MCA Denver's Colorado Currents Surveys 28 Artists for State's 150th Anniversary
From July 24 to November 15, 2026, the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver will host Colorado Currents, an exhibition honoring the state's 150th anniversary. This event features the work of twenty-eight contemporary artists with ties to Colorado, curated by Miranda Lash, Leilani Lynch, Jane Sook Burke, Katja Rivera, and Ilan Gutin. The first floor highlights Indigenous legacies, showcasing Ronald Rael's 3D-printed adobe sculpture alongside ledger drawings by Halcyon Levi and George Curtis Levi, descendants of Sand Creek Massacre victims. Additional artworks include cyanotypes from Desert ArtLAB, geologic abstractions by Floyd D. Tunson, and a self-portrait by Caleb Hahne Quintana. The exhibition also includes pieces from Carlos Frésquez, Keith Mayerson, and the late Devon Dikeou, who recently passed away.
Key facts
- Colorado Currents runs July 24–November 15, 2026 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver.
- The survey features twenty-eight contemporary artists with ties to Colorado and commemorates the state's 150th anniversary.
- Curators Miranda Lash and Leilani Lynch spent eighteen months organizing the exhibition, with support from Jane Sook Burke, Katja Rivera, and Ilan Gutin.
- Ronald Rael's 3D-printed adobe sculpture anchors the first floor's focus on Indigenous legacies and techniques.
- George Curtis Levi and Halcyon Levi, Southern Cheyenne Tribe of Oklahoma members, are descendants of Sand Creek Massacre victims; U.S. troops killed some 230 Cheyenne and Arapaho people in 1864.
- Caleb Hahne Quintana's family postponed a 1999 visit to Columbine High School on the day of the shooting; his self-portrait frames him behind two columbine blooms.
- Margaret Kasahara references the 2012 Waldo Canyon Fire, which displaced her from her home.
- Devon Dikeou, whose conceptual works mocked Aspen's luxury elitism, died earlier this month.
Entities
Artists
- Miranda Lash
- Leilani Lynch
- Jane Sook Burke
- Katja Rivera
- Ilan Gutin
- Ronald Rael
- George Curtis Levi
- Halcyon Levi
- Esteban Cabeza de Baca
- Chelsea Kaiah
- Floyd D. Tunson
- Maeve Eichelberger
- Margaret Kasahara
- Caleb Hahne Quintana
- Carlos Frésquez
- Marcus Correa
- Felipe Romero Beltrán
- David Ocelotl Garcia
- Keith Mayerson
- Kristopher Wright
- Devon Dikeou
- Evan Forrest Mann
- Ben Kinsley
- Alfred Korzybski
- Emilie Trice
- Wes Magyar
- Anthony Kiendl
- Senga Nengudi
- Tina Walls
- Peaches
- Herbert Bayer
Institutions
- Museum of Contemporary Art Denver
- RedLine
- Fine Arts Center at Colorado College
- Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design
- Southern Cheyenne Tribe of Oklahoma
- Desert ArtLAB
- Columbine High School
- Hudson River School
- American Academy in Rome
- Southwest Contemporary
- Holiday Theater
- Denver Art Museum
- Octopus Initiative
Locations
- Denver
- Colorado
- United States
- San Luis
- Five Points
- Aspen
- Rocky Mountains
- High Rockies
- Waldo Canyon
- Sand Creek
- Oklahoma
- Mexico
- Rome
- Italy
- Canada
- Berlin
- Germany
- Mexico City
- Delgany Street
- Denver Design District