Thief Among Thieves,” through June 28, Museum of Contemporary Art Denver
The MCA greets the warm weather with a painting-heavy roster centered on this promising group show assembled in-house by Nora Burnett Abrams and Adam Lerner. It’s a broadly themed exhibit that lets 23 artists explore their own notions about contemporary life while borrowing ideas from the past. A lot of local favorites here, like Dmitri Obergfill, Amber Cobb, Zach Reini, Theresa Anderson and Derrick Velasquez. 1485 Delgany St., 303-298-7554 or mcadenver.org
Virgil Ortiz, “Revolt 1680/2180,” through Jan. 10, Denver Art Museum
The museum continues its commitment to American Indian art with this imaginative installation by Ortiz, who hails from Cochiti Pueblo in New Mexico. The piece uses murals and clay figures to deliver a narrative stretching from the real Pueblo Revolt of 1680 to an imaginary uprising set in 2180. Should be an event as much as an exhibit. 100 W. 14th Ave., Denver, 720-865-5000 or denverartmuseum.org
“10-Second Film Festival,” Denver Digerati, LED screens, downtown Denver
Denver Digerati brings back its lineup of international, motion-based video artists with a new format, limiting works to just 10 seconds. Pieces by 10 creators, including Laleh Mehran, Evan Mann, Faiyaz Jafri and Milton Croissant III, will appear intermittently on the giant LED screens in the Denver Theatre District. Special Flash Friday screenings are set for June 19, July 24 and Sept. 18. Various locations in the vicinity of the Colorado Convention Center, denverdigerati.com.
The Art Hotel, opens June 16
This boutique hotel is a commercial endeavor but its business plan is irresistible — luring us to its rooms and restaurants with some of the more interesting names in contemporary art. Eat, drink and sleep in spaces featuring work by Jim Dine, Sol LeWitt, Deborah Butterfield, Dinh Q. Lê, Leo Villareal, Vance Kirkland and more. A new attraction for the city. 1201 Broadway, 303-572-8000 or thearthotel.com
Biennial of the Americas, across Denver, July 14 through Aug. 30
The Biennial of the Americas will pack Denver with art from downtown to DIA. The focus is on artists from Mexico and the Western Hemisphere with major group shows at the MCA Denver and the McNichols Building in Civic Center. The list is growing, but highlights include a performance piece by Erick Meyenberg at DIA featuring local students, a screening of Matthew Barney’s epic “River of Fundament” at the Ellie and an interactive installation by Marcela Armas that will exist simultaneously in Denver and Mexico City. Various locations, 720 389 9463 or biennialoftheamericas.org
Chris Ofili, “Night and Day” Aspen Art Museum, July 17-Nov. 1
The Aspen Art Museum will fill all three floors of its nearly new building with this exhibit, traveled from the New Museum in Manhattan where it was a qualified smash. The retrospective reaches from 1992 to the present, tracking an artist who has “dazzled and discomfited, seduced and unsettled, gliding effortlessly between high and low, among cultures, ricocheting off different racial stereotypes and religious beliefs,” according to The New York Times’ Roberta Smith. 637 E. Hyman Ave., Aspen, 970-925-8050 or aspenartmuseum.org
“In Bloom: Painting Flowers in the Age of Impressionism,” July 19-Oct. 11, Denver Art Museum
DAM has been burning through the blockbusters lately and this show of brand name painters is sure to keep the fire raging. The 60 works in this giant floral arrangement come from Impressionism’s biggest hit makers, such as Édouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne, Vincent Van Gogh and others. There’s a $15 ticket on top of regular admission. 100 W. 14th Ave., Denver, 720-865-5000 or denverartmuseum.org
Breckenridge International Festival of Arts, across Breckenridge, Aug. 14-23
Breckenridge jumps hard into the summer arts scene in the Colorado mountains with this new late-summer fest. There’s music, dance and visual art, including Konstantin Dimopoulos‘ deforestation-themed “The Blue Trees,” which promises to transform trees into art, plus mixed-media work from Julie Hughes and environmental sculptors Steuart Bremner and Terry Talty. Various locations, 970-453-3187 or breckcreate.org/bifa
Ray Mark Rinaldi: 303-954-1540, rrinaldi@denverpost.com or twitter.com/rayrinaldi
