Spring is finally here! And along with fresh grass comes fresh new art exhibitions and events all over Colorado.

From murals to group exhibitions, installations to solo shows, here’s where to catch RedLine Resident Artists and Alumni in April!

Adri Norris - Mural Project

What: External mural painting
Where: Montbello Library - 12955 Albrook Dr, Denver, CO 80239
When: April 1-April 30, 2022

The mural will be outdoors on the walls of Montbello Library. The imagery will tell the story of voting rights through the lens of women of Color (especially Black and Latin American women) in history, with a focus on the efforts to pass the 19th and 24th amendments.

About the artist: Adrienne (Adri) Norris was born in Barbados and moved to the United States at the age of 5. She has lived in New York, New Mexico, attended a boarding school in Italy, joined the Marines and finally settled down in Denver. Not exactly the path one expects, but Norris has made it work. Being a Black, queer, immigrant woman has shaped the way she views and interacts with the world, and it is this experience that she uses in her art. In 2016, Norris experienced a shift from painting pretty pictures to using her artwork to share the stories of the marginalized, providing background information about the things we use, the policies that help and hurt us and the reasons our lives are the way they are.

Contact: adri@afrotriangledesigns.com
Artist website: https://afrotriangledesigns.com/
Instagram: @afrotriangle

Max Maddox - “Radiant Birds” Exhibition

What: Solo exhibition
Where: Alto Gallery - 1900 35th St Suite B, Denver, CO 80216
When: April 8-30, 2022
Opening Reception: April 8, 6-9

About the artist: Max Maddox has exhibited his work in galleries that include the RedLine Contemporary Art Center (Denver), The Art Gym (Denver), Hillyer Art Space (Washington D.C), Locallective (Chicago), the Slought Foundation (Philadelphia), the Print Center of Philadelphia, The Ellen Powell Tiberino Memorial Museum (Philadelphia), and Abecedarian Gallery (Denver). Max co-wrote and in 2013 published the memoir Walks on the Margins, a 2014 EVVY award recipient, as well as winner of the Golden Quill Award and a finalist for the Iowa Review Award. Max is project leader of the Arts in Society funded-design project ArrayParity, and he teaches drawing and painting at the Art Students League of Denver.

Contact: maxmaddoxart@gmail.com 
Artist Website: www.maxmaddox.net
Instagram: @maxmaddoxetc

Lauri Lynnxe Murphy — “Seeing the Forest Throught The Trees” Exhibition

What: Solo show at The Arvada Center
Where: The Arvada Center - 6901 Wadsworth Blvd. Arvada, CO 80003. Main, Upper, and Theatre Galleries.
When: April 8-May 8, 2022
Opening Reception: Friday, April 8, 6-9 pm

About the artist: Lauri Lynnxe Murphy is a bio artist, sculptor, curator and writer living in Denver, Colorado. She received her MFA from The Ohio State University on University Fellowship in 2012. She has spent her life building community and DIY gallery spaces and advocating for artists alongside her own robust studio practice. Her work is research-driven and science-based, and focuses on insect extinction, mutation, climate change and biophilia. Much of her work is made by collaborating with endangered species and the systems they employ, such as building sculptures with bees or making drawings with snails.

Contact: lynnxe@gmail.com
Artist website: www.lynnxe.com
Instagram: @laurilynnxe

Tony Ortega - Mural at the Savoy Building

What: External mural 
Where: Savoy Denver - 2700 Arapahoe Street, Denver, CO, 80205
When: April

Ortega has a new mural at Savoy Denver. Two art organizations are located in this building - our friends at Platte Forum and Theater Artibus.

Artist statement from Ortega: “In the 7 months it required to create this piece, I explored how I could merge a rich history of the community with this building.  With such a diverse history, the Savoy building has always been a gathering place for people, and my hope is it will continue as such a place and you will become a part of its history. I want to acknowledge and thank my son Cipriano Ortega for his assistance in painting and creating this wonderful project.” 

