click to enlarge Watch Philip Stearns’s Wire Taps through the Storeroom’s picture windows. Philip Stearns
click to enlarge A cross-section of work by Spark Gallery’s supporting member artists. Courtesy of Spark Gallery
click to enlarge Arantxa Araujo, “Yerma,” video stills (Mexico). Arantxa Araujo, courtesy MOV
Kid Acne, for Heist Beer No Coast IPA. Kid Acne
click to enlarge A photographic interpretation of “Radiance,” by Joy Redstone. Joy Redstone
click to enlarge John Fielder, “Last Dollar Ranch, Ouray County, West Slope.” John Fielder, courtesy of History Colorado
click to enlarge Arius Ziaee, “We’re Having a Party and Everyone’s Invited,” still image, (USA). Arius Ziaee, courtesy of Month of Video
click to enlarge A page from Ted Larsen: Works 2007-2023. Ted Larsen, Radius Books
click to enlarge Paul Rousso, “Sotheby’s with Basquiat and Warhol.” Paul Rousso, Clayton Lane Fine Arts
click to enlarge Jenna Maurice, “Forming an Affectionate Relationship With the Seemingly Unaffectionate,” video still image, Concerning the Landscape: A Study in Relationships. Jenna Maurice
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This weekend promises to be hot, and that’s true for art events around town, too. Some of John Fielder’s, now under the stewardship of History Colorado, will be shared with the public at a new show; Month of Video gets fast and furious with receptions and talks; and art and music mix in a gallery show opening at Bitfactory that will morph into a hip-hop concert at Herman’s next month.Be in the know — learn more below:The Denver Month of Video exhibitionis free to view from the sidewalk 24/7 at the Storeroom window gallery through July 31, but you can view the multi-channel installation and meet the artist, Phillip Stearns, at this reception. Maybe you’ll also learn more about Signal Culture, the artist residency that recently moved to Colorado. Stearns created the works on view as one of its residents.While folks are wandering Larimer Square celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the Denver Sister City relationship with Cuernavaca, Mexico, and savoring Taste of Mexico events, art-seekers can step out of the crowd and view the Taste of Mexico Pop-Up Art Gallery, presented by the Magpie Arts Collection. Curated by Moe Gram, the show spotlights local artists Cal Duran, Victor Escobedo and Diego Flores-Arroyo, with a spread of works inspired by shared lore and roots in a price range of $50 to $500. On Saturday, time your visit to meet the artists and catch a panel discussion facilitated by mural artist Karma Leigh from 2:30 to 4 p.m.Spark attracts a good number of supporting members, who each receive a spot on the wall during an annual group exhibition for a one-time annual fee. Twenty artists are eligible for this show, promising new faces and a wide variety of styles and mediums to peruse.Hear from Quinn Dukes, the Brooklyn-based multimedia performance artist and activist who curated Understudy’s MOV show,An advocate for performance-based art, Dukes is sought after internationally as a performer, curator and a voice of the multimedia avant-garde, ensuring that the video work running at Understudy is state-of-the-art: political, intersectional, engaged and visually fascinating.Denver artist Dan Drossman came to Bitfactory’s Bill Thomason pitching a brainstorm: He wanted to bring Visible Planets, a collection of hip-hop rappers who also made art, to the gallery for an art show. But that’s not all. Drossman also hoped he could find a stage where they might perform, and from there, it all came together, with help from his New York acquaintance, Angel Del Villar II, aka the MC Homeboy Sandman, and friends. The exhibition begins this weekend, with work by Sandman, Aesop Rock (who earned a BFA from the School for the Arts at Boston University), Deca, Blu, Quelle Chris, Kid Acne and Isaac Sawyer. They’ll be in town for the official reception on August 4 and on August 5, when they’ll all perform at Herman’s Hideaway, with the exception of Aesop Rock. It’s a dream come true for Drossman; perhaps it can be the same for you.Joy Redstone and Bev Ruiz riff on the theme of radiance at Sync Gallery, with Redstone turning over a new leaf to show photography, while Ruiz’s joyful abstract paintings are meant to radiate her inner glow.In January, renowned Colorado photographer John Fielder turned over the stewardship of more than 6,000 works from the last fifty years focused on the varied landscapes of our beautiful state to History Colorado. Of course, now that they’ve been digitized and properly catalogued, a special selection of the images is being put on display for, a breathtaking exhibition centered around the artist’s most beloved secret Colorado setting. Will you recognize it?Collective Misnomer, an on-and-off ongoing experimental video art screening series overseen by Adán De La Garza and Jenna Maurice, the organizers of Denver Month of Video, gets its own screening slot during MOV. For, they’ve rounded up video work that they liked but that never seemed to fit into a theme they were presenting at Collective Misnomer events. This eclectic and funny docket sticks to animation.Robischon Gallery artist Ted Larsen, whose work is currently on view at the venue, is releasing, a hefty monograph sporting 75 colored plates depicting his minimal sculptures made using salvaged and other alternative materials. An essay by critic David Pagel adds to its weight, metaphorically speaking. The $60 tome will be available to purchase at the event; to pre-order a copy, contact [email protected] , or call 303-298-7788.The print shop Artist Proof Collective is throwing an in-house art show and party with food trucks, vendors and live screen printing to introduce the business to the public. The art promises to be cool and cosmic.Paul Rousso rumples and collages plasticized found paper and other materials — money, advertisements, food packaging, newspapers, acrylic sheets, polystyrene and magazine pages — in a style he calls “Flat Depth.” The result is shiny, luxuriously rumpled and as pop as it gets. Clayton Lane Fine Arts will now represent Rousso in Denver and is hosting an opening to introduce his work to our little town.It’s summer, and if you find yourself near Snowmass Village, drop in at the Anderson Ranch Art Center to see, an exhibition by four ceramic artists — Del Harrow, Nori Pao, Martha Russo and Bobby Silverman — each working with clay or porcelain in his or her own singular direction.In, the eleven-member gestalt-like Chant Cooperative explores life’s rites and traditions and how they gather us together, through the lens of magick as an instrument of benevolent transformation. The artwork hangs through mid-August, but at the opening, DJ Montez, 4Digit, Brotherhood of Machines and others will drive the idea home in thematic performances. You really have to be there to feel it.Union Hall curator Esther Hz, who curated Santiago Echeverry, Chrissy Espinoza, Annette Isham and MOV co-founder Jenna Maurice into the MOV video exhibition, will share her ideas about the show, including how each artist fits the thematic mold of going on a journey and communing with the passing landscape. A Q&A will follow the talk.