By Grace Monteith, Graduate Class of 2027 By the time Edward Marecak became a DU alumnus – receiving his teaching certificatefrom the university in 1955 – he had already established a prominent artistic career andeducational history. Born to immigrant parents from Slovakia, Marecak grew up nearCleveland, Ohio, before spending much of his adult life and creative career in Colorado.Marecak studied on a full scholarship at the Cleveland Institute of Art until he was draftedinto the military. Following his discharge, Marecak continued his training at the ColoradoSprings Fine Arts Center, before returning to the Cleveland Institute of Art to complete hisBachelor’s...

  By Annie Drysdale, Graduate Class of 2025 Helen Davis’s life was dedicated to people and art. Her adventurous approach to art was nurtured at Northwest Missouri State University, experimenting across a wide variety of media. Davis moved to Colorado in 1948 and established an arts therapy program at Fitzsimmons Army Hospital. Davis has long been affiliated with the University of Denver. She received her Ed.D. from DU in 1961. Her experience of gender-based discrimination reinforced Davis’s feminist convictions and inspired her lifelong mentorship of and advocacy for women. She went on to lead the art department at Colorado Women’s...

Hung Liu, Mountain Ghost, 2012. Oil paint on canvas. By Chloe LeRoy, Graduate Class 2025 In this painting, Hung Liu interprets the poem Mountain Ghost or Mountain Spirit by the Chinese poet Qu Yuan (338-278 BC). The poem focuses on a Mountain Spirit who is longing for her lover. In the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution at the end of the 1970s, Qu Yuan became a symbol of intellectual freedom and individual integrity. By integrating traditional-style painting into this piece, Hung Liu creates an impactful fusion of symbols, tradition, and her contemporary perspective on his poem. Mountain Spirit by Qu...

Daum Frères, Winter Scene, c. 1900. Acid-etched enameled glass By Lauren Anuszewski, Graduate Class of 2023   Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (or “new art”) was an international style known by many names: Style Jules Verne, Le Style Métro, Art Belle Époque, and Art fin de siècle in France, Jugendstil in Germany, Stile Floreale in Italy, and Modernismo in Spain.1 This “new style” was developed in the late 1880s as a reaction against the historical revivals, which looked to the past for artistic and architectural design. In search of something new, Art Nouveau artists turned to the natural world, rejecting the order,...

Celadon and Blue Glaze Porcelain Vase By Chloe LeRoy, Graduate Class 2025 Pottery, Ceramics, or Porcelain? Pottery, ceramics, and porcelain are different categories of fired objects. Ceramics is the broadest category as it includes any material that, once heated, cannot be returned to its original state, such as clay or some minerals and metals. Pottery is a ceramic made from only clay and includes earthenware, stoneware, and porcelain. Porcelain is a type of pottery that uses clay rich in the mineral Kaolin and is fired at a higher temperature than other types of pottery. The composition and high firing temperature...

Angie Coleman, Fall, South San Juans, 2009. Screen Print. Collections Spotlight By Emily Maiwat (DU’26) Angie Coleman is a celebrated American printmaker and painter best known for her richly colored woodblock prints that capture the beauty of the mountainous landscapes of the American Southwest. A long-time resident of Taos, New Mexico, Coleman draws much of her artistic inspiration from her frequent hikes and camping excursions throughout the mountains of New Mexico and Colorado, the regions that inspire both the subject matter and emotional tone of her work. Originally from the Chicago area, Coleman later earned her degree from the California...