DENVER— Breakthroughs: A Celebration of RedLine at 15 is a juried group exhibition of 18 former artists from the RedLine Contemporary Arts Center at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Denver, curated by the museum’s Senior Curator, Miranda Lash, and Associate Curator, Leilani Lynch. RedLine is a prominent and influential arts nonprofit organization in Denver. in a state that consistently ranks among the lowest for state-funded arts initiatives, it fills a huge need. As well as being a gallery and educational space, it grants two-year residencies to artists, many of whom are local. Breakthroughs turns 15 and extends over the three floors of the museum.
The first floor features the sculptural paintings of Tya Anthony; a kaleidoscopic installation of ceramics and found objects by Marsha Mack; the bright, painted photographic portraits of Daisy Patton; two mixed media assemblages by Suchitra Mattai; and four works by Tony Ortega. Ortega’s works are less visible than the rooms on this floor, but no less evocative. His lithograph “Del Norte” (2022) depicts a van full of migrant workers en route to the small town of Del Norte, Colorado. Aztec figures shine through the image, almost imperceptibly. In “Western Union con animalitos” (2022), figures of Mexican laborers are painted on Western Union forms that are used to send money to Mexico from the United States. Behind all this, the animalitos appear as shadows. The works blur time and vibrate with hundreds of years of culture, art, spirit and history.
The second floor celebrates the concept artists of RedLine. Amber Cobb Explores The Sensuality Of An Invented Language In New ‘Felt Pink’ Paintings (2023), “Squat the Rock” (2023) and “Beyond Comparison” (2023). We see Sammy Seung-Min Lee Arrived (2016–ongoing), a chilling installation of a dozen suitcases wrapped in black paper; a room devoted to papier-mâché rocks by Gretchen Marie Schaefer; Kinetic installation by Trey Duvall IN/TRACTION 002: Scales (2023); and the installation of Ben Coleman Eavesdropping (exchange) (2022-2023), which explores modern surveillance with very unmodern objects – tin cans and string.
In another room, the wall sculpture of Mario Zoots, “The Broken Narrative” (2022), wraps around the corner and its wobbly trapeze of torn and painted book covers spills over the walls like a virus. Ashley Eliza Williams’ oil paintings skillfully contrast the sublime organization of the natural world and the artist’s process through axonometric-like views of both. “Squid and Data (Attempt to Communicate)” (2022) shows a dissected squid alongside color studies and what looks like the artist’s actual palette. Jeff Page’s video “Throat Chaqra Therapy” (2020), mocks and pays homage to both the strength and the fragility of the body.
The second floor offers the best view of Ana María Hernando’s three luminous peach-colored tulle explosions – “Cuando bailamos I & II” And “La tierra me canta al oído” (2023) — which hang around the museum. The perfection of their geometric ovals and a rectangle joyfully collides with the luxuriance of tulle.
Foundling, a new series of gouache paintings by Rebecca Vaughn, is on the lower level, along with several emotionally glossy and textured films by Eileen Roscina and Alicia Ordal’s “Birdsmouth” (2023), an assemblage consisting of a ladder ridiculously small leaning against two large granite shapes made of moss. It’s a curious and fun piece and I would love to see more of his work on display. Also on the lower level is Sweaty Marriage (2020-2022), Juntae Teejay Hwang’s multi-work installation of shining sandstone creatures – impeccably crafted and many covered in droplets of sweat. Like all good jokes, Sweaty wedding is hilarious at first glance, but closer attention reveals a sharp and shrewd view of human behavior – how hard it is to hide our messy selves.
Breakthroughs is certainly a celebration of the artists of RedLine, but it is also a celebration of the incredible variety of artistic expressions. To stand in front of a sculpture, an installation, a film, a painting or a drawing is to recognize another perspective, another view, another human being. Breakthroughsand RedLine itself, are as much about exposing the artist’s impulse to connect as they are showcasing the pieces themselves.
Breakthroughs: A Celebration of RedLine at 15 keep on going at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver (1485 Delgany St, Denver, CO) through May 28. The exhibit is judged by Sarah Kate Bay, Director of Programming at MCA Denver; Jaime Carrejo, RedLine Alumni artist; Miranda Lash, MCA Senior Curator; Leilani Lynch, MCA Associate Curator; and Louise Martorano, executive director of the contemporary art center RedLine.
