The best new gallery space in Denver is Plus Gallery at 2501 Larimer Street in the ballpark neighborhood. Owned by Ivar Zeile, the gallery has been operating since 2001, but moved into their new space (pictured below) in March.

On April 24, the gallery opened a solo exhibition of urban ambler Jean Arnold’s movement paintings.

“Onrush” is a series of oil paintings taken from Arnold’s sketchbook. When she travels, whether by bus or train, drawing allows her to gather visual information that is in a state of flux, contextualizing urban clutter. Arnold re-interprets her journeys on canvas, distilling specific portions of her sketchbooks into segments with cultural and compositional value. Her gestural techniques promote a broad, dynamic color range, converting her notes into forms that balance between the recognizable and the purely abstract. Several of the works on display were taken from sketches done during a previous visit to Denver. The work addresses issues of urban sprawl that are prevalent in cities like Denver and, as Arnold says, “essentially define our lives at this time.”

The geometric and colorful abstract paintings convey a dense layering of geography and complexity. Through her work Arnold breaks down barriers of time and space.

Arnold is currently in residence at RedLine an urban contemporary art laboratory in Denver. A talk with Jean in her studio at RedLine is tentaviely set for Thursday, May 7. She’ll present an artist talk in conjunction with her Residency at Redline next Friday, May 8th starting at 5:30pm, followed by a stroll over to Plus Gallery to hear her thoughts relating to the work on view here.

UPDATE: Jean Arnold will be in attendance Friday, May 1 at Plus Gallery. Plus Gallery will be open late till 8pm for First Friday.