Established in 1975, the gallery has always been located in areas adjacent to downtown. Our present home is within two miles of the Denver Art Museum, the Performing Arts Center, and the 16th and 17th street shopping and business locales. Four years after our purchase of this building on Santa Fe Drive, the area has developed into a vibrant, thriving arts district with over a dozen galleries, a museum and a theater. In a Denver Post newspaper article the neighborhood was titled “The Heart of Art." The community has given it that identity as well; hundreds of art viewers visit the Santa Fe Art District first Fridays of each month.

If there is a symbolic and spiritual reality, then various circumstances confirmed the appropriateness of the purchase of our building at 760 Santa Fe Drive. It was meant to be. In 1999, I discovered when reading the deed papers of our 1889 building, that it was once owned by Vance Kirkland, one of Denver’s internationally recognized painters. Further confirmation that we had bought the right place came when our contractor found a candle in the shape of an angel in the basement of the building and asked if I wanted to keep it. Having just lost our beloved daughter, Jodi, the angel, to me, represented her presence in the art world that so captivated her. The angel sits on my desk as a perpetual reminder of how fitting this building is as the gallery’s home.

Having 4800 square feet, the gallery is divided into a 2700 square foot exhibition space with moveable walls which create an ever changing backdrop for our shows. The back room is always open for perusal and contains a presentation area and hundreds of artworks: canvases, drawings, limited edition prints, sculptures, tapestries, photographs, furniture- a veritable banquet of art resources. Not only is our gallery a forum for our artists, but we have exhibited their work in art fairs in Chicago, New York, Miami and Seattle. In this way, the artists we so admire are exposed to a national audience.

Although we represent many established artists of significant reputation, we take great pleasure in the career development of talented, emerging young artists. We have never limited our search for the stimulating and the innovative in art. Therefore, we have not restricted our stable of artists, which continues to grow.

From the inception of the business, The Carson Group, Art Consultants has been a parallel arm to our gallery. As an advisory service, for our clients, it provides yet another means for collectors to acquire art and to explore the plethora of works in the art world. We streamline the process for them and reduce the overwhelming amount of information to a graspable selection of appropriate material. It is our purpose to provide art that is timeless in its visual statement. Art that piques the intellect as well as the emotions never loses its appeal. Uncrating or unwrapping the artwork for our next exhibit is like opening presents, a constant delight. Despite the numerous exhibits over the years, I am always energized when I see the new artwork. In an atmosphere of cordiality and informality, we are pleased to discuss and present the art that inhabits our building.

Sandy Carson