PUT THIS ON YOUR RADAR

My eyes were opened this past week to one of the Pikes Peak Region's best kept secrets. The Secret Window Fine Arts Gallery that is. Located in Monument, the Secret Window houses some truly incredible artwork. Director Anthony Tomas Archuleta both runs the gallery and creates his own work out of the space. Archuleta works in oils as well as buon fresco, a unique style of painting that demands intense focus and a rapid pace of production.

Gallery director and artist, A.T. Archuleta.

Further secrets were revealed as Anthony took us on a tour of the gallery's property- a stunning grassy area that hosts a variety of events, such as weddings, art shows and work shops.

This gallery is truly a must-see. Visit their website or take a pit stop next time you are rushing up I-25!

Contemporary Radar

For those seeking access to contemporary art in our region, look no further than the gallery spaces hosted by our local colleges. Both the IDEA Space at Colorado College and UCCS' GOCA (and GOCA 121) continuously offer stunning exhibits accompanied by must-go events. 

The lineup last week included the opening of "Systems and Subversions" at the IDEA Space, a show of works that create, examine, and/or disrupt natural and artificial systems. Featured artists include Nurit Bar-Shai, John Cohrs, Scott Johnson, Graham Wakefield, Haru Ji and Marina Zurkow. The exhibited works utilize a variety of media, including many highly technical processes, but each invite participation and engagement by the viewer. "Systems and Subversions" is on display until November 5th.

Artist Scott Johnson presents his work at the opening of "Systems and Subversions"

In addition to GOCA's lineup of cutting edge exhibits each season, director, Daisy McConnell, and development and events professional, Jessie Pocock, offer further reason to visit their gallery space with a schedule of out of this world events. On Friday, September 6th GOCA hosted Lunch Beat, a concept that started in Sweden in 2010. The Lunch Beat manifesto dictates that hosts must provide a one hour DJ set, a take-away lunch and free water. Most importantly, all attendees must dance.

Fridays just got a bit more casual.

For more information about IDEA Space and GOCA events visit the galleries websites at http://sites.coloradocollege.edu/ideaspace/ and http://www.uccs.edu/~goca/