Alanna Austin

Membership and Program Administrator
Ask me about: “Planting, propagation, and pasta!”

Alanna was born and raised in Boulder, Colorado and received her B.F.A and M.F.A in printmaking from the University of Colorado, Boulder.  She has spent the several years teaching printmaking at the University of Colorado and most recently the University of Texas. True to the mania involved in the printmaking process, Alanna is a print nerd through and through, obsessed with process and materials.  Her process and work is narrative based, following the turmoil of self-reflection and utilizes mark making in printmaking to develop the emotional state portrayed within her work; she has shown her work internationally and nationally.  Alanna has always been as active as possible within the art community in Colorado with both creating work for fundraising, creating workshops for diverse groups, and focuses her time outside of the art gym on continuing to mentor students.  Alanna is excited to continue her work in community development as works in her role in membership and programming administration!

Madi Brunetti

Member Services
Ask me about: “Moths and Ologies.”

Madi is an aspiring artist from Denver, Colorado working with oil pastel, oil paint, and hand-embroidery. She received a BA in Studio Art from Fort Lewis College in December 2021. While in Durango Madi found her love for moths, incorporating them into almost all of her work. She explores the intersection between fine art and entomology to discuss struggles with the self and the body. When not working at Art Gym, Madi spends her time doing yoga, going to punk shows, and thrifting. Madi is thrilled to be a part of the Art Gym team and hopes to connect with other creatives in the community.

Tyler Campbell

Director of Operations
Ask me about: “The very first gallery exhibit I installed at a gallery in Kansas City.”

Tyler was appointed Membership Director in January 2017 and became the Director of Operations in March of 2018 . He received a BA in Art History from Colorado State University and brings to Art Gym an extensive background in the arts and arts administration. Tyler is excited to be part of helping Art Gym grow. “I believe Art Gym is an important resource that is greatly needed in Denver and I feel lucky to be part of the team that will continue to build upon this resource and help facilitate artists reach their potential.” Anytime you need assistance or have questions, feel free to reach out and give him a call, e-mail, or stop by his desk. He is happy to assist in any way he can!

Ilan Gutin

Membership and Program Director/Gallery Curator

Ask me about: “My obsession with colored lights, horror movies, and my cat Elliot.”

Ilan is originally from the Washington D.C. area, and received his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2014. He relocated to Denver in January 2020 to work as the Artist Mentor and Gallery Coordinator at Art Gym. He is an interdisciplinary artist, and extensive world traveler, and has used his experiences abroad to help shape his studio practice. Formalism, the ephemerality of nature, light, place, and the wonder of looking are recurring themes in his work.

Before moving to Denver, he worked as an International Admissions Counselor at SAIC, and advised student artists from all over the world. He was also a faculty member in the Fiber and Material Studies Department at SAIC, and taught fabric printing courses. Lastly, Ilan was the Co-Founder and Co-Director of Fernwey Gallery in Chicago, which focused on giving emerging artists a professional space to exhibit their work and bring awareness of the arts to the community.

He is excited to be a part of Art Gym and the Denver art community, and looks forward to exploring all the exciting opportunities Colorado has to offer!

Lesley Renner

Digital Lab Steward
Ask me about: “Ask me about my 95-pound Guppy and her white dragon brother, ‘Adventure Time,’ what I’m growing in my garden, and coffee, coffee, coffee and all the best places!”

Lesley is a Colorado native who started her college education in Denver at Metropolitan State University, moved up to CU Boulder, and eventually graduated from UC Denver with a double major in Art History and Communications, with a minor in Fine Art. She then worked for eight years in Tech Support and as a Quality Assurance Engineer for Quark Inc., before returning to school to earn an AS degree in Graphic Art from the Community College of Denver, and also a certificate degree in Animation from Red Rocks Community College. She sees computers as tools that are always asking us to learn more. As an artist and Art Gym’s Digital Lab Steward, she loves to help people push their boundaries and create unexpected and wonderful projects. Or, more simply, update their resume or CV. Like many Denverites, she will once again attempt a garden this year: “I am switching things up a bit and will try to grow a pumpkin in my front yard. Fingers crossed!”

Gregory Santos

Printmaking Director
Ask me about: “solving sudoku puzzles”

Gregory moved to Denver on New Year’s Eve, 2015 after a lifetime in New York City, where he kayaked the Hudson River and received two degrees and one certificate in printmaking. Soon after arriving, he joined Art Gym as Director of Printmaking and spent many months designing and equipping the printmaking workspace. Gregory describes his art an outlet to explore emotional and physical relationships, as well as the relationships between memories and locations. As a space to create, he says Art Gym offers “the exact combination of affordability and varied print process accessibility” that a printmaker needs.

River Smith

Member Services
Ask me about: Hair Metal and Lightning Sprites

River has recently moved to Denver from Texas where she grew up making different crafts and art. She began working as a barista and graduated with an Associates in Art in 2021. River continues to build her portfolio in order to enter into a tattoo apprenticeship and create art to adorn the body. In her free time, River loves to listen to classic rock and metal, watch true crime and read about the paranormal.

Vickie Stevinson

Founding Artist
Ask me about: “Red sauce.”

Vickie is a long-time Colorado resident who has made her living as a graphic designer. As a life-long artist, Vickie is passionate about enabling artists to create. In 2011, she was given the opportunity to establish an affordable, community-oriented art making space to support emerging and seasoned artists. After a few years of planning and major renovations to an old Safeway building in Denver’s Mayfair neighborhood, Art Gym opened in 2015.

As a graphic designer, Vickie spent more than 40 years telling the stories of many businesses, non-profits, and colleges/universities. Now, she is making her own art at Art Gym, exploring lithography, artist’s books, figure studies, and most recently metalsmithing/lapidary. Lapidary, she says, opened her world to the great color and wonderful randomness of rocks. Their story is the one she is now telling.