CHANDLER: The year in Denver art, architecture

Mary Voelz Chandler

Published December 21, 2007 at 10:16 p.m.

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Jules Olitzki's Tin Lizzie Green was part of the Denver Art Museum's exhibit "Color as Field." The predominant green swath is applied in various levels of intensity and, as with many of the pieces in the exhibit, does not cover the entire canvas.

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The worlds of art and architecture here in 2007 stood out for new beginnings, continuing sagas and the occasional real surprise - for bad and for good. In no particular order, these events helped mark a year of continual change:

1 The new MCA Denver: If parts of the inaugural show, "Star Power: Museum as Body Electric," left some people puzzled, the sleek gray glass building by David Adjaye that opened Oct. 28 delivered on the promise of a place where light ruled and interior spaces soared.

2 The Denver Art Museum finds some equilibrium: Officials completed the first phase of a vexing roof repair on the Frederic C. Hamilton Building, just in time to open the museum's first "regular" season in years, including the standout "Color as Field" exhibition.

3 Civic Center, take two: Daniel Libeskind's concepts for the historic area were barely cold in the ground before the Colorado Historical Society set off a firestorm by proposing to put its new home in open space in the park. Dueling proposals are now on the table.

4 The bear boosts his credit rating: Three years after incurring nearly $800,000 in election bills, the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District works out a pact with the final two counties demanding payment.

5 A real preservation victory: Hangar 61 is designated a landmark Dec. 10, more than three years after word surfaced that the 1950s structure faced demolition at the ever-expanding Stapleton. Colorado Preservation Inc. purchased the truly of-its-era concrete hangar for development by Larry Nelson.

6 A real preservation loss: Usually, beautiful century-old mansions are the last buildings you'd expect to meet the wrecking ball. But that's not the case with the historic Woodward house, built in 1890 to a design by Frank Edbrooke. Owned by the state since 1941 and vacant for 30 years, the structure was neglected to death by the state. If Colorado can't save that type of landmark, what kind of maintenance can we expect for a new building in Civic Center?

7 "Clyfford Still Unveiled: Selections from the Estate": See what all the shouting is about. The Clyfford Still Museum, still working on a design for a building projected to open in 2010, offers a sneak peek of its holdings during the exhibition, on an extended run into late June at the Denver Art Museum.

8 End of an era: Dianne Vanderlip retires, and Christoph Heinrich comes on board at the Denver Art Museum. The museum's veteran curator of modern and contemporary art moves to California, replaced by a contemporary curator from the Hamburger Kunsthalle.

9 Moving on: R. Craig Miller, the internationally respected founder of the Denver Art Museum's architecture, graphics and design department, moves on to do it all over again at the Indianapolis Museum of Art - a place with the money to put on a show he's been working on for years.

10 The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center expansion: For a project that began so badly in 2001, the expansion designed by David Owen Tryba Architects is a stellar example of how new and old buildings can work together. Oddly, Center director Michael De Marsche announced his resignation five days later, to run an arts center in Armenia.

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

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