12 Centennial Citizen
S O U T H
LIFE
May 8, 2015
M E T R O
Denver gets visit from TV foodie “…Of Bikini grills, horse talk and wizards” by Don Hartman, acrylic on canvas, 41”x28” will be included in Don Hartman’s “Two Faces” exhibit at Town Hall Arts Center. Courtesy photos
Exhibit puts on ‘Two Faces’ Housing developer has second life as artist By Sonya Ellingboe
sellingboe@colorado communitymedia.com Painter Don Hartman’s bio statement begins with a Baltimore childhood memory — the imagination kicked in early. “As a child lying in bed, I would look closely at the floral wallpaper in my room. I would find faces. They would forever change how I viewed my surroundings.” His exhibit, “Two Faces,” runs May 14 to June 26 in the Stanton Gallery at Town Hall Arts Center. He attended Maryland Institute College of Art (“when the moon was in the seventh house …”), studying fine arts and photography, then a summer job led him into the construction industry, which took him to Japan, back to Baltimore, to Phoenix (where he also taught) and then to Grand Junction and Denver. He has been a housing developer with the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless since 2011 and built a 54,000-square-foot Health Center in downtown Denver for the homeless. But, through the years, he has also been painting and looking. “In 1999, inspired by my wife, I began painting again after returning from Takamatsu. I began painting my emotions and thoughts inspired by the happenings of daily life,” he writes. “I would start a new painting by flowing translucent strokes on the canvas. As I layered the strokes, faces would emerge. These faces would soon come to life with color, form and then movement.
“What’s Up?” Don Hartman’s acrylic on canvas 18”x30” is included in his exhibit, “Two Faces” at Town Hall Arts Center. Can you see two faces here? “While developing affordable housing in Phoenix, Arizona, I would often take note of the graffiti I saw in the blighted neighborhoods where I worked. There is a certain spirit I found in those spraypainted walls and buildings in the struggling neighborhoods. These senses would become the `postcards from the hood’ I would create.” Hartman says this show is dedicated to his late brother-in-law Walter. “Walter always supported my work, even early on, although maybe seeing something different himself. When seeing my `What’s Up’ painting for the first time, Walter said `I see two faces.’ I thought WTH!”
IF YOU GO
It would take the costume and makeup crews at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts to disguise Guy Fieri, the distinctive host of the Food Network hit show “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.” The spiky platinum blond hair, pounds of bling, accessory sunglasses, signature shorts and flip-flops and sidekick red classic Camaro are dead giveaways. So it came as no surprise when alert Denver diners spotted the impish TV show host around town recently. According to a story on Eater Denver (www.denver.eater.com), Fieri spent a couple days filming at Dae Gee, a Korean barbecue spot with outlets in Westminster and Denver, followed by two more stops at Biju’s Little Curry Shop in RiNo and Axios Greek Restaurant in the Berkeley neighborhood. Here’s what Eater said, “One of those was RiNo’s favorite quick-casual spot Biju’s Little Curry Shop. When the restaurant closed on Wednesday (April 22) for the filming of the show, owner Biju Thomas told guests that the Indian eatery was closed for a private event and sent them to neighbor Park Burger for a one-time special made with Biju’s sauce. The other chosen spot for the show was Axios Estiario, a Greek eatery in the rapidly growing Berkeley neighborhood.” Read the rest of the story at www. denver.eater.com/2015/4/24/8493113/ guy-fieri-bijus-little-curry-shop-axiosdiners-driveins-dives. The air dates for the show will be announced on www.foodnetwork.com/ shows/diners-drive-ins-and-dives. html.
Root Down DIA a winner
Stanton Gallery at Town Hall Arts Center, 2450 W. Main St. in downtown Littleton, is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and during performances. (“Young Frankenstein” opens on May 15 and runs until June 14.)
Hartman will not have a reception, but will be at Stanton Gallery on the opening night of “Young Frankenstein” on May 15.
“GJ Alley” by Don Hartman acrylic on canvas 38”x24” was probably suggested by graffiti he found while living and building in Phoenix. It will be in his exhibit at Town Hall Arts Center.
Root Down DIA, a Mission Yogurt Inc. restaurant, was recognized as Airports Council International-North America’s “2015 Best New Food and Beverage Full-Service Concept” on April 26 during the awards gala at the first-ever ACI-NA Business of Airports Conference in Phoenix, which was attended by more than 500 commercial management, human resource and finance representatives from North America’s airport industry. “Mission Yogurt is honored to be recognized for Root Down DIA by one of the most respected airport trade organizations in the world,” said Rod Tafoya, president of Mission Yogurt Inc. “We’re proud of the success of Root Down at DIA, and look forward to continuing to serve travelers at DEN.”
New Cap Hill eatery
Dom Perignon and fried chicken? You bet your beak! Max’s Wine Dive (696 Sherman St. — www.maxswinedive.com/denvereast-7th-avenue/), which opened next door to Racines on April 14, hosted an invite only party recently with sips and snacks worthy of a future visit. My friend and I sampled from the menu that features fried chicken, stuffed peppers, oysters many ways and wines by the glass at happy hour prices. The new space, owned by a Texasbased company that operates nine Parker continues on Page 13