Opening reception: Friday, October 2nd, 2009, 6-10pm
Exhibit runs October 2nd through October 31st, 2009

“THE RABBIT WITH ONLY ONE HOLE SOON IS CAUGHT”

FOOD ALLEGORIES FOR ANCESTORS
New paintings by Karen Bozik

“Food Allegories For Ancestors” is an introduction to a diverse body of work exploring concepts related to genetic memory. These concepts can include dream work, cultural inclinations and emotional impulses. The artist, of Slovak ancestry, has discovered a psychic/ancestral map which extends from the silk road regions to the former Soviet Union.

In this exhibit, Karen Bozik is visiting the tradition of still-life painting to address memory, using a combination of oils and acrylics on wood and plaster.

Karen Bozik, a founding member of Sliding Door Gallery, has exhibited extensively throughout Denver and the state of Colorado since 1990.

“departure” photgraphy by Dona Laurita “nest” mixed media works by Camilla Briggs

Artist Statement for “Departure”

The images of Departure suggest a deviation from a plan or procedure – a death of a known reality to one that is unknown. Departure experiences the self and body as a private inner universe and the instant collision with a public one.

Dona Laurita

Dona Laurita has created images professionally for the past twenty three years. She has been involved in artist-in-resident programs ranging from creating art with youth at Children’s Hospital, in public schools throughout Colorado, and many programs with at-risk youth and migrant workers. She also operates a photography business, Foto di Vita/Laurita Fotografia specializing in fine art documentary photography. She has enjoyed decades of wonderful experiences as a visual historian for thousands of clients, and believes that between life and death… there are only photographs.

Artist Statement for “Nest”

The pieces for Nest explore gestation and birth. The subject of the egg paired with genetic imagery creates a place for the unknown to grow and hatch. It is the very act of nesting that provides us with a place to house our burgeoning offspring. Though just as important, the container becomes secondary to the contents—a concept that spirals into itself, as the nest and the egg and the genetic material are all containers or nests for something more detailed and complex. In this way, the container and its treasures become inseparable.

Camilla Briggs

For over ten years, Camilla Briggs worked to preserve the art of Colorado elders; now she is focusing on her own art. Overall, her work explores light, transparency, the use of containers, layering, movement and often some interactive element. Materials tend to include appropriated books, reclaimed white goods and linens, beeswax, feathers, paper, insects, mica, beads, seeds and sand, flowers and leaves, rocks and wood, copper wire and rice.

Stop by St. Mark’s Coffee House at 17th and Race in Denver.

Have a great cup of coffee and see the work of Sliding Door Gallery’s artist members (through September)

Open Daily 6:30am-12am.

Opening reception Friday September 4th from 6 to 10pm.

Justin Fields

Guns, Chimps, and Wheels” is a collection of work that is based upon the combination of imagery gathered by a predetermined process that uses articles and short writings as a source of images. Words from these writings are entered into an Internet search engine to gather the imagery. The specific works for this show were selected based on their relationship to an opinion editorial that discusses the relationship between humans and chimpanzees.

Justin received his MA in studio art from the University of Northern Colorado in 2008. He lives in Fort Collins with his wife, daughter, and two dogs.

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Jude Morales

Jude describes “floating world”: This show evolved from a mobile that I made for my son during the fall of 2007, just before he was born. After creating his mobile, I started making clay birds and suspending them in front of painted city- and landscapes. I would hang the birds from dowels extended out of the paintings. As a solution to showing the work in public spaces, I found glass faced shadowboxes that would allow the birds to be secure and also allowed me to add more 3d elements to the pieces like clouds, buildings, trees, etc. Each piece is like a window into another world and since I take much inspiration from the ‘Floating World’ woodblock prints from Japan, it made sense to title my show the same. The title also has a literal translation as each piece has elements that appear to float.

Jude Morales grew up in Denver and has been pursuing his art career since the third grade. He received a BFA from UC Denver in 1998 and has been showing his work in Colorado for about 10 years, intensively for the last four years at galleries, art festivals and cafe`s. He is a member of Sliding Door Gallery in Denver and the Art Student’s League of Denver. Jude lives in Fort Collins, CO and enjoys playing with his son and wife.

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Sieger Hartgers

Here’s some great photos from our July show “Drought” (thanks Priscilla!)

Hey shutterbugs! It’s summertime! A time of long days, hot nights, dramatic thunderstorms, summer vacations and romances. Sliding Door Gallery is taking advantage of the long hot summer days by having a Summertime show, and we want YOU to show in our gallery! Whatever summertime means to you, we want to see it. And we’re mindful of the economy, too, so guess what? You don’t even have to frame your images!

