The fall art scene is especially promising in 2025. There is a potential blockbuster on the horizon, thanks to the Denver Art Museum’s upcoming retrospective of Impressionist icon Camille Pissarro. There’s also the welcome return to Colorado of contemporary art pioneer Roni Horn, who will produce a solo show at the MCA Denver.
But the real news just might be the appearance of two new venues that will add a bit of personality on the edges of town: the opening of Black Cube Headquarters in Englewood, and the reopening of the Museum of Outdoor Arts in Greenwood Village.
Here are the offerings to look out for:
“The Honest Eye: Camille Pissarro’s Impressionism,” Denver Art Museum, Oct. 26-Feb. 8
The Denver Art Museum is betting the house that crowds will come out for this exhaustive retrospective of paintings by icon Camille Pissarro.
No doubt, this show has much going for it. Pissarro is a 19th-century superstar, one of the central figures of Impressionism, whose name is mentioned alongside Monet, Renoir and Degas. There hasn’t been a deep exhibition of his work in this country in more than 40 years.
But Pissarro does not have the glamorous reputation of his peers, and his individual pieces are certainly less recognized. On the plus side, his talent and influence are undeniable, and this extravaganza, organized by the DAM and the Museum Barberini in Potsdam, Germany, could be a spectacular showcase.
There are more than 80 landscapes, portraits and still lifes gathered from 50 international museums and private collections, including the six objects already in DAM’s holdings. The real thrills will come down to how all this magic is displayed before the public — and if the story unravels as a more interesting narrative than museum visitors already know.
Address: 100 W. 14th Ave. Info: 720-865-5000 or denverartmuseum.org.
“What We Hold On To,” through Dec. 12, Black Cube Headquarters
Black Cube Nomadic Museum is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, producing events to mark a decade of fulfilling the very unique mission its name implies: staging world-class exhibitions at various indoor, outdoor and out-of-this world venues without maintaining a permanent home.
That changes, sort of, with its latest offering, a group show that brings together work from many of the artists it has supported during its successful run. The exhibition takes place at a new spot, Black Cube Headquarters, a massive, former warehouse that the organization has occupied mainly as an office space in Englewood, but now plans to use as a regular showplace.
“What We Hold On To,” which explores the concept of storage, should be right at home at the old warehouse, and its all-star lineup — which includes names like Amber Cobb, Cristóbal Gracia, Katherine Simóne Reynolds and Anuar Maauad — makes for a promising debut. Black Cube will continue to produce shows at other spots, so think of this turn as an evolution that will allow chief curator Cortney Lane Stell and her team to think, and execute, differently.
Address: 2925 S. Umatilla St., Englewood. Info: blackcube.art
“Metaphorming Time: A Selection of Works by Todd Siler (1975–2025),” Oct. 18-Feb. 13, Museum of Outdoor Arts
The Museum of Outdoor Arts was a fixture on the local gallery scene for years, thanks to the temporary shows it rotated through its exhibition space in Englewood that featured artists from both near and far. When it shut down three years ago to undertake some institutional rethinking, it left a gap that no one else filled.
The good news: MOA is back, starting Oct. 18, with a solo show by painter Todd Siler. It’s a deep retrospective with more than 50 works, spanning 50 years, by the Colorado artist.
The location is new. This time out, MOA will set up its exhibitions at the former Madden Museum, the 10,000-square-foot atrium space at Fiddler’s Green, which now will officially be known as the Madden Gallery at the Museum of Outdoor Arts. The space has hosted various offerings over time, and housed the holdings assembled by long-time collectors John and Marjorie Madden. This restart should use the room to its fullest potential and return a bit of high-level curation to the Denver suburbs.
Address: 6363 S. Fiddler’s Green Circle, Greenwood Village. Info: moaonline.org.
“Andrea Carlson: A Constant Sky,” Denver Art Museum, Oct. 5-Feb. 16
Andrea Carlson is an emerging star of the visual arts world with appearances at major galleries throughout the country this fall. DAM scores a win with this solo, which organizers are calling the first museum-level exhibition of Carlson’s work. The artist, who is “descended from the Grand Portage band of Ojibwe and European settlers,” according to DAM, challenges historical narratives, adding an empowered rethinking about who holds power and who controls access to ideas and culture.
In addition to Carlson’s layered, multi-media paintings and drawings, DAM has commissioned a large-scale sculpture that will be installed as part of the show.
DAM has been collecting Indigenous art for a century, often leading the museum industry with its acquisitions, but also, notably, from a non-Indigenous perspective. This outing is intended to let other viewpoints rule the moment.
Address: 100 W. 14th Ave. Info: 720-865-5000 or denverartmuseum.org.
Roni Horn, “Water, Water on the Wall, You’re the Fairest of Them All,” Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, Sept. 12-Jan. 25
Roni Horn, a significant figure in American contemporary art for decades, has made work about a lot of topics. This show, built around the concept of water, narrows that down to a central and ongoing theme of the artist’s work. Curated by Nora Burnett Abrams (who recently left her job as MCA’s director), the exhibition features sculpture, photography, drawing and bookmaking. The centerpiece is set to be Horn’s landmark, 2010 installation titled “You Are the Weather, Part 2,” a series of 100 photographs of a woman submerged in geothermal pools in Iceland. What’s this work about? In the simplest terms, think of water as a metaphor for human identity, always fluid with plenty beneath the surface. The MCA steers the focus local with references to the Western United States, where water is always a precious commodity and a constant topic of discussion.
Address: 1485 Delgany St. Info: mcadenver.org
“Deborah Jack: The Haunting of Estuaries … An (after)math of Confluence,” Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, Sept. 12-Jan. 25
The MCA Denver was built for the video age, and this six-channel video by Deborah Jacks should show off the architecture at its most functional. Jack dives deep into nature for this work, mixing scenes of rumbling waters from four diverse places on the planet: Maine, Louisiana, Brazil and the island of St. Maarten.
As advertised, the work looks at coastlines and shorelines and the way the planet is simultaneously eroding due to climate change and restoring itself through its own natural evolution. Is there anything in all that coastal introspection for an inland audience in Denver, Colorado? That is the challenge, and perhaps, the test, for this show and its organizer, Miranda Lash, the MCA curator who does much work out of town. But Lash has surprised us before.
Address: 1485 Delgany St. Info: mcadenver.org
