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CSU poster biennial displays a serious side

Mary Voelz Chandler, Rocky Mountain News

Published September 13, 2007 at midnight

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FORT COLLINS - No one ever said the poster biennial organized by Colorado State University's art department was a totally upbeat affair.

Sure, there are numerous works devoted to cultural events worldwide and plugs for commercial products. But traditionally, the designers invited to participate in the show, which opens Friday, have more serious things on their minds.

And 2007 is no different, with a mix of commentary on topics such as the 20th anniversary of the nuclear incident at Chernobyl, the U.S. war in Iraq, religious oppression, international trafficking in women and the continuing scourge of AIDS, a subject that has ranked high for years in the event that began in 1979.

The celebration of all things graphic - the 15th Colorado International Invitational Poster Exhibition - gets under way tonight with a talk by biennial honor laureate, Fang Chen.

As usual (but for the last time), the works in the main exhibition are split between the Clara Hatton Gallery in the school's Visual Arts Building and the Hatton Gallery in the Lory Student Center.

Up from previous years is the number of images by designers in South America, a product of longtime exhibition co-director Phil Risbeck taking his sabbatical there last year.

"They seemed to be genuinely interested in exhibiting," Risbeck said during a tour of the show as works were going up on the wall.

"After all, we're in the same hemisphere. Europe has tended to dominate so much of the world's graphics that it's nice to have voices from other places."

His visit to Chernobyl in April 2006, when residents were marking the nuclear havoc of two decades ago, led to artists in Moscow sending a selection of posters memorializing that event.

For those interested in how graphic design is evolving around the world, the biennial is a key event. That's especially true this year, since the Denver Art Museum decided not to assemble a show drawn from the archives of the American Institute of Graphic Arts, which is part of the museum's collection.

When the next CSU biennial rolls around in fall 2009, the work will go up in a new 4,000-square-foot gallery space in the University Center for the Arts on Remington Street.

The center's space for performing arts already is open, and posters from past biennials are on view. Some art department functions will move into the center being carved out of the old Fort Collins High School. When the center opens in spring 2009, the Curfman Gallery continues as an exhibition space; Hatton's fate is under discussion.

But the biennial will go on.

"It has brought to our students world-class artists, recognized by poster exhibitions around the world," Risbeck said. "It's a wonderful teaching tool."

If you go

• What: 15th Colorado International Invitational Poster Exhibition, featuring more than 160 posters by 87 artists from 31 countries

• When and where: Opens 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, through Oct. 19; Clara Hatton Gallery in the Visual Arts Building, and the Curfman Gallery in the Lory Student Center, Colorado State University, Fort Collins

• Of note: Fang Chen, honor laureate of the biennial, will speak at a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. today at Lincoln Center, 417 W. Magnolia St. Biennial catalog available and posters for sale.

• Information: 970-491-7634; sota.colostate.edu/ciipe/ 2007.html

Related shows and events

• "Music, Theatre and Dance Around the World: Selections from the Colorado International Invitational Poster Exhibition," through Dec. 8, University Center for the Arts, 1400 Remington St., Fort Collins

• "Asian Masters of the Graphic Arts: A Selected Showcase From Past Colorado International Invitational Poster Exhibitions," through Dec. 31, First National Bank Gallery at Morgan Library, Colorado State University

• "Honor Laureate, Directors and High School Exhibition," through Oct. 29, Lincoln Center, 417 W. Magnolia St., Fort Collins

• "Graphic Responses: Visual Reactions to a World In Flux," online at colostate.edu/depts/ Art/gr07/ through Oct. 19

• "Diversity in the 21st Century: National and Global Dimensions Conference," presentation by Hatton Gallery director and poster exhibition coordinator Linny Frickman, 11 am. Sept. 27, Lory Student Center

To see posters from previous CSU exhibits

Go to lib.colostate.edu/ posters/gallery.html

Mary Voelz Chandler is the art and architecture critic. Chandlerm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2677

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