Artist Exhibition at Byers-Evans House Gallery October 5, 2012

Denver Plein Air Arts Festival: Beckner / Keleher / Olson

The Byers-Evans House Gallery’s October show will feature an exhibition of works by Jim Beckner, Siobhan Keleher, and Mikael Olson, winners in the professional artists’ category of the 2011 Denver Plein Air Arts Festival. This show will open with a reception on Friday, October 5, from 5 to 9 p.m. during the First Friday Art Walk in the Golden Triangle Museum District. The show will remain on view in the gallery through Wednesday, October 31.

Jim Beckner

Denver artist Jim Beckner is a 1994 graduate of Colorado State University where he studied painting with Patrice Sullivan. Bechner furthered his artistic education at the Art Students League of Denver with instructor Mark Daily.

Beckner is drawn to urban settings and the vitality of large cities. His exploration of painterly expressionism with various color harmonies and varying textures is a recurring theme in his work and he hopes to develop this concept to find new approaches and innovative visual solutions.

Beckner has also pursued the concept of using various color harmonies in the fugure while maintaining a much more realistic approach to the subject. Most of his subjects are personal to him, such as his daughters, friends, and wife. His technique is more focused on altering colors, playing with gesture, and creating mood. He hopes that these painting maintain an element of “soul,” while still searching for new ways to express a visual idea.

Siobhan Keleher

Siobhan Keleher, a fourth generation Colorado native says “One thing I love about photography is that I don’t use the rowdy, relentless verbal part of my mind to do it. I live in a marvelous world and the brief quiet moments observed amidst frenetic life compel me to record and share them.” Siobhan takes pictures at whim, everywhere. “The camera has limited options – I can’t zoom or choose focus – forcing me to make more judicious decisions about the features I can control, honing my sense of composition.”

Mikael Olson

Born in Colorado in 1973, Mikael was raised in Evergreen and now lives in Denver. A member of the Art Students League of Denver since 1995, Mikael has studied with Quang Ho and Mark Daily. Mikael's best inspiration comes from spontaneous moments and occurrences. He finds that he "gets lost in the process of integrating visual dialog through visual elements that help clarify personal expression." The evidence is in his work which comes alive with the bold, expressive use of shape, color, line, texture and values. Mikael loves it best when his work is “raw and lush, with a look that is far from polished.”

The Denver Plein Air Arts Festival is the largest urban plein air event in the nation, and includes the Golden Triangle Museum District, several city parks, the 16th Street Mall and other Denver locations. Each year, artists from across Denver and Colorado participate and enter their works into a juried competition. The 2012 exhibition will be held at the Denver Public Library, 7th floor gallery, and will be on view from November 14 through December 31.

The Byers-Evans House Gallery focuses on the art of Denver, Colorado, and the Rocky Mountain West and it is located in the visitor center of the Byers-Evans House Museum.

What: Denver Plein Air Arts Festival: Beckner / Keleher / Olson

Where: The Byers-Evans House Gallery, 1310 Bannock Street, Denver

When: October 5 – October 31, Gallery open daily, Mon.­–Sat., 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Closed Sundays.
Special events: Evening reception to meet the artists during the Golden Triangle Museum District’s First Friday Art Walk, Friday, October 5, from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. Free reception.

Cost: Gallery admission is free!

Byers-Evans House Museum

Open daily, Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Closed Sundays. Guided house tours 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Admission charged. For further information, visit www.byersevanshousemuseum.org or call (303) 620-4933.