The
additions are the result of a public-private partnership between the
City & County of Denver and the convention center’s management firm,
SMG, which commissioned the $235,000 project.
The
pieces, created by established and emerging local artists, were able to
make use of the vast space in the convention center to create dramatic
and engaging works. A 95-by-95 foot mural by Mindy Bray, titled “The
Heavy is the Root of the Light,” covers an entire wall behind a
two-story escalator. The painting is based on photographs of the Platte
River at nearby Confluence Park, the site where gold was first
discovered leading to the founding of Denver in 1858.
Another
piece by Sandra Fettingis entitled “I Know You Know That I Know” is 160
feet long and spans an entire hallway in the convention center. The
painting creates an environment that envelops the viewer in a repetitive
pattern-filled corridor.
“Convention
centers are also learning centers where people come to be engaged and
broaden their knowledge, so it’s appropriate that art be an important
part of the building’s environment,” said Kent Rice, executive director
of Arts & Venues for the City of Denver, which oversees the Colorado
Convention Center. The new convention center art became a cornerstone
for the launch of Mayor Michael B. Hancock’s new cultural plan for
Denver, IMAGINE 2020.
“Convention
centers today must provide practical, green, efficient and easy to use
space, but art and atmosphere are just as important to create
surroundings that are conducive to learning and to conducting business,”
said John Adams, general manager of the Colorado Convention Center.
Leaders
from Denver Arts & Venues, VISIT DENVER, SMG and the Denver arts
community served on a committee that worked with NINE dot ARTS to select
the new pieces. The new additions focus on Denver artists and galleries
and showcase both the city’s artistic forefathers such as Roland
Bernier and Phil Bender as well as its next generation of creatives like
Derrick Velasquez, Ian Fisher and Mindy Bray.
Martha
Weidmann, CEO and Co-Founder of NINE dot ARTS, said, “Half of the
artists in the new slate are under thirty-five, which is impressive
considering most public artists are over forty. For many of the artists
this was the largest scale permanent installation they have ever worked
at, including veteran artist Roland Bernier who installed the largest
piece of his nearly 60 year career. The art committee showed an amazing
vision and faith in Denver’s emerging talent to knockout results.”
The
new art adds to downtown Denver’s growing reputation as an art center.
“Denver has a very progressive public art program, so as people walk
from our 8,500 downtown hotel rooms to the convention center, they will
encounter many other public artworks. There are also five art museums
within walking distance of the center, so it’s wonderful to keep this
feeling of being surrounded by art as you come into the building,” said
Richard Scharf, president & CEO of VISIT DENVER.
Art
has also become a symbol for the Colorado Convention Center. VISIT
DENVER has incorporated one of the convention center’s older artworks, a
40-foot tall Blue Bear, officially titled “I See What You Mean” by
Lawrence Argent, into an icon for the city and the lead element in the
Bureau’s advertising campaign.
“The
first thing you see coming into the convention center is the Blue Bear,
and now as you walk through the two million square foot building, you
will continue to encounter art everywhere you go,” Scharf said.
New Colorado Convention Center Public Art
· "The Heavy is the Root of the Light" by Mindy Bray· "I Know You Know That I Know" by Sandra Fettingis
· “Untitled” (Ocular series) by Mike McClung
· "Wall of Words" by Roland Bernier
· "Boulder Creek – Autumn 08 #1" by James Cook
· "Atmosphere No. 27, 37 and 44" by Ian Fisher
· "Untitled 88" by Derrick Velasquez
· "License Plates" by Phil Bender