During the month of June, Denise served as both a resident artist and demo artist at Denver Art Museum's Cosmic Studio wing, where she engaged visitors through live painting demos every Saturday. Throughout her residency, she also hosted an public community art experience, through magnetic landscape poetry boards and 3D-printed Colorado flag elevation map puzzles; inviting visitors of all ages to create and connect through art.
https://www.denverartmuseum.org/en/calendar/demo-artist-denise-richardson#:~:text=Denise%20Richardson%20is%20an%20acrylic,by%20isolation%20to%20inspire%20curiosity.
ASLD Flagpole Project, 2022
As a grant awardee of the Art Students League of Denver’s inaugural Flagpole Project, Denise created a hand-sewn flag for a collaborative public installation looking at Colorado’s history. Curated by ASLD Director Rachel Basye in partnership with the Denver Public Library, the project brought together artists and historians to highlight overlooked events and narratives.
Hoisted above ASLD on Grant Street with QR info, Denise drew on her lived experience in Colorado’s rural landscape, where water rights and conservation are vital concerns. Her flag featured abstracted motifs of Denver’s Cherry Creek and South Platte River confluence, accompanied by an essay reflecting on the relationship between Denver’s water consumption and the history of water access and conservation across Colorado. The work also invited viewers to consider how urban water demands affect rural communities and the importance of sustainable use throughout the state.
https://asld.org/exhibit-details/flagpole-project
Athena Project: Women In Their Infinite Forms, 2023
As part of Athena Project's 3rd Annual Women in Their Infinite Forms, a commissioned public art installation celebrating Women’s History Month, Denise joined 9 artists in transforming the Dairy Block's co-working space into a reflective tableau of feminine celebration. The exhibit tasked creators with reimagining womanhood through mirrors, creating reflective works that doubled as saleable sculptures benefiting the nonprofit.
Her contribution, "Colorado's Guardians of the Wild" elevated a native plant-adorned mirror to evoke the vigilance of environmental stewards and paid homage to her grandma Mary, a USGS editor and lifelong National Parks supporter.
https://dairyblock.com/blog/tastemaker-womens-history-month/
https://athenaprhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYB6gld2QjAojectarts.org/event/3witif/
Biennial of the Americas Covid-19 Memorial, 2021
Curated by the Biennial nonprofit, the memorial featured commissioned artists alongside a virtual open exhibition highlighting regional artists, including Denise and her digital artwork Monolith 56.
An inclusive tribute to the 56 U.S. states, territories, and Washington, D.C., affected by COVID-19, Monolith 56 was a digital collage image of real-world monoliths first popularized by the structure discovered in Moab, Utah, in November 2020. Arranged in a semi-repeating pattern, the monoliths represent the breadth of the 56 Americas nations while evoking both the escapism of nature during the pandemic and the mountain ranges of my home state of Colorado. The monuments served as a memorial to those lost, inviting reflection on resilience and the beauty of being alive. The exhibition acknowledged the pandemic’s devastating impact across the Western Hemisphere, offering a space for collective mourning, healing, and reflection.
https://biennialoftheamericas.squarespace.com/americas-covid19-memorial
