Art Gym Denver is excited to be exhibiting According to Plan by Christine Ann Nicols and Beyond Dreams by Lesley Renner in the Common Space Gallery with an opening reception October 4 from 5 – 8PM. According to Plan by Christine Ann Nicols includes new 3D metalsmith works, made of copper and geode, while in Beyond Dreams, Lesley Renner will be exhibiting her dreamlike pastel drawings.

According to Plan is comprised of 3D metalsmith works by Christine Ann Nicols. Her practice has evolved from smaller jewelry works to larger Utilitarian Sculptures. The 3D works presented in this exhibition are a series of lamps made with copper and geode rocks. Nicols wants her work to “serve a purpose, but look nice while doing it,” and these lamps certainly do that. Repeating the natural shapes found in the geodes, she cuts the copper plates to form the structure for the lamp fitting. The combination leads to an entirely new and singularly unique object. When asked about the concepts found in her work, Nicols replied “tell me what you think it means, and I’ll tell you that you’re right.”

Christine Ann Nicols began her metalsmithing career while attending Arvada High School. She later went on to receive a BFA in Metalsmithing and Jewelry from Colorado State University, where she began her larger pieces during her senior year of her degree.

Inspired by the works of Klimt, Lesley Renner’s pastel drawings create a dreamlike scape of bold color and pattern. Beyond Dreams brings together works exploring the ways in which Renner utilizes pattern and color to relate her dreams in a visual manner. Viewing the tetraptych of a moon, included in the exhibition, leaves you with the sensation of looking through a window at night in the liminal space between sleep and consciousness. She skews and alters the viewpoint to emulate that experience perfectly. In her drawings of trees, Renner tries to imagine the colors from her dreams and elevate them even further. This is inherent to the work. She says, “the color in my pieces are beyond the colors I see in my dreams.”

Lesley Renner first took painting lessons in the 4th grade and has never looked back. She graduated from the University of Colorado – Denver with a double major in Art History and Communications and a Minor in Fine Art. She currently works as the Digital Lab Steward at Art Gym.

Also opening at Art Gym Denver is It’s Time to Address’er Drawers by installation artist, Joel Armstrong in the Art Gym Gallery with an opening reception on October 4 from 5-8PM. The exhibition will include an installation of the same title, addressing letters written by the artist’s mother, as well as a series of small rust paintings.

Both exhibits are free and open to the public Monday through Friday, 9AM – 6PM. They will be on display from October 4 through October 26, 2018.