












For example, Aristide Maillol's "Summer" of 1910 is as traditional as modern art gets, a simplified, life-size bronze of a nude woman. The sculptural canons Maillol supported, like solidity and stillness, are violated by Alexander Archipenko, part of the first generation of artists to embrace abstraction. In his 1912 work "Walking Woman"--a genuine masterpiece from the collection--Archipenko flattens and pierces a bronze figure and introduces the idea of movement. By the 1960s, Louise Bourgeois pushes even further; her feminist-inspired 1964-65 bronze "The Quartered One" is suspended from the ceiling. Carl Andre does just the opposite: He embraces the ground, literally putting his 1981 aluminum sculpture "Drakon" flat on the floor. Scott Chamberlin's "Blue Bellis" of 1987 in turn challenges the dominance of metals like bronze, using glazed ceramic to create fine sculpture; and Miroslaw Balka takes the extreme approach of using found objects like carpet and foam to create a 1992 piece whose title consists solely of its dimensions.

Unfortunately, these pieces are scattered throughout several rooms; had they been assembled in one spot, they could have constituted a discussion of some of the major issues in twentieth-century sculpture. A genuine shortcoming of the current installation is that it does so little to foster this kind--or any kind--of art appreciation. Instead, the department has opted for visual punch, which sadly sometimes misses.

Nonetheless, the new galleries are pregnant with potential. Perhaps by the time Options II, scheduled for midsummer, is up, some of the bugs in these reconfigured spaces will be worked out. Given the amount of first-rate material at the department's disposal, the future holds great promise--even if the presentations continue to dismay.

Options I, through June 18 at the Denver Art Museum, 100 West 14th Avenue Parkway, 640-2793.

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