Voelz Chandler: Two 'paint' broader pictures

Published January 6, 2006 at midnight

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When artists keep changing, really changing, the results can be one of the best things about this job. Watching growth and evolution - not change for the sake of change - rewards everyone, especially when the work is really inventive.

That's certain- ly the case in terms of new paintings by Lauri Lynnxe Murphy and Andy Miller. Consider the word painting in a broad sense, since both artists' work also has the sense of construction or wall-hung sculpture.

Murphy, a founder of the old ILK co-op and hailed (rightly so) recently for her work as an arts activist, years ago began showing grids of paintings that also included myriad other materials. That was followed by a deep foray into fiber - who could forget the giant coat made of stuffed animals that almost stole the 2004 "FIBERish" show at Studio Aiello - and then into running a gallery (Capsule) and boutique (the late, lamented Pod).

Now Murphy, in "Cluster----," is showing, well, clusters of shaped and painted plastic and resin that demonstrate, in appearance and concept, the power of Pop. And humor: from the show-offish, ego-tinged text included on pieces of 15 Minutes (as in Andy Warhol's nod to the evanescence of fame), to bulbous pink and orange forms in Goiter to the clear, but cherry red lozenges of Candy Ass.

Meanwhile, Miller, who has built a reputation on creating giant metal figures, often enhanced by neon, turns his attention to constructions that use Braille and odd marriage of steel, padded vinyl, horsetail bow hair, neon and pearls in explorations of various terms. The titles of each piece - vinyl-covered steel frames, backlit by neon - are spelled out in Braille symbols formed by pearls from which the hair emerges (and which let light through the translucent jewels).

From love to health and beauty to the more complex when does something qualify as being alive (also a title employed in his last installation at Pirate a Contemporary Art Oasis), the pieces demonstrate a complexity of meaning, filtered through layers of perception. Those range from the way in which the materials work together, to Miller's use of an alternative system to stretch our ability to read each piece.

This body of work will move to Pirate for a show opening Jan. 20, but it is fitting that it debuted at +, especially alongside Murphy's re-entry into the world of making art, rather than supporting it. Also, the gallery is showing four artists recently included in an issue of New American Paintings. Special standouts are the signature figural works by 2003 Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design graduate Jenny Morgan), as well as paintings by Hunter College graduate student Karen McClanahan that again illustrate her sense of color, contrast and form. (Also on view: pieces from Lenka Konopasek's "Rodeo Picture Show" series, and precisely constructed paintings by William Betts.)

In short, it is a gallery full of work that pops, in more ways than one.

STOCK SHOW ROUNDUP: The 14th edition of the Coors Western Art Exhibit and Sale opens Saturday, and a quick walk- through shows a mix of highly traditional paintings and work in bronze, with sculpture and two-dimensional pieces that turn more toward the contemporary for inspiration.

The themes, as usual, center on the West, in terms of the land, its residents (human and otherwise), and their occupations and pursuits.

Notable works include several small sculptures by T.D. Kelsey (whose big bronze bison On the Wind was dedicated Thursday outside the Colorado History Museum), paintings by Ron Kingswood that flirt with abstraction, black-and-white photography by Barbara Van Cleve, blazing red and orange cowboys by Duke Beardsley, and smooth stone and bronze creatures by Steve Kestrel. New to the show this year is Elizabeth (Buff) Elting, including a piece from a series shown at William Havu Gallery that put the artist's eye in the sky.

A lot of ink is being expended on the fact that the National Western Stock Show turns 100 this year, but there are no huge changes in terms of the art that is a component. Some new walls, that's about it, holding pieces that will look familiar to those who follow this outlet for art of the American West.

At the Jan. 3 reception and sale, the 950 people who attended purchased about $595,000 worth of art, about $100,000 more than at last year's snowy event, says curator Rose Glaser Fredrick. Total sales in 2005 were about $609,000.

The show is on view through Jan. 22 on the third floor of the National Western Expo Hall, 4655 Humboldt St.; information: 303-297-1166.

GROSSOLOGY CLEANS UP: "Grossology: The (Impolite) Science of the Human Body" attracted 235,700 visitors to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science during its Oct. 7-Jan. 1 run, according to a museum spokeswoman. That's almost 2 1/2 times the museum's projected attendance of 100,000 to a show that turned into a kid magnet, and the most popular exhibition since 1996, when about 447,000 visitors saw "Imperial Tombs of China."

UNHAPPY NEWS: Kevin O'Connell, the Colorado-based photographer whose work explores the beauty of stark and simple places, is seeking help in finding a match for a bone marrow transplant. O'Connell was diagnosed last month with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), which he describes as a rare malignant disease of the bone marrow. This is a type of cancer in which the bone marrow does not produce enough blood cells.

O'Connell is being typed for a bone marrow transplant, but needs a donor. His only full sibling is not a match, so he must turn to the National Marrow Donor Program's Computerized Registry, with hopes that people will sign up. To register requires giving a blood sample. Information: 1-800-MARROW-2, or www.marrow.org.

Cluster----

• What: New work by Lauri Lynnxe Murphy, with new work by Andy Miller

• Of note: Artists talk 6:30 p.m. today

• Where and when: + Gallery, 2350 Lawrence St.; through Jan. 14

• Information: 303-296-0927

chandlerm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-2677.

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