Over the last 125 years, the Crystal Palace in Aspen, Colorado has been many things—a dinner theater, a mining company headquarters, and a commission house. After Mead Metcalf dinner theater closed its doors in 2007, the building lay dormant. But in its latest incarnation, it has become the creative playground of Gravity Productions, an Aspen-based group of young entrepreneurs that has been showcasing artists and musicians throughout the city for the last five years.
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Back in September, Gravity Productions asked artist Max Kauffman to curate an art exhibition. The result, All The Feels, is a show that aims to introduce a cross-section of artists with strong ties to Colorado that “make work for themselves, for the love.”
Dead White Horse by Scott Lefavor. Courtesy of artist.
“The concept behind All The Feels is a focus on work of an emotional nature,” Kauffman tells The Creators Project. “It’s nostalgia of music that still tickles the hair on the back of your neck, the rush of memory from kitchen smells, or the deja vu of a new place that reminds one of the comfort of an old home.”“Each artist carries an emotional undercurrent—work that clearly defines mood while leaving a narrative direction less delineated,” Kauffman adds.
Illustration by Hannah Stouffer. Courtesy of artist.
The exhibition opens today with works by artist Hannah Stouffer, whose focus is on a pop psychedelic style of illustration. Her themes vary from the naturalistic to the feminist, with some visual references coming from her art direction work in advertising, as well as the aesthetics of her editorial work at Juxtapoz magazine (She is also a contributor to The Creators Project.).“Hannah has been in this world of art for more than a decade, so getting to have her work displayed was a great honor,” Kauffman says. “It’s been sometime since she showed in her hometown, so she was pretty thrilled about it. Hannah being a hometown hero for the area was a bit of a factor, but ultimately the power and sensitive nature of her work was what made the decision to have her start this off easy.”
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Illustration by Jonathan Gold. Courtesy of artist.
Most of the other artists, as Kauffman explains, are based in Denver. Artist John Fellows will also exhibit his folk imagery-inspired work, which merges linocut and graphic design with found maps, letters, cut paper, doodles and printing. “Seafaring vessels, beards, and the freedom of the open road pervade his creations,” Kauffman says.The show will also feature Jaime Molina’s (aka Cuttyup) creations, which Kauffman says are built out of “anything and everything at hand, echoing traditional folk techniques and ideas with a modern twist.” Artist Scot Lefavor’s style is rooted in traditional sign painting and typography, and heavily influenced by contemporary street art and the pop art movement of the 60s, but with what Kauffman calls a “narrative twist”.
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