Inside the new Kirkland Museum, opening March 10

Did you know Vance Kirkland had synesthesia?
3 min. read
A sneak peek at the Kirkland Museum, March 1, 2018. (Ashley Dean/Denverite) golden triangle; kirkland museum; art; denver; colorado; denverite;

A sneak peek at the Kirkland Museum, March 1, 2018. (Ashley Dean/Denverite)

One year and four months after Vance Kirkland's old studio was dug out of the ground at 13th Avenue and Pearl Street and rolled over to the Golden Triangle, Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art is ready to open.

The public will be welcomed into the new space at 1201 Bannock St. starting March 10.

It's been long in the works. The project was first announced in January 2014 and a crew broke ground on the new museum in September 2015.

Between the land and the building, the project cost $29.7 million. It was paid for by the Merle Chambers Fund — Chambers being (among many other things) ex-wife of the Kirkland's founding director and curator, Hugh A. Grant. She also "provided the inspiration" for moving Kirkland's studio, according press materials.

A sneak peek at the Kirkland Museum, March 1, 2018. (Ashley Dean/Denverite)

The new building was designed by Jim Olson, founding principal and owner of Seattle-based Olson Kundig. It's connected on the south side of the old studio so that an exterior wall of the studio is inside the new building.

In total, the two buildings have 38,500 square feet of space to house more than 30,000 works by more than 1,500 artists, including Kirkland.

Take a look:

A sneak peek at the Kirkland Museum, March 1, 2018. (Ashley Dean/Denverite)
Education Manager & Historian Maya Wright gives a tour at the Kirkland Museum, March 1, 2018. (Ashley Dean/Denverite)
A sneak peek at the Kirkland Museum, March 1, 2018. (Ashley Dean/Denverite)
A sneak peek at the Kirkland Museum, March 1, 2018. (Ashley Dean/Denverite)
A sneak peek at the Kirkland Museum, March 1, 2018. (Ashley Dean/Denverite)
A sneak peek at the Kirkland Museum, March 1, 2018. (Ashley Dean/Denverite)
A sneak peek at the Kirkland Museum, March 1, 2018. (Ashley Dean/Denverite)
A sneak peek at the Kirkland Museum, March 1, 2018. (Ashley Dean/Denverite)
A sneak peek at the Kirkland Museum, March 1, 2018. (Ashley Dean/Denverite)
A sneak peek at the Kirkland Museum, March 1, 2018. (Ashley Dean/Denverite)
A sneak peek at the Kirkland Museum, March 1, 2018. (Ashley Dean/Denverite)

The Kirkland Museum's hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $8 for seniors, teachers, students and active-duty military personnel, and $10 for everyone else.

Because the collection at the Kirkland is fragile and vulnerably displayed, children younger than 13 are not admitted.

Bonus fact: Education Manager & Historian Maya Wright said Vance Kirkland had synesthesia, causing him to see colors when he heard music. He didn't listen to music while he worked, but he would record color combinations as he listened to music. He preferred more dissonant music and composers like Gustav Mahler.

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