East grad Jordan Casteel had her first solo museum show at the Denver Art Museum where she visited as a young girl growing up in Denver. Casteel’s show featured nearly 30 paintings. Using her own photographs, Casteel paints African men and women in domestic environments, street scenes and places of business. They are intimate portraits of often overlooked members of society. She has a deeply empathetic approach to portraiture.
Cissy Nuanes, retired East teacher and museum docent, gave seven tours of the Jordan Casteel exhibit. Cissy and her visitors found the colorful large-scale portraits captivating, many visitors returning for a second time. The exhibit seemed to encourage visitors to interact with one another and be more present in the space.
At the entrance to the exhibition, visitors were invited to take a small card with a detail of Jordan Casteel’s work on one side and a prompt on the other. Prompts included: ask someone a question; make eye contact with someone and smile; take a second look and see something new; say hello to someone you don’t know and be present and listen. The hope was to activate the gallery with application beyond the museum doors! Jordan Casteel and her work are engaging and thoughtful.
A solo show at the Denver Art Museum is historic, and at age 30! An “Angel” to watch.
