Birger Sandzen at the Colorado Springs Fine Art Center

In the foothills, lithograph by B.Sandzen

Friday I went to the CS FAC to see the 66 paintings and lithographs on loan from the Birger Sandzen Memorial Gallery in Lindsborg, Kansas. This artist is known for his amazing color and thick impasto paint and it was truly worth seeing in person. Photographs of his work do not do it justice. The nuances of color and just how well he captures light is so often lost in the reproductions I have seen. I would have loved to have bought the book on his Colorado paintings but the colors were flat out dull. A real travesty.
I was taken by the prints in the exhibit. When I first saw that the show was a mix of prints and paintings I just could not imagine why they would include prints. Well, now I know! The lithographs in particular were stunning. There were a few that were displayed next to the painting he also did of the same subject and though I have a new respect for his painting that I just did not have from seeing only photographs in magazines, I was taken away by the energy in his black and white lithographs.
Please do yourself a favor and go see this show. It is on view through January 8, 2012. You will never see the Garden of the Gods in the same light again! Remember to stand across the room and look at his work from distance and angles and then go up close to see what makes this man special. I plan to go back at least once more if not twice. Very energizing.
Entrance fee: $10; over 62: $8.50. There is a nice restaurant with a view of Pikes Peak too!