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Gallery Show featuring Sculpture and Paintings by David Caricato Opening Reception March 18, 5-8 pm Show runs through April 11. Regular store hours are 10 am-6 pm daily. Article and photographs by Juanita Canzoneri  David Caricato has been making art for over 40 of his nearly 70 years. Most of that time he worked with sculptural forms in wood and other natural materials. His early work uses long gourds as a base for the pieces he calls “Earth Dancers” which include design elements from southwest First Nations tribes. He began incorporating raven masks worked in the northwest First Nations style as a humorous juxtaposition of ideas. The raven masks, as well as other mask styles, have by now found their way into many other sculptures that don’t incorporate the “Earth Dancer” shapes. With the most recent change in the economy he diversified to making small figural paintings in acrylics. He can sell the paintings at a lower price point since they come together quicker than his larger sculptures do. But ever the dyed-in-the-wool wood worker he hand-carves many of the frames for his paintings. For his paintings he works with a limited number of models, over several years. Pointing to one painting he told me, “I’ve worked with her over 3 boyfriends and breakups. I think the guy she’s with now will be a keeper.” The pieces that come from these modelling sessions are collaborative. He might have an idea for where he wants to start, or the model may want to try something. The sessions are photographed and then both he and the model look at the photos and make changes. With his paintings, which are typically no more than 6”-8” tall, his studio is the kitchen island or in his living room. He had a studio in an outbuilding on his property that’s more conducive to his sculptural work, with a tool bench and dust catchment system he works year round. Pulling out a piece he’s working on he explained some of the woods he worked with created dust that was quite dangerous to inhale. David’s goal with his art is to push buttons and find where the boundaries are. He is making the type of art that he wants and is a self-diagnosed wood hoarder. His figural art deals with the human form, including many nudes. Getting the musculature correct is highly important to him, even with his smallest canvases. This gives his paintings and sculptures a realistic quality. But the humor in his art lends a charm and warmth to that realism. And there are times when David expresses his political views in a very tongue-in-cheek way with his work. David is a Pueblo native with two undergraduate degrees, one in Graphic Design and one in Industrial Arts/Woodworking. He has been showing galleries throughout the Southwest, Washington state, Florida, and New York. He recently had a one-man show of the same name at the Sangre de Christo Art Center and has received numerous awards, including Best in Show and First Place in Sculpture at the Colorado State Fair Art Show.    
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by Juanita Canzoneri So much work has been completed by so many people in what seems like only a few days. The painting is complete, the wall panels are completed and installed, the trim is up and the new carpet is installed. The windows in the front of the store have been treated with a UV and heat-resistant film to help preserve the artwork displayed by them. On Feb. 29 we moved all the furniture out of the store, much of it into a rented U-Haul truck. The carpet installers came in the next day. They even rolled the carpet out in the street to allow them to make some of the longer cuts. At one point we had to stop traffic so no one drove over it. On March 2 most of the detail work was completed. On the 3rd all the fixtures were cleaned and reassembled and set in their new locations. Members brought their work back in to restock the store on March 4 and 5 and we opened for business again on March 6. There’s still a little more work to do. We need to complete the new gallery space and clean the storage spaces that were used to house items during the renovation. But the only deadline ahead is the hanging of the next gallery show, which will happen on March 16. And the gallery is now in its own private space so that work can continue without much interruption to regular business. I can say, though, that our Marketing Manager (that’s me) will be glad to get her office space back again. That space is part of the gallery space work yet to be done. by Juanita Canzoneri
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Juanita Canzoneri
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