Opening Reception: February 28th, 6-8pm
Under a Clear Blue Sky, by Lucy Holtsnider
Exhibition Dates: February 28- March 26
Gallery Hours: Wednesday-Friday 12-5pm, Saturday 12-4pm
Under a Clear Blue Sky is a collection of collages and prints answering the question “What could Suncor be?”. The Suncor oil refinery in Commerce City has been a known source of pollution and severe adverse health effects for decades. These works explore how the site could be transformed into something new that serves the interests of the surrounding neighborhoods while contributing to Colorado’s ambitious goal to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The theme is inspired by activists like printmaker Favianna Rodriguez and marine biologist Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson who both use their platforms to creatively envision a healthier and more sustainable future.
What lies ahead? Reimagining the world. Only that.
– Arundhati Roy
My studio practice begins with sensory observation of my surroundings in metro Denver. The colors and textures that make up where I live and recreate slowly accrue in my mind, creating a cache of ideas to draw from in the studio. I transcribe my observations by printing vibrant monotypes on my 60 year old letterpress and, more recently, manipulating clay and wood into abstract shapes. I then cut, layer, arrange, and rearrange these materials into vibrant compositions. The process often involves a treasure hunt for the perfect snippet to complete a collage, and sometimes I deconstruct older works and incorporate the components into new pieces.
The process is not unlike that of a city adapting as its population grows. Just like my collages, the composition of the built environment and the people living in it are also in constant flux. Fortunately here in Denver there is a fascinating history of flexibility in city planning and growth. Two industrial sites; the Rocky Mountain Arsenal and Stapleton Airport, were carefully repurposed around the turn of the last century. The Arsenal was a chemical weapons manufacturing facility where horrific toxins like napalm and sarin gas were created. After operations ceased in 1982 the extreme levels of pollution earned it designation as a superfund site, meaning it is known to the EPA to pose a major risk to human health. After a decade of clean up the 27 square miles were turned into a wildlife refuge where wild bison roam just a few miles from downtown Denver.
Stapleton Airport is another example of creatively reimagining infrastructure in Denver. Stapleton was crucial to putting Denver on the map as a hub of commerce in the west in the 50’s and 60’s, but city planners could see far in advance that the airport would eventually be outgrown. In 1989, Stapleton was operating at full capacity and DIA was six years away from completion. But that didn’t deter city planners from creating an ambitious plan for redeveloping the site into neighborhoods after it was no longer in use. Denver broke ground on Central Park in 2001 and it’s now one of the largest and most successful urban redevelopment projects in the United States.
These two examples show how infrastructure in our city that has outlived its usefulness can be creatively repurposed. A third site is prime for this same approach: the Suncor refinery. Though the refinery is integrated into our current infrastructure and economy, it’s time to start planning for what comes next. Our state aims for 100% net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and relocating, downsizing, or eliminating the refinery altogether will be essential to meeting these goals and to improving air quality and health for all Denver residents.
ArtLab Interns proposed a variety of solutions for the site including an animal sanctuary, an arts complex, and a sunflower themed amusement park, among others. I chose to focus on affordable housing because I was fortunate to purchase an income-restricted townhouse in the summer of 2024. The two maps on the wall show a real street pattern in a Central Park neighborhood, and then an imaginary street pattern in a future housing development on the Suncor site. The converging housing, affordability, and climate crises facing our state deserve the type of drastic action that would be needed to make a change to Suncor. I hope this exhibition can serve as a catalyst for that type of planning and action.