It's always a good sign when choosing the annual top 10 list of Colorado art exhibitions causes anguish because of the abundance of worthy candidates. That was certainly the case in 2003.

So, after considerable reflection, here are my picks for the best shows I covered last year:

"Louise Bourgeois: The Early Works," Dec. 13, 2002- Feb. 2, Aspen Art Museum. One would be hard pressed to recall a more breathtaking sight in a Colorado art exhibition, or anywhere for that matter, than the panorama of two dozen of Bourgeois' classic standing sculptures arrayed across the museum's main gallery. They were among 80 works in this superb look at one of the world's most important living artists.

Original prints by Universal Limited Art Editions, Feb. 21-April 5, Rule Gallery. This first-class group of 20 works gave Denver viewers a look at some of today's most technically sophisticated and aesthetically pleasing pieces in the printmaking field. At the same time, it provided examples by artists whose work in any medium is rare in Denver, such as Jasper Johns and Lisa Yuskavage.

"2003 Colorado Biennial: 10+10," June 6-Sept. 7, Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver. This creatively organized offering resonated with a sense of the new, edgy and unconventional. It shined the spotlight on a sizable assortment of state artists who not only don't have commercial gallery representation but are hardly known at all.

"Augustus Saint-Gaudens: American Sculptor of the Gilded Age," Aug. 28-Oct. 26, Money Museum and Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. This extraordinary exhibition, on tour to 12 cities, contained 70 selections in an array of two- and three-dimensional media, including significant examples of nearly all his important works. It commendably highlighted a segment of American art history that gets little attention in Colorado.

"Gene Kloss: A Centennial Tribute," Sept. 9-Nov. 1, and two related offerings, Sangre de Cristo Arts Center, Pueblo. These three exhibitions combined on the centennial of Kloss' birth to offer the largest and most definitive look ever at this underappreciated Taos artist. The creative zenith of her output extends through the 1940s, including a breathtaking series of New Mexican landscapes.

"Frank Sampson Retrospective," Sept. 12-Nov. 16, Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities. Sampson never has made the big time, but this enthralling retrospective made clear he can be proud of his accomplishments in a five-decade career. The ambitious offering contained 64 paintings plus 21 original prints and drawings.

"H20," Sept. 12-Nov. 7, VictoriaH. Myhren Gallery, University of Denver. Curator Jo Anna Isaak skillfully combined traditional media with video and computer art, taking care to provide as much stimulation for the mind as the eye in this provocative thematic offering. It exuberantly explored the metaphorical, sensorial and physical properties of water.

"El Greco to Picasso from the Phillips Collection," Oct. 4-Jan. 4, Denver Art Museum. Heralded by museum director Lewis Sharp as the most important painting exhibition to visit Denver, it certainly lived up to its billing. The show proved to be a huge hit with viewers, selling out its final weekend, even with significantly expanded viewing hours.

"Full Frontal: Contemporary Artists from the Logan Collection," Oct. 18-May 23, Denver Art Museum. Although this offering contains just 13 figurative paintings, sculptures and photographers in one gallery, it is an unqualified knock-out. Bursting with eye-opening colors, bold compositions and palpable energy, these Chinese works pop off the walls and almost grab viewers by the lapels.

Photographs by Andrea Modica, Nov. 7-Jan. 2, Sandy Carson Gallery. This Manitou Springs photographer has achieved national acclaim with unforgettable images suffused with a sense of mystery and an enigmatic narrative, which can seem other-worldly and even unsettling at times. A striking cross-section of 38 of her photos was featured in what was her second solo exhibition in Denver.

Special note: Metropolitan State College of Denver's Center for the Visual Arts offered several exhibitions that each just missed the cut for the top 10 but still deserve recognition. Among them, the offering that best indicated the facility's commendably adventurous tilt under its new director and curator, Kathy Andrews, was "Sandy Skoglund: Breathing Glass and Other Works," March 15-May 2.

Honorable mentions: "Street Level: A Century of New York StreetPhotography," Jan. 9-March 30, Mizel for Arts and Culture; Sarah McKenzie, Jan 17-Feb. 28, Sandy Carson Gallery; "Robert Mangold: Paintings, 1990-2002," Feb. 14-April 13, Aspen Art Museum; "Bonnard," March 1-May 25, Denver Art Museum; "La Raza Cosmica," April 11-May 30, PlatteForum, and Judy Pfaff, May 8-June 21, Robischon Gallery.