Visiting Denver, Colorado

Denver Art Museum

The Denver Art Museum's landmark Hamilton Building, an expansion of the original North Building (1971, designed by Italian architect Gio Ponti and Denver-based James Sudler Associates) was designed by the architect Daniel Libeskind to recall the peaks of the Rocky Mountains and opened to the public October 7, 2006. It is a spectacular building both inside and out and I was completely taken with the dramatic angles, ceilings, windows, staircases, bridges and plays on light.

The Hamilton Building exterior


Staircase, interior


Window with dramatic light


Denver's Public Library was designed by architect Michael Graves and is located next to the Denver Art Museum. The cartoonish sculpture in the foreground is called “The Shoot-Out”, by artist Red Grooms. It sits on the roof of Denver Art Museum's Palettes restaurant. I guess when it first appeared in 1983 it was pretty controversial and drew protests from Native Americans and support from Artists who defended it as Pop Art. It was hidden away for years but has recently re-emerged apparently to little fanfare. If you want to read more about this, check out this website that provides an interesting account: http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM31PK



Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen's
sculpture "Big Sweep" sits outside the entrance to the Denver Art Museum.

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