In 1960 the legendary singer-songwriter Roy Orbison released his first top-ten hit “Only the Lonely (Know the Way I Feel).” He and co-writer Joe Melson originally tried to sell the song to Elvis, but after he turned it down, they decided to record it themselves. Orbison’s haunting vocals and unconventional arrangements of this song established his trademark sound. Today, “Only the Lonely” echoes through The Dikeou Collection galleries thanks to a set of handmade speakers built by artist Joshua Smith’s grandfather, which he gifted to the artist on the occasion of his high school graduation. Smith graduated in 2001 and brought the speakers into his artistic repertoire in 2007; he was 24 years old at this time, the same age as Orbison when he released the song. For a work loaded with minutiae, this secondary coincidence is another tie that binds personal, familial, and universal histories together.

In the six-year span between the speakers existing as household objects and objets d’art, they acquired the typical stains and scratches any well-loved furnishing would endure. Combined with the melodies that emanate from within, one cannot help but create a heavily romanticized and emotional interpretation of the work. But when removed from a domestic setting and programmed to repeat “Only the Lonely” every minute and 44 seconds, grandpa’s speakers become “a piece” of time-based media that calls for “a subtle jabbing not at minimalism or late modernism, but at the contemporary rush to further deconstruct these movements.” Straddled between the palpable and the conceptual, Smith’s Untitled (Speakers) also hovers around a nebulous space that engenders both collaboration and appropriation.

Engineering and constructing custom audio equipment is an artform in and of itself, and Smith’s grandfather is demonstrably adept at this craft. The speakers are the intermediary between Orbison’s music and Smith’s philosophy; it is a tripartite union bound by Smith’s artful moderation. While the art of appropriation is far from new, Smith’s use of the speaker as a primary formal device comes right at the crux of its popularity in the 21^st century timeline. Tom Sachs has been creating his own boomboxes and DJ gear with heavily appropriated materials since the mid-90s, with many of the pieces playing his personal musical selections. Mark Leckey started constructing and exhibiting his sound systems in the early 2000s, and artists Gary Simmons and Cosmo Whyte continue to build the sound system culture within the art world today. Smith’s Untitled (Speakers) may be miniscule in scale compared to works by the aforementioned artists, but its output is far from small – the sound is as powerful as the sentiment.

-Hayley Richardson

In the fall of 2011 Brooklyn-based artist Nils Folke Anderson installed one of his mammoth sculptures at The Dikeou Collection and two at the former Dikeou Pop-Up Space, each Untitled yet identified by the street names of their locations (California and Bannock, respectively). The sculptures have lives of their own as, by their very nature, they shift and squeak and shed little foam balls, minutely changing form over time. Consisting of 9 large interlocking squares of Styrofoam, they reflect the artist’s interest in reciprocal linkage, an internet term that represents an agreement between two webmasters to provide links to one another’s websites. Reciprocal linkage also carries symbolic meaning about balance, change, and reciprocity. While interpreting this work through a lens that is “the year 2020,” the philosophy embedded in Nils’ sculptures rings clear during this unhinged time in history.

Each of the squares that make up Nils’ sculptures measure about 9 feet long on each side. The squares are connected in a chain link fashion and start off in a geometrically pleasing nested pattern. When ready to install, Nils moves and manipulates the squares by standing them up and rotating them around, allowing other pieces to fall and turn on their own. The configuration is constantly in flux and there is no predetermined arrangement – the artist’s decision to stop comes when he feels “the elements make an interdependent stasis,” where it can stand on its own and satisfy its relationship with the space. There is no predicting how long the sculpture will be able to support itself. Eventually it starts to slip, making shrill sounds as the foam rubs against itself and shed little pieces on the floor.

In sculpture, certain parts need to lower their profile to prop up others so that the unit as a whole can achieve stability. In life, those with privilege, platforms, and strength need to learn how to use those benefits to support others for the sake of overall balance and equality. As our world struggles dramatically in health, human rights, politics, education, climate change, and economics, we need to learn to find balance through sacrifice. We also must accept that balance is not permanent, and when one area starts to fall we must readjust our priorities and prior configurations in order to support a new composition. Nils’ sculptures at The Dikeou Collection and Dikeou Pop-Up Space have not remained in the same positions he left them. People nudge the edges as they walk by, kids have crawled through like jungle gyms. An employee insisted the installations at the pop-up moved several feet across the room on their own. In the many forms the sculptures have taken, they always achieve harmony through change.

-Hayley Richardson

The Dikeou Collection is known for exhibiting artworks that are large, unusual, interactive, and attention-grabbing. Whether it’s Wade Guyton’s obtuse yet playful “The Room Moved the Way Blocked,” Momoyo Torimitsu’s startling “Miyata Jiro,” or Agathe Snow’s enveloping “Sludgie the Whale,” these pieces are sure to punctuate the memory of one’s visit to the collection. Then there are those that are smaller, quieter. Where subtlety is used to draw the viewer in for closer inspection and consideration. “Best Actress” by Jonathan Horowitz is one such piece. Comprised of 30 text-based prints on pale pink paper, this unassuming work holds the viewer’s gaze unlike any other, as they try to unravel its meaning.

