns," perhaps as a swan song for Denver. True to his style, Harry has created a work that turns the notion of painting on its head, complete with a video component revealing the development of the piece.
Upon hearing that his schoolmate Xi Zhang and friend Harry Walters were invited to exhibit at plus, RMCAD student Travis Egedy emailed the gallery and requested / possibly threatened that he be included in the exhibition, knowing that Zeile had also enjoyed his recent show of paintings at the nearby Rhinoceropolis. Seeing that one more wall was indeed available and appreciating his forwardness and tenacity, Egedy was invited to be the final "Young Gun.”
Every art exhibition seems like a new beginning for artists young, old, experienced, novice or in-between. For + gallery the endeavor to unveil new talent is at the heart of the business and presents opportunities that can carry forward to great experiences, friendships, and perhaps long-term collaborations. "In the Beginning" exemplifies the standard and is the perfect celebration of five years striving towards a distinctive model for the arts community in Denver and beyond.
Artist biography
Artist listing.
home current exhibition events artists gallery info scrapbook sponsors and links + gallery
2350 Lawrence Street
Denver, CO 80205
303.296.0927
info@plusgallery.com
+ gallery - 2350 Lawrence Street - Denver, CO 80202
© Copyright 2004 - 2006, + gallery - about site
(Comment this)