Flipbox Studios

On Saturday Nate and I took a little "field trip" to see the Peter Max exhibit at the Road Show Company Gallery in Denver, CO. It was very nice to get out from behind the computer and experience some professional fine art; After all, where would web design be without fine art? Unfortunately, Peter Max has his own photographer and does not allow photography inside of the studio. So, Nate and I whipped out the handy iPhone and snapped a couple of photos of the gallery looking in. Check them out below!

As someone who attended art school, I guess you could say I hold a high standard to detail, craftmanship and presentation. I have attended many gallery presentations and even participated in a couple myself. After attending this show I think Nate would agree when I say, I was less than impressed. Max actually visited Ashland University while we were in school there and it was an awesome presentation. He spoke about his career, answered questions, showed a video of his process and some of his work and then presented a piece to the university. Afterwards he was available for autographs and meet and greet. This show, however, was not as impressive.

I am not sure if it is the gallery to blame or Max himself. I would say it is a little of both. The artwork, which retails around $30k for canvas, was framed, as it should be, however the frames were extremely scratched up. Perhaps they were scratched while being shipped? Either way, would someone really purchase a $30,000 piece of work with a frame that is scratched to hell? I sure wouldn't. Max also made some pieces on paper instead of canvas, probably to cut down on the cost for people who want to spend less. If an artist decides to do this, I believe they need to avoid the "bubbled paper syndrome". Some of his pieces within the frames were bubbled up due to "water damage". I know this is common in painting on paper. Maybe try a thicker paper? Or a different process? Or even lay something heavy on it until it lays flat again? And also, some of the new pieces of Obama were there. Retailing at $19,000 a piece and complete with no frame, no paint on the sides of the canvas and staples along the side. Peter, can I build some frames for you? If you are going to separate a piece like this, please, frame it or paint the sides! I guess I just expected a famous professional artist to have these details covered. Come on now Max!

As far as the Road Show Company is concerned, wow do they have quite a "street view". As we approached the gallery I could not believe how great this gallery looked. From the inside, it was a different story. The carpet had holes in front of the wall that artwork was displayed. A table set up towards the back with refreshments was soaked and torn to pieces. They had pieces of work sitting around backwards on the floor (even in the front of the gallery) and I think there might have only been 3 pieces in the whole place that were straight. One wall had about 12 pieces of the same size and were going in all sorts of directions. All I could think was, "I know you can't touch art in a gallery, but do you think they would mind if I straigten this work?" How can you enjoy the art if that's all you can think? I also found it to be a little odd that some of the walls had wallpaper on them. Shouldn't a gallery have plain walls so nothing is taken away from the art?

In conclusion, I appreciate and respect Peter Max as a fine artist, however I think he could hire someone for the price of one of his paintings to take care of some of these craftmanship issues. As far as the gallery itself is concerned, you have an amazing street view, why ruin it with your presentation. Those are my critiques.