"A fascinating, prolific local artist has splashed the Denver Art Museum with a wave of color in the new exhibit Eyes On: Susan Wick. The RiNo resident is perhaps best known for her beloved cafe/bookstore/gallery/venue City Spirit, one of Denver's premier artistic hubs that operated in then-nascent LoDo from 1984 to 1997, and was covered with Susan Wick's ceramics. But over the decades, Wick has grown deep local roots that make her an ideal choice to revive the DAM's Eyes On series (paused during the Martin Building's renovation), which is aimed at bringing recognition to a broad group of noteworthy living artists with single-gallery shows and non-traditional viewing spaces.
Wick represented a challenge for the revived format; her vast output resists easy categorization and could easily fill at least a few galleries. She has been making art in many different mediums for over six decades, often producing new pieces daily. In her painting, the artist tends to wiggle playfully between representation and abstraction, but the overall concern is to be continually 'making.' Her artistic training began in textiles, but she also creates mosaics, masks, clothing, book-arts, paper and found sculpture. In some cases, these formats mix and overlap.
These vibrant selections have the uninhibited freedom of drawings, although they're actually paintings made with acrylics and pastels, in combination with other materials. Circling the gallery, they stir feelings not easily resolved by their enigmatic subject matter, with strong colors and textures that describe the artist's own personal symbology: birds, water and swimming, plants and flowers, tea."
May 14, 2025
