Building on a larger concept

Local standout finds creating work in 3-D 'physically engaging'

Mary Voelz Chandler

Published February 16, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Photo by Ellen Jaskol / The Rocky

Emmett Culligan stands with one of his "Crew" sculptures at the Arvada Center.

Photo by Ellen Jaskol / The Rocky

Another of Emmett Culligan's "Crew" sculptures.

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Emmett Culligan decided that to become an artist, the first step was to head to New York, where he could immerse himself in the legacy of the Art Students League.

"I went to learn the craft of painting," said the Colorado native. "They have that great tradition, the Ashcan School, Edward Hopper and Robert Henri - what gave America its first cultural identity."

But the pull of Colorado was too strong.

"I realized I was wanting to be closer to nature. In Manhattan, all the time, you start to go crazy."

So Culligan, now 35, entered the University of Colorado at Denver, where he earned a bachelor of fine arts degree in sculpture in 1996, then quickly set about establishing careers in art and in making custom furnishings, fixtures and architectural elements.

"It's such a natural kind of thing for me," the sculptor said, standing in the center of an installation at the Arvada Center of his new series, "Crew."

"My dad was a builder, and I was always helping him. Building things in 3-D is more physically engaging."

The next step was an attention- grabbing solo show a decade ago at the former Pirate a Contemporary Art Oasis, a collection of mega objects crafted in metal and wood that looked as if a giant carpenter had dropped an exotic collection of tools.

Soon after, Ron Judish Fine Arts picked up his work, and Culligan moved into sculpting in stone and metal. (One piece is still on view, behind the former Asbury Methodist Church, which housed the gallery.) He signed with David Floria Gallery in Aspen, did a few public art pieces, bought a building for his design and fabrication business and attracted clients around the country.

Culligan recently returned from Chicago, where he installed a railing for the Hard Rock Cafe; his biggest client is Cartier, which has purchased sinks he designed for its stores.

But his work at Arvada - part of the group sculpture and installation show "more big BEAUTIFUL THINGS" - is the first on view in three years.

"I needed to take a break," he said. "Straight out of art school I worked and worked and worked. You have to contemplate what you're doing."

When Culligan began the "Crew" series in 2006, he concentrated on stone, fitting together pieces of carved Kansas limestone in the manner of a quilt. On one piece, the smooth, curved slabs overlap; all the works are brought together by an interior metal structure and a metal base or cap.

Two are totems, the third a low, round object that resembles a top; conceptually, they are like a crew working together.

"It's a different approach," Culligan said. "It's more of a unified whole, not separate elements. Working with masonry is a cultural reference, like building houses and setting stones."

It also has made him feel as if he's taken a step in his maturity as an artist.

"I've built the foundation, and I'm speaking from a personal place. The pieces have an almost classical formalism, and formalism is like a blank slate. It can transcend cultural roadblocks."

He plans to make four or five more pieces for "Crew," working in the studio carved out of his building on upper Wynkoop Street.

"It's just me and the dust. Art has a lot to do with the persistence of vision. It's not like there are a lot of people cheering you along."

But Jerry Gilmore, the Arvada Center's gallery director, did. He approached Culligan two years ago about doing a show and wound up constructing "more big BEAUTIFUL THINGS" around the new series, with an eye toward work that has a conceptual bent.

"I've been interested in Emmett for a long time," Gilmore said. "People kept mentioning this young guy doing great work. He was too big to not be in the center. I developed a show around that.

"I look at Emmett as an old soul in a young person's body. He's educated in working in these materials."

Heavy ones at that: "It took six guys to upright the piece in the middle," Gilmore said.

The labor was worth it.

"It's like a haiku," Culligan said. "As an artist, you have to choose your battles. I chose simple."

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

more big BEAUTIFUL THINGS

* What: Sculpture and installations with a conceptual edge by Emmett Culligan, Virginia Folkestad, Justin Beard, Linda Foster Leonhard and Chris Lavery; paintings by Uzi Buzgalo and work by Michael McClung are upstairs

* Where and when: Arvada Center, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd.; through March 30 (McClung through March 23)

* Information: 720-898-7200; arvadacenter.org

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