SHOWING at Zip

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Meet the Members of Zip 37

ZOA ACE came to Colorado to create art but her initial success sprang from the many trips back to her native Illinois. Those visits led to exhibit opportunities across the country including galleries in Chicago, Santa Fe, Seattle, San Francisco, and New York. Ace’s oil paintings involve elements from pop culture, art history and the animal kingdom as well as nostalgic memories. “I regard these paintings as visual poetry, and hope viewers are able to create their own interpretations and the narratives about the work,” she says. Her mixed media collages are a hit in Zip’s famous “Back Room: and more often than not, fellow Zippers are ringing her up to replenish the stock. Like her husband and fellow Zip member, Louis Recchia, Ace studied art at Western Illinois University and has work in the Denver Art Museum. She is one of Zip’s original members. Learn more about ZOA at www.zoaace.comhttp://www.zoaace.comZoa_Ace.htmlshapeimage_2_link_0
Consider ceramist PAT CRONIN’S career a recipe. Start with a BFA in Printmaking from the University of Colorado. Add a Master’s in Art History from DU. Become administrator of an old school turned artists’ studios and gallery (the Grant Street Art Center, now known as the Denver Art Student’s League). Explore clay and become deft enough to start a ceramics studio in Five Points and teach at Red Rocks Community College. Stir well. Cronin’s 3-D works mix clay with found objects - usually rusted. “I like to work with things that are old - that are rusted and broken - and find them a new life,” says the Denver native. Animal and fish motifs speak to the artist’s vegetarian and animal defense sensibilities. Cronin also founded AHA, Artists Helping Artists, an “adhocracy” whose mission is to raise funds from local artists for local artists who are medically under - or uninsured Learn more about pat at http://www.zip37.com/Pat_Cronin.htmlPat_Cronin.htmlPat_Cronin.htmlshapeimage_3_link_0
DANYL COOK grew up near a wildlife refuge in western New York and then became a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic. The combination of those environments find way into his expressionist drawings and paintings. Cook studied art at SUNY College, Buffalo and holds a Master of Fine Arts from Regis University. The tug of urban life brought him to Denver, but those rural roots are always close at hand. “My soul must be nature’s making,” says Cook. “But I am always hopeful that there’s at least a little metropolitan snap to my work.” A former writer and photographer, Cook often adds stories to his works and website. His house series is a favorite with patrons. He has his own gallery space open for visits just up the street from Zip in the West Highlands neighborhood . Learn more about Danyl at www.danylcook.comhttp://www.danylcook.comDanyl_Cook.htmlshapeimage_4_link_0
ALIX EVENDORFF was born with a crayon in her hand. Nowadays, she uses oil to create mystical, colorful abstract works. “My paintings are very personal to me, very emotional,” she says. “Yet every person who looks at them finds all different kinds of meanings.” The native New Yorker, who spent many years living in Europe, creates in a large warehouse in arvada and loves to work big: six-to-eight feet big in fact. Yet you can always find more manageably-sized works at Zip. She studied under the later, great Denver-based abstractionist, Dale Chisman, and her work is in numerous galleries around the nation. Evendorff is most recently proud of the appearance of two of her large-scale pieces in a national commercial for auto maker Audi. Learn more about Alix at www.alixevendorff@mac.com mailto:www.alixevendorff@mac.comAlix_Evendorff.htmlshapeimage_5_link_0
LEO FRANCO received his Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Arizona, but always heeded the call to art. This began in his teen-age years at the Bemis School in Colorado Springs with a particularly impressive and memorable mentor. “Ah, Mrs. Oiler,” says Franco fondly. “She taught me how to paint; she taught me how to hang my work; she taught me how to look at art!” Using wood, plexi-glass and found objects, Colorado native Franco describes his art as “abstract assemblages” that he “composes” in his West Highlands studio. These intimate works reflect the influences of the recognizable Swiss Piet Mondrian, and American Louis Nevelson, but also Russian Constructivists such as Gabo, Litzky, and Malovich. His drawings often accompany the 3-D works during his front room showings. Learn more about Leo at http://www.zip37.com/Leo_Franco.htmlLeo_Franco.htmlLeo_Franco.htmlshapeimage_6_link_0
KATIE HOFFMAN’s days always include time in her Wheat Ridge studio. “I don’t wait for inspiration, I treat this like a job,” she says, “but of course a job I love!” Hoffman received her BFA in Drawing from Metro State by may be better known for her mystical, dreamy oil paintings. Her interests lie in stories, myths, and allegories that explore the unconscious. Daily life finds its way into her work and even though the intent may be abstraction, the human - the figure - always comes through. Hoffman is an avid art carder - swapping small scale works with other artists. “No one equivocating over sales or bartering or rating whose work is better than whose. It’s very Dada and simply art for art’s sake,” she says. Learn more about Katie at www.katiehoffman.com http://www.katiehoffman.comKatie_Hoffman.htmlshapeimage_7_link_0
JENNIFER MELTON loves garish things. That’s what the Arkansas native will tell you. “Cheerful “ and “Carnival-Like,” are other words that spill from the self-taught artist who will, however, shy away from highbrow descriptions of her work. “Any given piece is usually a loose notion of where I’m going - pretty primitive stuff,” she says. Others may see a more ardent art-soul as she is a founding member of Zip (1995) and also a founder of the famously bohemian Pirate (1980) right across the street. Melton is more likely to scout out materials at Home Depot or a thrift store than a traditional art shop. But don’t ever look for the color brown in her work. It may be garish, but it’s just not happy enough. Learn more about Jennifer at http://www.zip37.com/Jennifer_Melton.htmlJennifer_Melton.htmlJennifer_Melton.htmlshapeimage_8_link_0