Each one of the thirty “Best Actress” prints display the name(s) of Hollywood actors and actresses as they appear on the cast billing of their respective [unnamed] film. With the exception of the first three prints positioned at the top left, actress Julia Roberts appears throughout the whole series, her name printed in a slightly darker shade to highlight its position amongst her fellow performers. Typically, the names are ordered with the principal characters/actors at the beginning and smaller roles at the end. Roberts’ name moves around precariously throughout the lists, depending on the size of the cast and on the significance of her role.

“Best Actress,” then, essentially tracks Roberts’ rise to fame, starting with her first appearance in 1988’s Mystic Pizza (a role so small that her name does not appear in the billing at all) up through the very early 2000s. Roberts appears in some tremendous ensemble films like Steel Magnolias with prominent female leads, other times it is just her name with one male lead actor, with his name typically above hers. In 1990 her name appears below Richard Gere with her breakout role in Pretty Woman. Flash forward to 1999 and Roberts’ gets the top spot above Gere in Runaway Bride. The tables turned in her favor, but the best, and worst, is yet to come.

In 2000, Julia Roberts starred as the title character in Erin Brockovich. The film was a critical and box office success, but Roberts’ performance is what made Erin Brockovich memorable and garnered many accolades and awards, including the highly-esteemed Best Actress Oscar at the 72^nd Academy Awards. In Horowitz’s piece, her name appears on its own. She is THE single star, without a man’s name above or below hers to gauge her value. She’s at the pinnacle.

Roberts followed up Erin Brockovich a year later with The Mexican, an adventure comedy which she starred in alongside Brad Pitt. Here we have two powerhouse performers at the peak of their careers starring in a lukewarm film that does not do their talents justice. And where is the Best Actress winner’s name in the cast list? Below Mr. Pitt’s, of course. How silly to think that a woman can hold her #1 spot for more than a year before getting second chair to male counterparts. Horowitz’s “Best Actress” could have very well been a series of 29 prints on pink paper with Erin Brockovich being the one to cap it off, but inclusion of The Mexican is what drives the message home. Enduring success is challenging in any field, but for women in Hollywood, it’s about as long as an Oscar acceptance speech.

-Hayley Richardson

Photo by From the Hip Photography

“Small world!” A short but powerful phrase that binds seemingly disparate people who share an unusual and unexpected connection. With extreme limitations currently in place, socializing with new people and having these “small world” moments is less frequent, but thanks to the internet we can still have this experience in the virtual realm. Since the opening of Devon Dikeou’s “Mid-Career Smear” at The Dikeou Collection, people have been sharing their photos of the exhibition online, circulating them far and wide. One such image found its way to a woman named Lizzi in New York City who was amazed to see a vivid element from her childhood past be one of the defining visual features of “Mid-Career Smear.”

Fragment of original wallpaper installed at the home of Lucy Sharp Dikeou

Back track to exactly 2 years ago… to when Devon happened upon scraps of torn up wallpaper mixed in with one of her old drawing portfolios. Finding this immediately transported her to her mother’s home circa 1970, where this wild psychedelic floral wallpaper adorned a petite powder room. It was removed for redecorating, but three pieces were salvaged by Devon who knew they would be useful later. These pieces were enough to create a digital replica of the full pattern, and were handed over to a custom wallpaper company for production. By October 2019 the wallpaper was printed, shipped, and installed at The Dikeou Collection as part of the “Mid-Career Smear” exhibition.

Photo by Cori Anderson

Hung in the same room as Wade Guyton’s “the Room Moved the Way Blocked (Stage 1)” and accented with a grasshopper green ceiling, the wallpaper pattern became a crucial part of the exhibition’s branding and appeared on invitations, brochures, pamphlets, and other signage. Precisely two weeks after the opening, an email popped up from someone named Lizzi who received photos of the wallpaper from a friend and said that she grew up with the exact same design in her family’s New York apartment in the late 1960s. A very unique and surprising “small world” moment!

Photo courtesy of Lizzi Katz

But it didn’t stop there… after a brief exchange of how their mothers’ taste in decorating shaped their aesthetic views, Lizzi shared another photo of a different wallpaper from growing up. Lo and behold, Devon also lived with this very same wallpaper – hung in another powder room at her mother’s house. Granted, wallpaper was popular décor back then, but these patterns are particularly unique, and for two people who have never met and live in different parts of the country have two of the same designs is a pretty significant coincidence. And for the daughters of these two people to connect 5 decades later, in the midst of global isolation, makes the story even more magical. In an email Lizzi expressed that this discovery and exchange “has been some brightness in this crazy overwhelming time.”

Photo courtesy of Lizzi Katz, Jonathan Katz, and Sandor Ellix Katz

All of us at The Dikeou Collection hope you are finding ways to stay connected to those you know, and even those you don’t, during a time where so much is unknown. Use art as the bridge, the conduit, the olive branch or whatever you need it be to connect and ground you in the familiar, and also be the means to discover and explore. Thanks to Lizzi for reaching out to us!

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