CHANDLER: Embarrassment of riches

The permanent collection obscures a new exhibition at busy Kirkland Museum

Mary Voelz Chandler

Published February 1, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Martha Epp's circa 1950 untitled oil on canvas

Charles Bunnell's 1960 oil on canvas paper Abstraction in Yellow and Black

Peter Brown's Patricia, Texas, 2003

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The Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art is a true cultural resource, a small, elegant facility literally bursting at the seams with art and decorative objects.

That's good, if you love to be surrounded by top-notch design, top-rank paintings by Vance Kirkland and an ever-expanding collection of work by Colorado artists.

But if you're trying to figure out which pieces are in a show, that can be confusing, even with notations on the labels to clue you in as to what is material in the exhibition and what is material with a regular pride of place.

"Driven to Abstraction: Colorado Art From 1880 to 2007" boasts some firsts, but it gets fuzzy as it strives to trace Colorado art from what director Hugh Grant calls early traditionalism (here, predominantly landscapes from the 19th century) through surrealism, referential abstraction and, finally, pure abstraction.

Actually, this is two shows - wall-hung work on the upper level, furniture and sculpture below. No, make that two and a half. That half is the incredible amount of other material on view on a regular basis. It's not just context; it's also a nod to an atmosphere of abundance. That can be good, unless it threatens to subsume the show.

As for those firsts, the initial instance is visible in the museum's foyer, where Grant has hung a selection of works that date back to the 1880s. These pieces - including paintings by Alexis Comparet, Harvey Otis Young and Richard Tallant - are relatively new acquisitions and mark the museum's entry into the field of historic Colorado art. Grant terms it early traditionalism to denote what came before and even inspired the later works that stress modernism.

Overall, though, the main "first" has to do with the exhibition as a major introduction: Two-thirds of the 91 pieces in "Driven to Abstraction" have not been shown here before, and most are new acquisitions.

Grant carries this early work into Exhibition Room II, the space to the side of the main gallery. There, work on two levels runs through the other three styles, clustered in discrete groupings. Finally, the show hops into that center space, or Exhibition Room I, with a powerful display of work from the various periods, including strong pieces by Beverly Rosen, Clark Richert and Roland Bernier.

In essence, "Driven to Abstraction" concludes with notable work perfectly wonderful to look at, but perhaps lacking in clarity as a finale.

To appreciate the sculptures and decorative objects along the way, it helps to try a second walk-through to focus on these pieces.

Since the museum began its exhibition program in 2005, it has become clear that with so much of the collection on view, it is easier to navigate shows devoted to specific artists - William Sanderson, members of the Vavra family, Donna and Ed Marecak - than thematic group shows.

I'll be the first to admit that clearing out a space over and over would overwhelm the staff, especially moving all those blue-chip ceramics from giant display cabinets.

But the museum would do well to consider a dedicated space for shows, especially with the promise of "Florence Knoll: Defining Modern" arriving in May. With the paucity of design exhibitions in Denver - another reason the Kirkland is so important - this mix of Knoll's furniture and photos of her interiors deserves its own space and some room to breathe.

The line, after all, is less is more, not more is better.

Driven to Abstraction

* What: Work by 63 artists that moves from the traditional to the abstract

* Where and when: Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art, 1311 Pearl St.; through May 4

* Information: 303-832-8576; kirklandmuseum.org

Grounded: Two Views of the Landscape

* What: Photographs by Peter Brown, and new paintings and drawings by Lui Ferreyra

* Where and when: Sandy Carson Gallery, 760 Santa Fe Drive; through Feb. 23. Opening reception is 6-9 p.m. Saturday.

* The land around us: The interpretation of the regional landscape is a long tradition in these parts, with as many permutations as there are artists. That includes the work in this exhibition, really two solo shows: Peter Brown's contribution to the book West of Last Chance, with paintings - and studies for them - from Lui Ferreyra's "Continuum" series.

Brown's color photographs date back into the early 1990s, stark but moving views of the land, the sky and the buildings that dot the horizon. The Houston-based artist is adept at catching beauty tinged with sadness, a tone that fits text by Colorado- based writer Kent Haruf.

Ferreyra's show of paintings is as much about education as it is aesthetics. He deconstructs his subjects into blocks that stretch to the past to recall Cubism while giving a nod to the pixillation of today's digital world.

Related preparatory sketches of the mountain scenes explain his choice of coloration and composition, a sophisticated paint-by-numbers scheme laid out for us to see.

* Information: 303-573-8585; sandycarsongallery.com

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