Denver Plein Air Arts Festival Exhibition 2012 November 13, 2012

The Golden Triangle Museum District & the Denver Public Library

present

The Denver Plein Air Arts Festival Exhibition 2012

November 13 – December 31, 2012

DENVER – The Golden Triangle Museum District (GTMD), organizer of the Denver Plein Air Arts Festival, announced today that accepted works for the 6th annual juried competition will be exhibited and for sale through the GTMD at the Denver Central Library's Vida Ellison Gallery, 10 W. 14th Ave. Pkwy. from Nov. 13 through Dec. 31, 2012. In addition to the main exhibit on level seven, there will be 12 pieces shown by artists under the age of 18 in the Denver Central Library’s Gates Reading Room on level five.

En plein air is a French expression that means, “ in the open air” and is used to describe artwork that is made directly from life outdoors, not in a studio. Plein air painting is often associated with landscape painters and dramatic vistas, but the Denver Plein Air Arts Festival takes it to the streets of downtown Denver. Now in its sixth year, the Denver Plein Air Arts Festival is the largest urban plein air event in the nation, and includes the Museum District, several city parks, the 16th Street Mall and other Denver locations. This year, to help celebrate its Centennial, Denver Mountain Parks and the Lariat Loop Heritage Alliance partnered with the GTMD to arrange for artist access to various “Denver” locations along the Lariat Loop National Scenic & Historic Byway including Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Evergreen Lake and the Buffalo Bill Museum & Grave.

Over three hundred pieces were submitted for a juried competition and 110 works were selected by judges for the exhibition. The Denver Plein Air Arts Festival Juried Competition was judged by Jill Rosentrater, director of Art in Public Places with the Colorado Council of Arts; Rose Fredrick, writer and curator of Coors Western Art Exhibit; and Kimberly Moore, regional sales manager for Southwest Art.

Several honors are awarded to distinguished entries, including Best of Show. Each year, the winner of Best of Show receives a solo show at History Colorado’s Byers-Evans House Gallery. Last year, Jim Beckner won “Best of Show” for his painting, Grand Cherokee Lofts. The winner of the 2011 “Best of Show,” Jim Beckner, kicks off Denver Arts Week with an opening reception at the Byers Evans House Gallery on Friday, Nov. 2, from 5 to 9 p.m. and ends Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012.