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 both serves the interests of the surrounding neighborhoods and contributes to Colorado’s ambitious goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Inspired by activists like Favianna Rodriguez and Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, this exhibition is an exercise into Climate Futurism, using art to dream up a better, 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. I soak up the neighborhood where I walk my dog, the paths where I run, and the routes I drive around town like a sponge. The colors and textures 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, as well as manipulating clay and wood into abstract shapes. 

I then cut, layer, arrange, and rearrange these materials into kaleidoscopic remixes of the world that surrounds me. The process is a treasure hunt for the perfect snippet to complete a composition, and I often deconstruct completed works and incorporate them 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. As impacts from climate change become more prevalent in our daily lives, those fluctuations will become more pronounced. 

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 at the turn of the last century. The Arsenal was a chemical weapons manufacturing facility where napalm and sarin gas were created, as well as a site for mixing rocket fuel and manufacturing agricultural pesticides. The extreme levels of pollution earned it designation as a superfund site, meaning it is known to the EPA to pose a risk to human health. After several decades of remediation, the 27 square miles were turned into a wildlife refuge where wild bison roam just a few miles from downtown Denver. 

Additionally, Stapleton airport was crucial to putting Denver on the map as a hub of commerce in the 50’s and 60’s, and city planners could see far in advance that the airport would be outgrown as the city prospered. They began planning for what would become the Central Park neighborhood 20 (?) years before breaking ground. The neighborhood is now one of the largest urban redevelopments in the United States with 14 schools and more than 50 parks.

These two examples are creative solutions to infrastructure that has outlived its usefulness. A third site begs for this same approach: the Suncor refinery. Though the refinery is integral to our current infrastructure, 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 the health of 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 Central Park 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 work can be a catalyst for that type of planning and action.