A Contemporary Art Gallery in Denver’s Art District on Santa Fe Hosts “Concretion: The Act of Play” featuring Solo Exhibitions by Susan M Gibbons and Kelly Austin Rolo

Located at 900 Santa Fe Drive, D’art Gallery hosts the next solo exhibition cycle with “Concretion: The Act of Play” by Kelly Austin-Rolo and Susan M Gibbons. The show will open to the public on Thursday,  September 17 at Noon. Although there will be no opening reception, art appreciators are encouraged to visit the gallery to see the work in person. Visitors are required to practice social distancing and wear a mask. The exhibition closes on Sunday, October 11, 2020

“Concretion: The Act of Play”

“Concretion: The Act of Play” is a duet of solo exhibitions that combines the unique expressions by Kelly Austin-Rolo and Susan M Gibbons, using similar materials but in different processes, to share “play” as an integral part of their creative process. The gallery will be divided to give a dedicated space to each artist to display an entire body of work.

Kelly Austin-Rolo

The paintings, prints and mixed media pieces by Kelly Austin-Rolo in “Concretion: The Act of Play” Exhibition are created by playful exploration with materials. The transformation through the concretion, of the medium of encaustic, employing beeswax, resin and pigment, from a solid to liquid and back to a solid state is the process of becoming substantial, coalesced and solidified.

Austin-Rolo is inspired by the visual language of abstract places viewed through portals or from above. She engages the urban landscape, the sky, architecture and an unknown power as she creates a sense of place with meaning and connection. Austin-Rolo comments, “In this time of isolation where our individual worlds have become small, my works are safe places to contentedly lose and center oneself in.”

Kelly Austin-Rolo graduated from Syracuse University with a BFA in Design. She is inspired by unending possibilities of the media she uses from creating texture, scraping, and fusing the wax with a torch to create smooth surfaces. Intrigued by the fragile but durable qualities of beeswax, her work moves from transparency to textured depth. Her work can be viewed at:  https://www.kellyaustinrolo.com

Susan M Gibbons

Play is an integral part of Susan M Gibbon’s process. The work showing in “Concretion: The Act of Play” Exhibition presents the culmination of her exploration through play from the past 8 years. Using encaustic, acrylic, oil and cold wax provide the grounding for Gibbons to experiment and explore the intrinsic characteristics of each medium; allowing each to speak to her while creating.

Gibbon’s work reflects her interaction with the Spirit. Whether depicting the calm of this world or the chaos she perceives, the work portrays the experience of times of prayer and meditation. The act of painting and creating also allows for comfort, much like religious rituals. Her experience is a communion with the Divine and tapping into the Bara – the creative force of God. With her mark making and color (or lack of color), she is able to bring to order her feelings and perceptions through paint and faith. Gibbons comments, “The process of play allows us to be, see, and experience that which unites us as humans.” The paintings become a sacred place.

Susan M Gibbons earned a Master of Fine Art Degree from Azusa Pacific University and a Bachelor of Fine Art from Colorado State University.  She has taught as an adjunct instructor at the Community Colleges of Aurora and Denver. Her work has been exhibited in Colorado Galleries and at the Brazilian Museum of Sculpture (MUBE) in San Paulo, Brazil.  Her work is featured in publications and in private collections.  Her work can be viewed at:  https://www.susanmgibbons.com

Gallery East

In Gallery East, D’art Gallery’s new intimate adjoining gallery, presents “Hydrodynamics ~ The Study of Liquids in Motion” Exhibition featuring an exploration of Colorado mountain streams by Painter Jenn Merz CQ and Photographer Terrel Bailey (Lifted Spirit Photography).

Gallery Hours: Thursday Noon to 5 pm, Friday Noon to 7 pm, Saturday Noon to 5 pm, Sunday 1 pm to 4 pm.