About the artist: Tony Ortega has been a working artist and teacher for the past 36 years.  He is the recipient of the coveted Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts (1999) and the Mayor's Award for Excellence in the Arts (1998). Tony Ortega’s lifelong goal is to contribute to a better understanding of cultural diversity by addressing the culture, history, and experiences of Chicanos/Latinos through his art. His work can be found in the Denver Art Museum, Los Angeles County Museum, and the Colorado Springs Fine Art Center. He has exhibited extensively in the United States, Latin America and other parts of the world. 

Contact: tortegaartist@cs.com
Artist website: www.tonyortega.net
Instagram: @tortegaartist

Cherish Marquez — “Cycles” Projection Art

What: "Cycles" showcase of projection art from the DUxEDP Women's collective, in conjunction with Night Lights Denver.
Where: Daniels & Fisher Clock Tower — 1601 Arapahoe St, Denver, CO 80202
When: April 1-April 30, 2022

About the projection project: Cherish Marquez, Jullian Young, Laleh Mehran, Kate Hollenbach, and Jayne Butler have created artworks around the theme "Cycles" to celebrate the start of spring. 

All artists are either alumni or staff of the Emergent Digital Practices program at the University of Denver. Their work will be projected onto the southeast face of the D&F Clock Tower in downtown Denver.

About the artist: Cherish Marquez is from a very small town called Sierra Blanca, TX, a place that has been a significant inspiration to the artist's work. As a third-generation native of Sierra Blanca, Texas, the artist's body has been exposed to several personal and political atrocities. Sierra Blanca is located 16 miles from the Mexico border, which means she came into constant contact with border agents for most of her life. She experiments primarily with video games and interactive media that exist in similar spaces within her alternate universe. She has shown in galleries in the past, such as RedLine Contemporary Art Center and Leon Gallery. She completed her MFA in Emergent Digital Practices at the University of Denver.

Contact: cmarq321@gmail.com
Artist website: http://cherishmarquez.com/
Instagram: @cherish.marquez

Sarah D Palmeri — “​​Presentiment” Virtual Exhibition

What: Virtual exhibition featuring works by Emily McIlroy, Paula Gasparini-Santos, Sarah Darlene Palmeri, and Alli Lemon
Where: Dairy Arts Center — 2590 Walnut St, Boulder, CO, 80302
When: March 4-April 9, 2022

About the exhibition: “Presentiment showcases the work of four artists all separately and collectively using their practice as a means to process the internal turmoil that teems within the human experience. A balance of intuition, connection to personal emotional terrain, and the desire to traverse an unknown landscape permeates the work on view throughout the exhibition. From large-scale explorations of grief that manifest in gorgeous Wildernesses to small-scale interactions between pattern and material, all artists on view tap into their inner selves as a way to create a connection to the outer.”

“Palmeri's exhibit, The Feeling Body, is a series of fiber works that investigate regrounding in the body through meditation and abstraction. Recycled clothes, bedsheets, and other domestic fabrics are intuitively transformed into compositions that explore the ways in which physical, emotional and spiritual health are intimately intertwined. Influenced by abstract expressionism, this body of work serves as an expressive tool to heal from the ways in which I’ve experienced systems-based harm, while also disrupting the ways in which I participate in those systems. The foundational concept to my work is best summed up by writer Monica Cadena who reflects, ‘Collective liberation begins with our personal practice.’”

About the artist: Visual artist Sarah Darlene Palmeri explores the functionality of abstraction through a feminine, queer and contemporary perspective. While she primarily identifies as a painter, Palmeri often uses different tools that serve as a substitute for paint, ranging from fabrics like bedsheets and clothing to more organic objects like wood, seeds, and sand. Palmeri’s body of work explores the intersections of painting, social practice, and meditation and their collective ability to promote self-reflection, cathartic healing, and true social change. 

