The George Washington Class of 1969 produced many talented and accomplished businesspeople, doctors, nurses, lawyers, teachers, writers, and more. Barry Rose is one of our more accomplished alumnus classmates. His art career has spanned more than 40 years. He has allowed us to take a look at a small part of his creations.
“I went on to study art at the University of Washington, Seattle and finished my studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder. I left C.U. when I received my first commission. It was to create a large bas-relief mural for the lobby of the Executive Tower Inn, in Denver, in 1973, and I have never looked back.”
“Community Art”
The Mayor's Award for Excellence in the Arts
This prestigious award was bestowed upon artist Barry Rose for the body of his public artworks and other contributions, by Mayor Wellington Webb.
Barry Rose has invited and involved many different communities in joining in the design and production of a good many participatory artworks. These murals are made with durable materials and permanently displayed in a wide variety of public locations. How many? Believe it or not, it is a number approaching 200.
How did this happen? When Rose was starting his career in art, he had a desire to produce large-scale public artworks as a career…but he faced the dilemma of “breaking in” and without a portfolio, he had nothing to show. He decided to do community artworks as a marketing strategy and often worked for reasonable, but low wages.
To date, his works have been completed by such diverse communities as public and private schools, senior citizen centers, prison populations, psychiatric patients, chronic asthma patients, Alzheimer’s patients, and many other general and specific communities. Each mural clearly expresses something unique about the group that produced it.
As his career proceeded and more substantial commissions of his own works found homes, Rose continued the Community Mural Project. He estimates that upwards of 6,000 people have participated in the projects. According to Barry, it morphed from marketing to a spiritual strategy that has been very fulfilling.
“E Pluribus”
The first large scale community project, Barry headed.
This project included two 4′ X 28′ murals for the Cherry Creek neighborhood in 1976. E Pluribus was the start of the Community Mural Project and my art career.
“Mural Honors Slain State Trooper”
State trooper Lyle Wohlers was killed by two students from Highlands Ranch High School. The school, its students, and the and the community were left in shock. Many of the students were feeling somehow responsible for the actions of their classmates.
To help the community heal, Barry and a group of 20 students spent three months creating a 30-panel bronze mural in honor of the slain officer, as one student said. “It’s my way of apologizing to the family.”
Julie Wohlers, the widow, touching the mural stated. “We in no way blame the high school for the loss of Trooper Lyle Wohlers.”
The mural represented a part of the healing process for the students, the community, and the officers’ family. The students wanted a way to show how much the death of the officer meant to them. As one student, Frank Bacon said. “It shows that we have feelings, too.”
“Coors Field”
Barry was one of the artists involved with two projects at Denver’s Coors Field. A Piece of the Rock and Evolution of the Ball, both featured Barry’s work with terra cotta clay.
Evolution of the Ball
The first piece, “The Evolution of the Ball,” from a dung beetle ball to the 1995 Rockies baseball, involves some creative “balls,” such as the Gumball, the Debutante Ball, and many others. This ensemble piece was headed up by Lonnie Hanzon, with Rose creating the 108 “balls.”
A Piece of the Rock
Barry’s artistic vision created fifty-five, 20″ X 20″ X 6″ glazed terra cotta columbines that serve as capitals at the top of each pilaster, around both on the inside and outside of Coors Field.
The columbine is Colorado’s state flower. Still, it also might be said that they represent the blossoming of Denver’s self-image as it finally became a “major league” city. The tiles were installed during the construction of the stadium before its opening in 1995.
“A Place In Time”
Commissioned and installed on the University of Northern Colorado Campus in 1999.
The artwork, “A Place In Time,” is made from two tons of bronze, seven tons of stone, and 65,000 pounds of concrete. The piece explores the passage of time. Short term time is represented as the shadow of the central 10′ bronze hinge-pin moves across the face of the 45-foot diameter informal sundial — long term time in the allusion to Stonehenge, an ancient cosmic timepiece.
“Helen, Harvey and Henry”
With this bronze sculpture and fountain, Rose pays homage to the years when the Bonfils Theatre was the top attraction in town. It was said that James Stewart came to see the Bonfils’ debut of Harvey, the invisible rabbit, several times before starring in the famous movie.
