One of the best progressive art galleries if you like real art created by passionate artists.read more

There is a funky little group of contemporary galleries stuck in the heart of the old Italian…read moreneighborhood in Denver. The area is called Highland and where Next Gallery is the whole place is pretty ethnic. Signs are usually in Spanish and low riders are everywhere. So, seemingly out of no where come these four galleries. Next is the newest. It's a co-op (the space is rented by multiple artists) so the quality of the work changes with every show. The space is beautiful with big windows facing the street and perfectly creaky wood floors. It's a good atmosphere for checking out some of Denver's developed talent and newbie stuff. It's a great place to see some artwork that hasn't jumped onto the minimalist band wagon. Open Fridays 6 to 10pm, Saturdays and Sundays 12-5pm.

As part of Belmar Block 7, Valkarie Gallery is an intimate space that offers artists the…read moreopportunity to share their work and passion with the world. We visited for the opening of Heidi Snyder's and Dorothy DePaulo's "Wild in the City!" and were pleased to view not only all of their incredibly detailed drawings, but the eclectic works of the other artists featured on the other side of the gallery (not part of the show). The partitions created additional viewing space but made for a tight squeeze once all of the gallery goers filed in. I feared for some of the delicate works of art! It'd be nice to come back during regular hours (and not First Friday!) to spend more time studying each piece.

Valkarie Gallery is a great space on the Belmar artists' block. The work here is whimsical and…read moreunique, and Valerie, the owner, is a kind and always a pleasure to talk to. I highly recommend this gallery!

D'art, I think, is the newest co-op art gallery in town and it is one of my favorites. It is just…read morecelebrating its seventh anniversary (opened August 1, 2019). The members have been carefully selected and are all accomplished artists in mid to late career. The work shown is always of extemely high quality. The facility was created for previous gallery/studio owners and D'art has made the most of it. The main gallery at the east side of the complex shows work from the 27 member artists plus the occasional outside show. The separate space in the far east corner is the East Gallery which is available for 4-week rentals and shows a variety of work. The other large gallery at the west side is the home of D'art 360, what I would call the associate members. Again, this is used for rotating shows of work by those 30 artists. The adjacent North Gallery has been used lately as a permanent display space with a sample of work by each associate artist. But wait, there's more! Go through a hallway north of the main (east) gallery, past the (nice) restrooms, and you'll find five studio spaces plus the D'art Collection, a curated, permanent gallery of the main co-op members' work. The members of this gallery are serious artists and the work shown is always original and interesting. The prices are reasonable for original work. Their openings are always worth a visit.

I have a long history with this space. My first time showing my work on First Friday at the Santa…read moreFe Arts District was here, in 2010. For that moment in my personal history, I always take the opportunity to swing through whenever I find myself down that direction for any reason. The gallery that was has long since changed hands a couple of times, yet always attracts some good shows. Over the last several months, I have found myself back at this place twice now as a destination. I haven't done that once for this gallery space in over a decade. Artist-owned and operated as a co-op in this iteration, it seems someone was taking notes. The main showroom is still in the front, with the full windows facing the intersection. There are still private, working studio spaces in the back, but the layout has been shuffled a bit. From the outside, the changes are subtle. They have fixed, open hours from Thursday through Sunday, which is a standout in comparison to other galleries in the area. What was the backdoor entrance and an empty corridor is now utilized as functional space for a satellite gallery. The main gallery and this secondary gallery have representation from co-op members. The range of work offers a wide variety of media and artistic voices. There's a smaller "featured" type gallery off the main gallery, which rotates solo shows. All in all, they've really gotten all they can out of the space, tastefully. So, if you're looking for a place that's not the cramped and crazy of First Friday, get on their mailing list or check their calendar when you're planning a night out. After all, this is the place D'ART.

They have very good customer service. I didn't get what I wanted but I didn't lose any moneyread more

