Art explodes in RINO for July 4

With this month’s First Friday falling on July 4, most of the city’s venues have passed on participating which is no surprise since just about every gallery is closed.

But there are some venues that just can’t let the day go without an event, and a couple of those spots are in RINO just north of downtown.

The neighborhood’s flagship operation, Ironton Studios and Gallery (3636 Chestnut Street, 303-297-8626, www.irontonstudios.com), is hosting a reception for the Fourth of July Ironton Group Show and Party from 7 to 10 p.m. The exhibit will feature pieces by the seventeen artists who are part of the collective, including the two newest members, painter Andy Berg and woodworker Kagen Schaefer.

While you’re in the neighborhood you might also want to check out Plinth Gallery (3520 Brighton Boulevard, 303-295-0717, www.plinthgallery.com), which is holding an opening tonight from 6 to 9 p.m. for Tacha Vosburgh’s Dreaming and Reflecting, an exhibit of ceramic sculptures and vessels or hybrids of the two like the one pictured. Vosburgh, who splits her time between Maine and Arizona, creates work through hand building and wheel throwing.

Plinth Gallery is a ceramic specialist, and it was originally opened last year to exclusively showcase and sell the work of its owner, Jonathan Kaplan, but it has since broadened its scope to include the work of other top tier talents like Vosburgh.

As these events in RINO demonstrate, not all the fireworks will be outside tonight, some will be inside in the form of striking art. -- Michael Paglia