The Red Brick Center for the Arts opened two new exhibitions last week, featuring both local and statewide artists.
One of the exhibitions, “2025 Colorado Juried,” opens at the Red Brick every other year. It features work that experiments with materials, critiques contemporary society and explores diverse themes, such as the perception of light and color.
The show is open to artists from across Colorado, and over 100 artists applied this year. Twenty-eight were selected to participate. Red Brick Executive Director Sarah Roy said there was no criteria for the artists in the show, giving artists freedom to explore.
“This show is really great to get a pulse on what art is being made now throughout the state,” she said. “It is a range of work. We have painting, we have photography, we have a lot of mixed media.”
Becca Hoffman and Bob Chase, co-founders of Aspen Art Fair and local gallery owners, chose the winners.
Some Roaring Fork Valley artists in the show were recognized, including Shawna Miller, who received an honorable mention for her oil-on-linen painting titled “Angela and Hattie.”
Erin Morrison won first place for her canvas painting embedded in gypsum titled “Moon Summoning.”
The artwork reflected several themes, including motherhood, the political climate and relationships to the environment. Roy said this is a reflection of artistic trends around the world.
“Artists are looking for new ways to express themselves, and so innovation and experimentation in mediums is always there,” she said. “I think that's what makes art very exciting.”
In the West Gallery, Wendi Schneider’s exhibition, “Reverent Alchemy,” which features nature and wildlife photographs, is also on display.
The photographs are printed on kozo, a type of Japanese paper made from mulberry trees. Schneider also applied layers of gold leaf on the reverse side of the photo.
"In those magical moments when my eyes and essence are engaged, I photograph what I feel, as much as I see,” Schneider said in a press release from the city of Aspen. “The images are layered digitally with color and texture to blur the lines between the real and imagined.”
Both shows will be up until Aug. 2.