I undertook the long drive up to Colfax to go to the opening reception (featuring a friend of a…read morefriend of mine). It was hosted at the Abend Gallery. This show runs from March 2nd through April 7th, 2012. The tagline is "1 Gallery, 2 Shows, 3 Points of View (Ann Gargotto, Jean Shom, Cheryl St. John) + Cake and Pretty Horses (Michael Dowling -- Solo Exhibition)". The Gallery is quite large and is a very nice, eclectic space. I heard that there used to be a grocery store on this location. Currently, the Gallery is set up in such a way that the main rooms are subdivided to allow focus on individual pieces and groups as your circulate through the gallery. The last room was set up as a larger, more open area. This room was devoted to "Cake and Pretty Horses". I saw some thought provoking, and emotion inducing, paintings. Some reminded me of O'Keeffe's, some were very evocative landscapes, others would not have looked out of place at the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, MT. The pieces that I came to see were the ones by Michael Dowling. Yes, there were a ton of horse paintings. I think my sister, when she was was 11, would have been enthralled. The play of light and shadow in his work was very cool. I particular enjoyed the "Round Cakes 1" (sp) painting, which was done on the bottom of an old, round table. It almost seemed to be pulling all the ambient light into a black hole (if you will) with a small, understated, yet illuminated, cake demanding your focus and attention. Michael seems to have a wry sense of humor, when you talk to him. As part of the reception, Abend gallery was pouring red and white wines, they were offering soft drinks, and they had a yummy selection, of cheese, crackers, dips, veggies, fruit, and sweets.

If you care about art (and if you didn't, you wouldn't be reading this), I can't imagine why you…read morewould entrust it to anyone else. Steve and Rob approach every project with a genuine enthusiasm that makes every encounter a delight, and their combined technical expertise and attention to detail enhance the final product in the most beautiful ways. As a student many, many years ago, I almost dreaded finishing a drawing or painting because I found the process of matting and framing so tedious; now I look forward to spending time with Rob and Steve (and trusty office assistants Rafi and Amigo) because they make the process so much fun. Whether it's a humble poster or a priceless oil painting, your art will get the generous attention and close-reading it deserves, and you'll love it even more than you did before.

I reached out to them about framing several high value pieces, one very large. They were unable to…read moreget the supplies needed to frame my large piece and rather than discuss assisting me with the others, they merely wished me luck. In a follow up email, I expressed my surprise at their indifference to the many pieces I needed framed; their further response was exceptionally rude and dismissive. For premier framers, I thought they would be enthusiastic about assisting me with my art collection but I was treated as an annoying child. I wonder if I would've been treated with a modicum of respect had I been a man. Will never grace them with my business.

This was an awesome gallery! I went here last Friday for the opening of a friend of a friend…read more(Daniel Gonzalez) solo art show. Not only was his work AMAZING (seriously, go check it out next week at First Friday!) but the whole building was really cool. It was a smaller studio, but it was beautiful with half of the walls having exposed bricks. I looked through the other sections and all of the other artists that were featured had very amazing pieces of work. Everything was vibrant, funky, original, eccentric, and beautiful. I've been through a lot of the galleries in the area before, but this is definitely my favorite!

Sync gallery moved to a new location last summer (931 Santa Fe). I think their space is nicer now…read more They've had some REALLY GREAT exhibits lately that are worth checking out. The best evening to go is on 3rd Fridays - the gallery is open late and the crowds are nothing like crazy 1st Fridays! The artists in the gallery are up-and-coming, so the art is exceptional and it's affordable!

Spark is the oldest cooperative gallery in Denver (1979) and features many accomplished artists at…read moremid- to late career. There's no particular theme to the selection of artists and I find the shows widely variable in quality. Spark has bounced around to many locations, but recently moved from their long-time spot at 9th and Santa Fe to this fabulous new venue, directly across the plaza from the main entrance to the Denver Art Museum. The gallery has taken advantage of this high visibility with extended hours and is now open every afternoon from Friday through Tuesday. The gallery is elegant and well-designed for the display of a substantial amount of work. There's usually something for everyone and the space is well-worth a visit. One of the artists is always there and they are happy to talk about their work.

Spark Gallery, located right on the corner of 9th and Santa Fe, is one of the more impressive…read moregalleries located on the Santa Fe Art Walk. It is spacious, has several smaller studios in it, and has mixed mediums. One of the things I remember especially about this gallery use of oils on Masonite by one artist, which created a very earthy abstract theme. Quite cool, but naturally pricey. Nonetheless, when I noted to my lady friend that this place was better than most of the galleries we've seen so far, she relied to me that the people in here looked exactly like the people she would see in swank-ass SF galleries: not interested in the art in the least but in networking, kissing-ass, and trying to get laid. Pretty harsh perhaps, but there was a ring of truth to this fact as I looked around. I'm not sure why I felt this way in this gallery especially, but it was there so....no 5 for you

Fantastic new gallery with a fresh underground vision showing very powerful art. This is one of the…read morebest art spaces I have seen in Colorado, and I've been here since 1987. They appear to be experimenting with exhibiting art beyond the expected, which is a welcome addition to Denver's already fantastic art scene.