COSTS

• $20 for up to 3 images, $5 for each additional image submitted
• All Work must be for sale for $100 or less
• Sliding Door Gallery (SDG) will split any sales 50/50 with the artist

DATES

• Entry Deadline – July 17
• Notification of Accepted Work – July 20
• Work Due to Gallery – August 1 (printed and delivered by you to the gallery)
• Opening Reception – August 7
• Show Dates – August 7-29, 2009

JURORS
Patti Hallock – Patti is a Colorado photographer, represented by Plus + Gallery. Her work is an exploration of the landscapes of the contemporary American West and the representation of the mythology of the west through recent history.

Katie Taft – Katie is a Denver legend herself, working in photographic and sculptural media, investigating personal relationships and mythologies. Katie shows at Sliding Door Gallery, and has curated many art events, including the SelfMade series.

Rachel Hawthorn – Rachel is a Colorado-based mixed-media artist using photography, sculpture and digital media in her exploration of domestic space and personal memory. She is currently a member of Sliding Door Gallery as well.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Submit images digitally – accepted images are to be hand delivered or mailed to the gallery. Accepted images are to be printed by you at a size no larger than 9”x9” – SDG will mount each image on a 10X10 piece of card stock and hang the show in a very informal manner – this is summer! Carefree and loose!

All photo based processes welcome.

Visit our call for entries page to submit your photos today. After your entry is completed, you will be redirected to submit your payment via paypal.. When submitting your payment, include your name in the notes section, and the titles of the pieces you are paying to enter into the judging.

We look forward to seeing your work!

Please forward to all creatives that you know!

Here’s the offical press release as a PDF.

In this group show, artists of Sliding Door Gallery address the concept of drought with its various connotations. Apart from its literal meaning, “drought” can refer to the prolonged lack of anything material or immaterial. The wide interpretative field of this topic allows for addressing themes from the economic crisis to a lack of artistic inspiration. While the context can be on an individual or societal level, the issues can be emotional, psychological, financial, environmental, or spiritual, to name only a few …

Opening Reception, First Friday, June 5, 6-10 PM

A show of paintings on vintage encyclopedias and a series of ink drawings on paper with the subject of animals

Contact:

Kay Tuttle
720.339.1405
www.kaytuttle.com

Dates: May 1 – May 30, 2009
Place: Sliding Door Art Gallery, 766 Santa Fe Drive, Denver, Co 80204
Hours: Fridays 12-5, Saturdays 12-5, First Friday 6-10, Third Friday 5-9

Artists Reception Saturday May 8th, 5–9 p.m.

The title of this series of paintings, Cover Stories, is a playful reference to the use of a set of vintage encyclopedias as the structure of the paintings. After carefully sanding the cover, Tuttle paints directly on the book. The subject matter of animals stacked upon each other references things like totem poles, folk tales, (especially the German tale The Bremen Town Musicians), and environmental concerns.

Kay Tuttle was born and raised in Colorado. She received a BFA in painting and drawing from CSU in Fort Collins and an MFA in painting from ASU in Tempe, Arizona. After graduating she taught painting and drawing at ASU. She lived abroad for several years, in both Germany, and France. She has had solo shows in France, Germany, Colorado and Arizona. She now lives in Denver and shows with Sliding Door Gallery. She was published in Issue 72 of New American Paintings and was included in the 10^th Anniversary exhibition at Roq La Rue Gallery in Seattle. She will be exhibiting in the Beyond the Border Art Fair Sept 2, 3, 4, 2009, in San Diego, CA.

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Katie Taft: True Love

Consisting of three-dimensional objects made of porcelain and a variety of textiles: leg warmers covered in barnacles, a shawl encrusted with 300 octopus suckers and a variety of other accessories and items of clothing.

Contact:

Katie Taft
303.888.2679
katietaft.wordpress.com

Dates: May 1 – May 30, 2009
Place: Sliding Door Art Gallery, 766 Santa Fe Drive, Denver, Co 80204
Hours: Fridays 12-5, Saturdays 12-5, First Friday 6-10, Third Friday 5-9

Artists Reception Saturday May 8th, 5 – 9 p.m.

These works are love stories, both happy and sad. Making them has helped to exorcise my past and manifest the future that I want to exist. They are spells cast and objects of catharsis, they make magic happen and contain it. Some of these objects are made up of numerous almost identical pieces: the repeated action enforces a lesson learned, a tall building leapt a roadblock turning into a milestone.

Katie Taft is an artist living in Denver, Colorado and working predominantly in photography and sculpture . Her work deals with universal stories drawn from myth, folklore, philosophy and religion, and addresses how these kinds of stories manifest themselves in our modern lives. Taking inspiration from individuals around her as well as from the symbolism of animals she creates objects and images that tell the stories of her life.

Katie has shown her work in Denver, Colorado, Portland, Oregon and Santa Fe, New Mexico in the past couple of years and spends her days making art with students in the Denver Metro Area at Downtown Aurora Visual Arts and other local arts organizations. She completed a residency at PlatteForum in 2007 and was awarded Westword’s Mastermind Award in 2005.