Stanley Marketplace, the public market slated to open mid next year on the border of Stapleton and Aurora, will play host to a month-long Black Cube Nomadic Museum pop-up exhibition with artist fellow Derrick Velasquez, from Thursday to Dec. 12.
Black Cube is a nonprofit, experimental art museum that nurtures the self-sufficiency of artists, and inspires people to discover and appreciate contemporary art beyond traditional museum and gallery walls. Black Cube has no permanent exhibition space or collection, and instead partners with artist fellows to commission pop-up art experiences; by constantly changing locations, Black Cube’s projects aspire to reach new audiences not regularly exposed to contemporary art.
New Brutal, a site-specific sculpture created for Stanley Marketplace’s airplane hangar, is Black Cube fellow Velasquez’s largest work to-date. Black Cube’s third pop-up exhibition features a 25-foot tower-shaped sculpture inspired by common building materials, such as Tyvek sheeting and plywood.
New Brutal takes its title from Brutalism, a style of art characterized by a deliberate plainness. Informed by Denver’s recent building boom, this work takes cues from both the architectural plainness the artist sees in the design of Denver’s new buildings, as well as the beauty he sees in the construction process. Stanley Marketplace is an active construction site, making it the perfect exhibition location, as it directly relates to the materials and concept behind the work.
Following an opening reception, from 6 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, New Brutal will be available for public enjoyment for a period of one month, Thursdays from 6 to 8 p.m., and Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m., at 2501 N. Dallas St. in Aurora. The artist will present a lecture about his work at 7 p.m. on Dec. 10. Members of the public can attend the free opening reception and lecture by RSVP-ing to cstell@blackcubeart.org. At the completion of the exhibition, the sculpture will be dismantled, and components will be disbursed throughout the community to those in need of building materials.
“We couldn’t be more excited to partner with Stanley on this exhibition, especially at this rare moment during its build-out,” said Cortney Stell, executive director and chief curator of Black Cube. “It’s truly an unprecedented experience for an art organization to be welcomed with such open arms during an intense and complicated construction period. We are excited to watch Stanley materialize under our noses, and are excited to partner with the marketplace for contemporary art projects in the future.”
Velasquez was born and raised in Lodi, Calif., and resides in Denver. He received his Master of Fine Arts degree in Sculpture from Ohio State University, and holds dual undergraduate degrees in Art History and Studio Arts from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Velasquez works in media including performance, installation, sculpture and photography. His most recent solo exhibitions have been at Pentimenti Gallery, the Volta Art Fair in New York City, and the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art. He teaches in the Fine Arts department at Metropolitan State University of Denver and the University of Denver.
Joining the ranks of well-known urban marketplaces across the U.S., including San Francisco’s Ferry Building, Seattle’s Melrose Market and New York’s Chelsea Market, Stanley will be home to a unique mix of offerings from both well-known and smaller, independent Colorado retailers when it opens in mid 2016.
Tenants that have so far been announced include restaurants Stanley Beer Hall, by acclaimed Denver chef Kevin Taylor; Sweet Cow, a popular Colorado “scoop shop;” comfort food restaurant, GoodBird Kitchen; organic pizza and salad restaurant, Sazza; acclaimed Rosenberg’s Bagels, which serves New York style bagels, cured meats and sandwiches; Mexican street-food-inspired restaurant Comida; Southern-inspired lunch and breakfast restaurant, Denver Biscuit Co.; local roaster, Logan House Coffee Co.; artesian food grocer, Mondo Market; and gourmet cupcake bakery, Happy Bakeshop.
Retail stores and services currently include Tootsies the Nail Shoppe, Kismet, Hope Tank, Clementine’s, From the Hip Photo, Poppy & Pine Floral,L Style Bar and wax., and health and wellness offerings include fitness studios Endorphin and Kindness Yoga, Symmetry Massage, Natural Balance Integrative Health and Stapleton Dental. Stanley Marketplace is 100 percent leased, and more tenants will be announced in the coming months.
Flightline Ventures, a Stapleton-based firm comprised of longtime neighborhood residents who saw a need for a community-based marketplace and sought to fulfill it, is behind the development of Stanley. Partners Mark Shaker, Lorin Ting and Megan Von Wald teamed with the City of Aurora to make the vision a reality.
“Even while still in development, we aim to demonstrate that Stanley will not be an ordinary marketplace,” Shaker said. “By opening our doors to artists, community members and others throughout the development process, we hope to share a sneak peek at the vast array of experiences Stanley Marketplace will offer when completed next year.”
For more information, visit www.stanleymarketplace.com.
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