The Ponzio Arts Center is a happy place to be these days. Not only have our young artists started to make art in the studios again, but our gallery walls are graced with the energetic, colorful, and stunning paintings of Denver’s own Michael Gadlin. We are honored and ecstatic to introduce him, and his work, to the Colorado Academy community as our Guest Artist of 2020. Our Guest Artist Program is one we take great pride in. It gives the young artists of our community a chance to meet professional artists who have a made a career out of making art. Meeting and learning from these professionals makes them realize that they too can be an artist.
When you walk into the Ponzio Art Gallery, Gadlin’s work will feel larger than life. Not only are his paintings gigantic in size, but their colors and eccentric combination of organic and geometric shapes will seize your attention in a big way, too. Many pieces in the exhibit playfully dance between realism and abstraction. You may set your gaze on his expressive brushstrokes and then stumble upon the features of a face. Mr. Gadlin will work with our CA artists in multiple workshops later this trimester. Students will watch him paint, learn the techniques he uses, and make paintings of their own alongside him.
You may have seen Gadlin on television. He is the host of Rocky Mountain PBS’s Arts District, an award-winning (two Emmys in 2019) half-hour arts and culture series that features local and national artists in pursuit of their artistic passions. He began his journey as an artist at Denver’s Art Students League. He then continued his studies at Metropolitan State University, followed by New York’s prestigious Pratt Institute of Art & Design.
In the Visual & Performing Arts Department, something we always tell our artists is that the role of an artist is to help others see the world differently. We are so grateful Michael Gadlin is here to help our vision of the world grow.
As Gadlin says of himself, “My work is driven to guide the viewer into understanding the relationship between the fundamentals of artistic processes and the emotional expressions that create a dialogue and language that will be universally meaningful.”
The exhibit of Michael Gadlin’s work will be on display in the Ponzio Art Gallery until the end of October. We will be creating a virtual opening and tour for those of you who are not able to come to campus. You won’t want to miss it.
To learn more, visit Gadlin’s website: www.michaelgadlin.com/.