Calling all art lovers! Union Hall is the non-profit arts exhibition space located inside The Coloradan (1750 Wewatta St.) in downtown Denver and its new exhibition AURA will debut on May 13 and run through July 9. AURA is produced collaboratively by Union Hall, Denver Film Festival and Denver-based curator Eriko Tsogo.
Photo: Union Hall / AURA
AURA explores the interdisciplinary territory of art and technology – presenting a mix of traditional and experimental art forms challenging the possibilities of creative innovation to enlist technology as new modes of valuation and expression in cultural production and critique. AURA seeks to challenge the preconceptions about art on the forefront of innovation, in what is next and to inspire new ways of creative thinking.
The title AURA was inspired by Walter Benjamin’s 1936 essay “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”. The philosopher postulates that objects in the real world, including artworks, have an aura. He describes this aura as a factor or spirit of uniqueness attached to real objects, which sets them apart from reproductions or copies. As new forms of technology continue to emerge 86 years later, the artists in this exhibition explore the ways that we live in digital worlds and physical ones, challenging the idea that only “real” objects possess an aura.
AURA features works by Alex Branch, Sam Grabowska, Esther Hz, Anna Kaye, Christine Nguyen, Jodi Stuart, Autumn Thomas, Melanie Clemmons and Zak Loyd.
Union Hall is hosting an Opening Reception for AURA on Friday, May 13 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Light refreshments will be provided. The reception is FREE and open to the public.