ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — A new exhibit at Englewood’s Bleue Tile Gallery & Art Space is seeking to explore the nuance of such a divided world.
The exhibit, titled “Not So Black & White,” displays the work of 11 artists in several mediums: sculpture, photography, painting, and videography.
Curators say the “limited, high-contrast palette allows for an increased focus on form and spatial relationships intensifying what happens when artists cast aside the color spectrum and focus on the visual power of black, white and everything in between.
Not So Black & White
Courtney Cotton, the gallery’s director, said “things aren’t black and white. There’s a beautiful space in between. We can shift, and we don’t have to have fear.”
She hopes the exhibit leads to “more oneness, more compassion and understanding.”
One of the artists showing work at the exhibit is Daniel Sprick. His painting, which shows a white bird on a dark background, depicts what he calls “death anxiety,” a theme that has been a constant in his career but has taken on greater meaning in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Most of all what I want people to receive from all of my work in general is…a sense of well-being,” he explained.
Alli Gerrish, an artist from Boulder, said “I’ve pretty much been painting and sketching my way through my life, my entire life.” Her abstracts paintings are on display at Bleue Tile Gallery & Art Space.
Besides introducing people to new artists, Cotton has some grander goals for the Not So Black and White exhibit, which opens May 14 at 6 p.m. and runs through June 18.
“I’d like to see more oneness, more compassion and understanding,” Cotton explained. “Things aren’t black and white. There’s a beautiful space in between. We can shift, and we don’t have to have fear.”
“I’m hoping COVID helps us come together, relinquish some fear that we have, and break down some old systems—older educational systems, older black and white systems,” she continued. “And that we find beauty in the gray. We find beauty amidst the uncertainty.”
Julio Sandoval is a multimedia journalist at Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach him at juliosandoval@rmpbs.org.
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