Contact: sarahdpalmeri@gmail.com 
Artist website: www.sarahpalmeri.com
Instagram: @darlene_in_denver 

Becky Wareing Steele - “Me Time” Art Market

What: Art Market
Where: The Bobcat Club (the upstairs bar at the Skylark — 140 S Broadway, Denver, CO 80209. Now under new ownership).
When: Sunday April 10, 4-7pm

The event will feature artwork from 7 local artists with DJ Baby Grand spinning some vinyl. 

About the artist: Becky Wareing Steele is an artist living and working in Denver, Colorado specializing in small scale sculpture. Her work deals with the commonalities that exist in our shared experiences through the examination of scale and environment. Through her sculptural and photographic work with 1:160 scale figures and 1:12 scale objects she explores the impact of scale and how it affects our perception of the world around us.

Contact: bwareingsteele@gmail.com 
Artist website: https://beckywareingsteele.com/ 
Instagram: @beckywareingsteele

Ashley Frazier — “Obsolete Obscurity” Installation

What: Installation
Where: Meow Wolf Denver - Convergence Station - 1338 1st St, Denver, CO 80204
When: April 2022-TBD

About the installation: Ashley Frazier and Michael Sperandeo are pleased to share their collaboration Obsolete Obscurity, an assemblage focused installation for Convergence Station at Meow Wolf Denver. 

Ashley Frazier and Michael Sperandeo (both RedLine Alum) worked as collaborative Lead artists with Josh Davison, Show Manager and Sandra Wang, Curator on Obsolete Obscurity, an experience inside Meow Wolf Denver, Convergence Station. 

“Obsolete Obscurity takes a satirical approach to the construction of a catacomb by assembling obsolete items such as telephones, tube televisions, floppy disks, pagers, and books to form a room filled with thought provoking discovery and humor. The clean and sterile feeling of the environment is meant to contrast the overwhelming number of objects that make up the space, while color and texture create a cohesion among a variety of forms.” 

“The book arches draw upon architectural details of traditional catacombs while referencing books as the “pillars” of technology. Brick cell phones reflect traditional catacomb architecture by literally constructing the barrel-vaulted ceiling. The haunting nature of technology, that is no longer in service, calls attention to the egregore and memory found within an object. The niches highlight the endless amount of technology no longer in use - leaving a haunting sensation that recalls a recently nostalgic past.”

About Ashley Frazier: Ashley Frazier is a multidisciplinary artist and Colorado Native. She received her BFA from Metro State University, completed her residency at RedLine Contemporary Art Center in 2018 and is recognized as one of Westword’s Colorado Creatives. Her work often explores the relationship of people and their surroundings by pairing the allure with the uncanny, alongside the natural and artificial. Pairing materials and concepts which are inherently in opposition informs her process which involves collecting and cataloging, repeating and reflecting, demolishing and reconstructing.

About Michael Sperandeo: Michael holds a BFA from Colorado University of Denver (2021) where he received the C.U. Denver Innovation Award for his work focused on lidar data in virtual reality. Since 2012, Michael has been working with various technologies ranging from augmented & virtual reality, 3d scanning & rendering, and specializes in Unreal, Maya and Substance Suite. Michael is passionate about creating art and storytelling – he draws reference from mythology, numerology and symbolism. Michael has exhibited as a new media artist in a variety of institutions located across Denver including: The Museum of Nature and Science, Understudy, The Denver Art Museum, Denver Digerati’s Supernova, and recently completed his residency at RedLine Contemporary Art Center.

Contact: ashleyfrazier4@gmail.com 
Artist website: https://www.ashleyfrazier.art/
Instagram: @ashley_frazier_af

April Exhibitions at RedLine

Don’t miss the opportunity to celebrate the creative life of Colorado artist Sally Elliot in this retrospective exhibition Dissonant Harmony: A Life in Art!

Elliot’s work will be displayed in the Main Exhibition space until April 10th.

In conjunction with her retrospective, RedLine is presenting the Dreaming by Dreams exhibition, which draws from 27 individuals that worked with Elliott as mentees, advisees, and friends during her years at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and Regis University.

Learn more about the Sally Elliot Retrospective and plan your visit today >