Robin Rule at Dikeou Collection, photo by Mary Barone

The benefit of a mid-sized city like Denver is that it is easy for members of the art community to bind together and become a small yet mighty army of people who support one another’s endeavors. The downside, though, is that the loss of just one crucial player can have a distressing effect on the rest of the team. With the passing of Robin Rule last December, founder and owner of RULE Gallery, the local art community proves that it can pull together and continue an important legacy in spite of death and mourning.

Robin Rule entered the Denver art scene in 1987, and quickly established herself as a woman with great enthusiasm, taste, and straightforward honesty. She opened RULE Gallery in 1992, which became recognized for its psychologically inquisitive stable of artists and cohesively curated exhibitions, which were often inspired by dreams Robin had. Her keen eye and candid point of view helped artists harness and refine their work. Perhaps one of the reasons artists valued her opinion so much is because she lived much like them – a frugal life fueled by a passion for sharing meaningful art and connections. It is for these reasons, and certainly many others, that her absence has been sorely felt in the city.

The decision to continue the gallery or not was not an easy one for Robin’s family or staff to make. There wasn’t even a physical space for the gallery at the time, but it was the artists who made the push to keep things moving forward. Valerie Santerli took on the role of Director, and is supported by her colleagues Rachel Beitz and Hilary Morris. RULE Gallery is now settled into a permanent location in Denver’s River North (RiNo) Art District, which has grown into a thriving area in recent years. I had the opportunity to exchange a few emails with Valerie and meet her in the new space to learn what it’s been like to carry on without the gallery’s namesake.

Valerie and Robin met in 2006 through a collaborative curatorial project. Robin offered her a job on the day they met, but it wasn’t until a few months later, at a reception at Dikeou Collection, that she accepted. Robin became an invaluable mentor and friend to Valerie, and she believes in carrying Robin’s values in the gallery today.

Valerie Santerli pulls two works by Nathan Abels from the flat files.

Prior to moving into the current location, RULE opened a pop-up exhibition featuring the work of Nathan Abels at the Hinterland gallery space, and during that time a permanent space in the same building became available.

Convenience aside, the space is ideal because it shares certain qualities with previous RULE Gallery locations (there were 3 last time I counted). It is a single room with high ceilings and immaculate floors and walls. The spartan environment allows for that trademark cohesiveness in curation to shine, and as Valerie describes, distills the visitor experience into one purely based on looking and absorbing

The current exhibition, (in parentheses), features minimalist paintings and sculpture by Joseph Coniff, an artist who gained representation from RULE Gallery when he was barely out of college. He first exhibited with Robin in 2010 in a show called 4.0, which included recent art school graduates, as well as current students. It was the first commercial exhibition for these artists, and they have since become dedicated to their studio practices and exhibit their work regularly.

Joseph says that first exhibition served as a springboard for his transition out of art school, and that Robin continued to offer her knowledge and honesty for the benefit of his artistic development. Joseph recalled a day when he dropped by the gallery to show her some new prints for an upcoming exhibition. Her reaction: “I don’t like them…Art can be good, but not good for the gallery.” As much as it may sting, this is probably the greatest and hardest lesson an artist has to learn.

His current work of tri-color canvases and delicate grid work demonstrate a high level of restraint and personal understanding that takes most artists decades to develop. The sculpture “Post Lantern” shares these traits, but adds some humor to the mix.

Coniff doesn’t have complete reign over the gallery’s walls, though. Hung up high near the ceiling is a portrait of Robin from when she was a child, painted by Rosie Fisher, a friend of her mother. This memento reminds all who enter the gallery of the individual who started it all. Not everyone will recognize the portrait or understand why it’s there, but it will certainly bring lots of smiles and questions about the story of who this cheerful looking girl is and why she watches from above.

Valerie expressed that it still doesn’t feel like she is working without Robin, and that her wisdom still pervades. Robin believed in the power of collaboration, and that it is better to combine forces rather than divide. The initial pop-up exhibition at Hinterland is a testament to this idea, which they intend to build upon further. RULE’s next exhibition is a collaborative Pop-Up Project with the Carmen Wiedenhoeft Gallery, which will have two solo exhibitions. RULE Gallery will present Overlook, a series of paintings and drawings by artist Nina Elder in the back gallery while Carmen will present Imposition, new photographs by Evan Anderman in the front space. Both shows/artists address the contemporary Western Landscape using different mediums but with a unified perspective depicting man’s influence on the land.

“Goddess,” by Dale Chisman (1943-2008), given to Robin on her birthday in 1990

Although I never had the opportunity to meet Robin, I feel her enthusiasm for life and art come through when the people who knew her talk about her. She touched many lives and helped shaped Denver’s art scene into what it is today, and with the continuation of the gallery her vision and sensibilities are sure to carry on.

(in parentheses) is on view through October 5, 2014 at RULE Gallery, 3254 Walnut St, Denver, CO 80205. Normal hours are Tuesday - Saturday 12 - 6p but the gallery will be closed August 29 - September 2 for the Holiday. The gallery will be open extra hours for First Friday, September 5 from 6-9pm.

The joint pop-up exhibition will open Friday September 12, from 6-9pm at the Carmen Wiedenhoeft Gallery located at 3542 Walnut St in RiNo and will remain on view through October 18, 2014. A free artist talk with Nina Elder and Evan Anderman will take place on Saturday, September 27 at 2pm.

-Hayley Richardson