The Tangled Self at Denver Art Museum

Denver Art Museum got a whole lot more whimsical and colorful this Summer!

The Tangled Self is a new exhibit by Denver based fiber artist, and owner of Spectra Art Space, Sadie Young. It’s colorful, textural, quirky, interactive, and it is simply amazing!

If you’ve been here a while you’ll know that Spectra Art Space is one of my favorite places here in Denver. You can see our most recent visit for their immersive exhibition Novo Ita: Propagation in my previous blog post. At Spectra, Sadie Young provides a space to local artists to share their creativity with the community, so it makes me so happy seeing her work on display at Denver Art Museum. 

Let’s take a look at The Tangled Self…

Located in the Precourt Family Discovery Hall on level 2 of the Hamilton Building, The Tangled Self is an imaginative look into our inner monsters; those negative feelings that live inside all of us. Through   whimsical sculptural pieces made from colorful crochet, tufted interactive wall hangings, botanical and worm-like hanging pieces, and a giant crochet monster, visitors tame feelings like grief, shame and fear in a playful way. The soft, organic nature of the pieces contrasts against the geometric walls of the Discovery Hall, in the same way that the colorful creations contrast against the feelings they portray.

The main focal point of the exhibition is a 12ft crocheted monster, reminiscent of a colorful frog, with a large open mouth. Visitors are invited to enter the monster’s mouth, and explore the interior. Embroidered onto the walls of the mouth you’ll find words depicting negative feelings including despair, anxiety, fear, and stress, while the ceiling is dimly lit with storm clouds. 

  

To counteract the negative feelings depicted inside the monster’s mouth, the walls of the exhibition are dotted with colorful tufted floral pieces. Each one features a mirror and a button. When the button is pressed an affirmation appears over the visitor’s reflection. “You are brave”. “You are resilient”. “You are beautiful”. “You are worthy”. “You are strong”.

Throughout the exhibition space botanical vines, eyeball flowers, and peculiar monsters decorate the space. The monsters Sugar Plum Stressball and Insomnia are sure to delight visitors with their whimsical appearance.

The Tangled Self is on display in the Precourt Family Discovery Hall on level 2 of the Hamilton Building. Simply take the main staircase (or elevator) to the second floor and turn right. You’ll find this exhibition space tucked away near the entrance to the American and European art galleries.

Denver Art Museum is located at 100 W 14th Avenue Parkway, Denver.

Denver Art Museum is open Thursdays through Mondays from 10am to 5pm, and Tuesdays from 10am to 8pm. Closed on Wednesdays.

The Tangled Self is included with museum entry. Adult tickets start at $22 for Colorado residents and $27 for non-residents. Youth aged 18 and younger are admitted free of charge. Discounted tickets for seniors (65+), teachers, students, veterans and active military start at $19 for Colorado residents and $24 for non-residents.

Tickets can be purchased in advance or at the door. To purchase tickets visit https://www.denverartmuseum.org/en/plan-your-visit.

Tickets include entry to both the Hamilton and Martin Buildings of the Denver Art Museum as well as The Kirkland. Curious about visiting The Kirkland? You can see my visit from earlier this year here.

Denver Art Museum is an ADA accessible venue with accommodations in place for visitors with limited mobility, visitors who are deaf or hard of hearing, visitors with vision loss, neurodiverse visitors, and those with service animals. For more information on these accommodations and programs visit https://www.denverartmuseum.org/en/accessibility.