“Super Synthetic” is an ongoing art exhibit in Guggenheim Hall containing large-scale, 3-D printed works based off traditional playground equipment.
Jodi Stuart, the creator of Super Synthetic, is an artist based in Denver. Stuart is originally from New Zealand and found her way to Denver in 2010. She has recently completed a two-year residency at the RedLine Contemporary Art Center in Denver.
Stuart’s modern exhibit uses bright colors, weaving and knitting to create a Candy Land-sculptured playground. She creates a sweet and scary exhibit by adding color to distorted figures . The exhibit has a total of seven, separate pieces that contain vibrant colors with not a single monochromatic piece in sight. Stuart creates a space where onlookers are able to touch the artwork by pushing the swing or running their hands over the texture of the archway.
When first entering the art exhibit, a large archway sculpture captures the viewers attention. The sides of the arch-way is made from a pink Styrofoam bottom, resembling the color and texture of cotton candy. The rest of the arch way is made of a multi-colored material which looks like thinned, stretched out licorice.
Compared to other sculptures in the exhibit one specific piece of art contains a particularly impressive concept; A yellow swing at the far end of the exhibit with sharp edges for teeth, a wide mouth, and beady eyes. The yellow causes the monster to be cute rather than scary and being able to push the swing makes the sculpture less intimidating.
On the left side corner of the exhibit a wall of mini polychromatic sculptures fill up the entire area. The rounded figures are similar to the sight of Slinkys going down a set of stairs. A few of these Slinky-sculptures give the illusion of emerging from another dimension through the Styrofoam material placed on the wall.
Onlookers continue around the exhibit realizing Stuarts playground ideas do not stop at the playground walls and swings but contains a twisted art figure lays in the middle of the ground. The art piece has multiple colors of styrofoam material tied together to form a crayon.
The Candy Land theme continues with a broken piece of playground equipment situated at the back of the room. The sculpture has similar colors to a bucket of neapolitan ice cream. No other sculptures in the collection contain light pink and white colors closely together. The brown creates a contrast between the pink and white but matches the color scheme.
One of the most memorable pieces is a large infinity model with a graphic background. Following the playground Candy Land theme, the model looks like a slide that never ends. The graphic background follows the scheme of the model from the top lighter colors drift into darker colors towards the end. The type of light-to-dark effect makes a simple object look intriguing.
The exhibit is available until Saturday Oct. 6 in Guggenheim Hall and similar work can be found at Crabbe Hall. The Mariani Gallery hours and information can be found at https://arts.unco.edu/art/galleries/.