Once the Denver Center Performing Arts arrived, Henry Lowenstein took over the directorship of the Bonfils Theatre for many years. The building now serves to anchor the Sie Movie Center, a record shop, and the Tattered Cover Book Store…keeping the block in its historical and artistic era a bit longer.
“At The Library,” (known as: “The Book Wall”)
Barry was commissioned by Artreach Inc. to create “At The Library,” commonly known as the book wall. This 3′ X 33′ bas relief mural employs the aesthetic of books on shelves.
The piece was first created and installed by Barry alongside students from Cole Jr. High School to honor Jeannie and John Fuller for their contribution to the arts.
With the remodeling of the library, the original creation could not be moved. Barry received a commission to recreate the wall in a new location using rubbings and photos) and reinstalled in front of the new Denver Main Branch Library on Broadway in 1996.
“Fire Station 18”
In 2012 Rose was selected from over 200 entrants to produce a mural, which represented the continuity between the early volunteer firefighters up to our present-day first responders. The mural, entitled “History and Tradition,” is located on the exterior of Fire House 18 at 8710 E. Alameda Ave. in Denver, Co.
Barry explains, “the mural is a bas-relief. A style of sculpture that is flat on the back and slightly raised on the front. If done well, the illusion of much greater depth is created. The terra cotta clay is glazed and fired to 2,150 degrees, provides a durable and low maintenance surface that stands up to Colorado’s ever-changing temperatures.”
“After the initial proposal, presentations, revisions, and meetings, the sculpting of the piece itself was done in sections and took about six months. The final installation occurred over one week with Rose taking great care to piece each section together in a seamless image.”
Fire Station No. 18 is a rare example of postmodern terra cotta. “The detailed figures in the mural stand shoulder to shoulder and recede, not by importance, but backward in time.
“Historic Building Restoration”
Along with the community work and his own public sculptures, Rose has undertaken the task of restoring historic buildings that involve terra cotta architectural details.
These restoration projects include the Oxford Hotel facade, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, the Dolphin Fountain on the East High Campus, the Grant Humphries Mansion, the Hirschfeld Marriott, and many more, with one project (the Fontius Building) involving 14 tons of clay.
(The Dolphin Fountain restoration, at East High School, is pictured above and on the right.)
Barry
Barry Rose, a Denver native and member of George Washington’s class of 1969, has enjoyed staying in Denver, at what he calls the right time. When Denver was booming and wanting to show its growing sophistication by having an active and vibrant Art In Public Places Program. He is proud to have influenced the state of large art sculpture projects. He is also proud to have received the Ann Love Award for his many historic restorations.
It is, however, the community art that he is most proud of. That art could be a career that would be exciting, occasionally ecstatic, and support a family, too. Yes, it can happen, as Barry put it, “To share the feeling of doing permanent public art with different communities has created many friendships and has helped to connect people with their communities in a lasting and positive way.”
Barry is currently in the process of designing a 12″ x 12″ polished, engraved brass plaque to recognize the Class of 1969’s donation to Colorado UpLift. This plaque will hang in the Colorado UpLift classroom at George Washington High School.
Barry, it is wonderful to learn about your many artistic achievements and successes. Congratulations on an amazing career.
Thanks! This was fabulous to read!!!
Barry has always been talented and one of a kind. I knew when we were 15 years old that this guy was special. What a life he has had and what a lasting tribute his beautiful art is to him and a blessing for the city of Denver.
Bravo and well done! You make all of us proud and you should be proud of an extraordinary career.
I am so happy Barry has done so well with his incredible artistic talent.
We always enjoy seeing your talented art work around the city. Enjoyed reading this so very much. Congratulations on such a unique talent. Very well done. Proud to know you and say I went to High School with you. May you be blessed with many more years of being creative.
BRAVO to a man whom I always have . . . and always will love for his overwhelming generosity!
Barry,
Congratulations on all your accomplishments. Wonderful articles to learn of all your great Colorado work…
Barry,
Those of us in Mrs. Canada’s 2-D classes were awed by your talent and dedication to ceramics. Word spread quickly in the art department when the kiln was unloaded with your stunning work! Congratulations on your career!
Congratulations on your outstanding and bountiful career. Denver is a more beautiful place because of you. Well done.
A well-done article for an immensely creative friend.
Congratulations on your many beautiful and important creations. Proud to be the classmate of someone who enriches environments and brings history alive in the present as you do.