Since 2013, independent curator Cortney Lane Stell has worked closely with artist Devon Dikeou to bring the idea of Devon’s mid-career retrospective to life. The first decision, naturally, was that The Dikeou Collection would be the most fitting venue for the exhibition as it matches the expansive, varied, meandering, and oftentimes quirky nature of not only Devon’s art practice but also her history in publishing zingmagazine and eye for collecting contemporary art. After many happy hour meetings over corndogs and tater tots, and about 30 floor plan revisions, the time came in April 2019 for The Dikeou Collection to temporarily “go dark” and prepare to install Devon Dikeou’s “Mid-Career Smear” retrospective, which is now open to the public Wednesday-Friday, 11am-5pm and by appointment.

Existential Viewing, 1986

With 7 years of anticipation built up, the opening reception on February 20 was an explosion of hundreds of people, kick ass music, amusing performance antics, food galore, and overwhelming amounts of love and support for one of the most prolific artists to come out of Denver. From her very early work from her MFA days at School of Visual Art (Existential Viewing, 1986 Ongoing) to work so new that the paint just dried (Café de Flore, 2019 Ongoing), “Mid-Career Smear” truly captures the evolution of Dikeou’s work through the decades. Even her more ephemeral participatory performance works like Out, Out Damn Spot (1992 Ongoing) and One Little Piggy (1991 Ongoing) gave visitors the chance to fully indulge in the wide yet particular scope of her practice.

Security/Insecure, 1989, Security Gate Installation with Plexiglas

Though there are several conceptual threads that weave throughout Devon’s work, the one that permeates the entire exhibition is the idea of “in-betweeness.” This “in-between” is similar to what one would call a liminal space, but Devon gives it more structure and definition – making it less mysterious and amorphous. The most potent examples of this are the City Gates installations (1989 Ongoing) and So We Must Keep Apart… (1993 Ongoing) which are actual doorways that one would typically encounter on a city street or in their neighborhood. The City Gates are installed with nothing behind them but a wall, so they are like passageways to nowhere. By removing the access from the gates, the viewer is left with an even greater urge of wanting to pass through them. So We Must Keep Apart… is a screen door that visitors are able to open and walk through, which seems rather arbitrary until the door gives a loud SLAM and snaps the brain into realizing that they hit a transitory spot in the exhibition. The “in-betweeness” is also apparent in smaller yet still very defined objects, like mirrors, flowers, and interior décor.

In addition to The Dikeou Collection venue downtown, “Mid-Career Smear” will also occupy the Dikeou Pop-Up: Colfax (opening March 19), Tiny Town (opening June 6), and an airstream trailer at 13^th & Cherokee. Underscoring the immense breadth of Devon’s practice, this ancillary network points once again to “in-betweeness” and how her practice extends beyond typical museum and gallery spaces.  There will be public receptions to commemorate the opening of these additional venues, as well a variety of unique programming throughout the duration of the exhibition. Information about upcoming events can be found on The Dikeou Collection event calendar, through our email list, and all of our social media platforms.

-Hayley Richardson