BARBARA O’CONNELL is one educated Zipper. She loves to learn and enjoys playing off others - getting stimulation and feedback from fellow artists. Constant learning also feeds her interest in various mediums. “I have rolling favorites,” she says. “I find myself in moments of wanting to draw, and then moments of wanting to do photography And then I’m always seeking ways to combine them.” O’Connell has undergraduate degrees from Metro State in Art and Colorado State in Textiles and Clothing as well as an MFA from the University of Denver concentrating in drawing, Photography and Fiber. A Sterling native, O’Connell’s attraction to art is not so much the end product,” she smiles, “It’s a ritual to me and that’s what I find intriguing” Learn more about Barbara at http://www.zip37.com/Barbara_OConnell.htmlBarbara_OConnell.htmlBarbara_OConnell.htmlshapeimage_9_link_0
LOUIS RECCHIA’s work is in the Denver Art Museum, the Colorado Springs Fine Art Center, the Loveland Art Museum and other respected venues. But that hasn’t changed his humble, nice-guy persona. Recchia’s recognizable found-object works have given way to a more recent focus on oil painting. The Chicago native, who received his BFA from Western Illinois University, will tell you he “reshuffles history” to his own “post, post-modern” liking. “So much of my life is lived vicariously through books and the media,” says Recchia. “it’s interesting to me how cartoons reflect our human emotions - the human condition.” His backward signature tells the viewer to imagine a mirror and see a sense of self in all art. Recchia is married to fellow Zipper, Zoa Ace. They live and create in Berthoud, CO. Learn more about Louis at www.louisrecchia.comhttp://www.louisrecchia.comLouis_Recchia.htmlshapeimage_10_link_0
JEAN SMITH has a most singular style. Her clay florals are as much a part of her as her fun, vintage eyewear. Growing up outside Chicago, she received a BA in Art and Education at Milton College (Wisconsin). After years of teaching, she got a boost when a friend helped turn her living room into an art show which impressed a well-heeled gallerist into offering a show. Smith’s low-fire flowers and “trophy shrines” (ceramic containers capped with kitchy metal prize toppers) hark to a love affair with nostalgia and memorabilia. “I think of myself as a modified pop artist,” says Smith. My approach is bubbly and bigger than life and sometimes cartoonish. Using vintage or Americana-type themes is how I integrate what I like with ‘now time.” Smith has a brand new ceramics studio ready for visits in the Dry Ice Factory in the RiNo Art District. Learn more about Jean at www.jeanbsmith.comhttp://www.jeanbsmith.comJean_Smith.htmlshapeimage_11_link_0
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Kinship pushed VALERIE SAVARIE away from art, but friendship brought her back. As her sister pursued a BFA, Savarie sought an Interior Design degree from Colorado State University to avoid sibling rivalry. After years of enjoying colors, shapes, textures, and calculations of her chosen profession, a friend’s mannerisms inspired her to create the signature Schmay character who fits right in with ZIP’s aura of whimsy. “When my friend was at a loss for words he would say “Schmay” and in my mind it evoked an image of someone restricted by exaggerated sleeves and mouth-covering sweaters which keep him from emoting.” Savarie also creates mixed media portraits in abstract settings.  Raised in Madison, WI, she now calls southwest Denver home. Learn more about Valerie at www.valeriesavarie.comhttp://www.valeriesavarie.com/Valerie_Savarie.htmlshapeimage_25_link_0
SUSAN VAHO’s career in community development helped shape her artist persona.  Her work with the Denver Housing Authority, CHFA and The Gathering Place paralleled a love for film and printmaking she can trace back to elective classes taken while getting her degree in Landscape Architecture at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge.  Using photography and traditional printmaking techniques, she creates ambiguity-filled works wrapped in social context. “I try to make a movie without really making a movie,” says Vaho.” It’s more about still shots with the viewer then filling in the gaps.”  Vaho grew up outside Chicago, but now lives and creates in Denver’s Sunnyside neighborhood. She teaches art and literacy at P.S. 1 Charter School. Learn more about Susan at www.zip37.comhttp://www.zip37.com/Susan_Vaho.htmlshapeimage_26_link_0
JOE HIGGINS likes the word simple when describing his monorypes and prints. “I go up to Wyoming quite a bit as that landscape is pretty inspirational,” he says. “It’s open and raw and very minimal, and I like that elemental appeal.” A native of Upstate New York, Higgins landed in Laramie to finish his BFA at the University of Wyoming. He came to Denver for the art scene and to Open Press Ltd in particular where his painting gave way to printmaking. His simple color schemes, landscapes and interiors speak to the human condition. “I like landscape for telling a story and interiors are good as a metaphor for human identities - for the inner person,” he says. When not making work, Higgins teaches at the Art Student League. Learn more about Joe at www.zip37.com.Joe_Higgins.html

MEG INGRAHAM was first in her Grand Junction family at attend college (Western State, Gunnison), and the expectation to was study hard.  “It’s difficult to be distracted when it’s 40 below zero,” she laughs.  “So my focus went right into art.”  After receiving her BFA, she became a Master Printer via the Tamarind Institute of the University of New Mexico.  But soon enough, Ingraham turned to the intimacy of painting.   Animal-themed oils and acrylics were borne of children demanding constant production from their creative mom.  She also paints figures in order to keep her drawing cjops and says her work is:  “Wacko, because that seems friendly and inviting.”  Ingraham creates in the Blue Silo in the RiNo District.  Learn more about Meg at www.megingraham.com

SUSAN VAHO, LISA KERNS, ELAINE SCHEFFLER

       OCTOBER 28 - NOVEMBER 13, 2011

Friday Reception: October 28,  6 - 10 pm