Culture, Arts and Architecture

Another beautiful, sunny day! After breakfast at Snooze in Union Station (delicious eggs benedict & pancakes & hash), we left for the Civic Center Cultural Center (photo below) and the Denver Art Museum. 

 

  Since we've been here last time, the Art Museum opened the new Sie Welcome Center (right photo) in addition to Daniel Libeskind's spectacular Hamilton Wing and the former North Building (now Martin Building). Exhibitions were arranged newly, and, we especially loved the Indian Art and the Wester Art Collection. Such an instructive presentation!

 

Also, views from the Martin Building tower deck are gorgeous, towards Rockies and downtown (photos below).

In the new building is a fantastic restaurant, The Ponti, and, we enjoyed a delicious meal there. On the photo (right) my dish with smoked trout, avocado and filo dough. 

On to the Kirkland Museum afterwards, which was newly opened in 2018, just around the corner from the Art Museum. We had visited the old, cramped old-fashioned museum long time ago, but the new one is much nicer! Airy and large, with exhibitions arranged in chronological "sections", as "salons", furnished with fitting pieces (interesting chairs!), with paintings, and with  decorative art - porcellan, pottery, etc. - from all over the world, collected by Kirkland and his curator Hugh Grant. 

At the same time, there are paintings from Kirkland himself (left photo) and a Colorado Art Collection. There is the old studio, which was moved to become an addition to the new museum, and, there, the belt-construction, Kirkland used to create his so-called dot paintings from above (photo below).  

 

 

Spent quite some time there before we explored downtown a bit more and discovered the new McGregor Square (photo below) with the old Tattered Cover Bookstore (right photo) - which moved to this new location. 

 

 

 

 In the evening we were invited to dinner at a steakhouse, called "The Urban Farmer". Very casual (though, not really inexpensive), headed by a highly creative young chef, Ryan Rau, who we met. And, superb steaks! We had the "tasting plate" of four different little steaks - grass-fed, grain-fed, dry-aged and bison - and tasty sides (mushrooms and potato-tart) as well as appetizers - e.g. the octopus-pork belly plate (photo below). They do the aging of the steaks, the fermenting and pickling themselves in house, even grow some micro-greens. Fantastic last meal in Denver! 

 Good night and farewell to Denver!