Walk into the Ryan Joseph Gallery at 38th Avenue and Clay Street this month and you'll immediately find yourself gazing at the female form: a transparent mannequin bust adorned with swirls of acrylic paint.
"It's been a really interesting of turn of events with my artistry in the last 10 years, combining both of what I do with tattooing, juxtaposing that with the fine art side," Gina Ilczyszyn, the bust's creator, told us. "This is actually the first one. And I have a couple more at the shop, and I have some other mannequin parts."
But feminine form is not the subject of this show. Rather, it's more about the perspectives of female and nonbinary artists, who have pooled their resources and talents to lift up their work.
Through April 10th, you can catch the artists' work at Babe Walls' fourth annual Women's History Month Art Show, an event that parallels the collective's flagship mural festival.
The collective's work makes space for artists who might not get it elsewhere.
Founded in part as a reaction to the male-dominated culture of Denver's street art scene, Babe Walls aims to make art spaces more inclusive to women and nonbinary artists. Cofounder Robyn Frances, also known as Grow Love, rocked the local creative community in 2020 with an Instagram post that alleged the founder of the CRUSH Walls mural festival sexually abused her. That post led to a broader reckoning in Denver's art world over access, equity and who gets recognition for their work.
Their annual mural festival helps artists claim walls and reclaim space outside. This annual March exhibition does the same, just in a fine art setting.
"It was kind of difficult to get into spaces before we formed Babe Walls. So we were like, well, we'll just do it ourselves, pave the way for us and our community and our friends, and make it inclusive, too," Frances said on Saturday as the show opened for its first night. "We were asking to be seen. And we knew that it really took our own efforts to create a community, so that's what we did. And it's just grown and it's so beautiful."
Murals can be more accessible than galleries for both audiences and artists, Babe Walls cofounder Alexandrea Pangburn told us. The fine art market is "a game," she said, and a place where money flows on the subjective whims of power brokers. Bringing multidisciplinary artists inside to decorate drywall instead of concrete seemed like a natural next step toward Babe Walls' broader goals.
"It's really difficult to be represented by a gallery, just in general. So this is an opportunity," Pangburn said. "To be able to have the show, where we can have women and nonbinary artists all under one roof, is really special. [Access is] a problem that I think will always need to be addressed, but I think that our main mission is to continually create that space, no matter what."
Babe Walls' members, who now include artists across the country, have already seen that goal realized. Mar Williams, who has a piece in the show, said they've appreciated both a venue for their work and the camaraderie they've found in the group.
"They get really cool opportunities, the shows are really well put together and it's really awesome to see everybody's work grow every year. I feel like everybody's bringing each other up," they told us. "It creates a bigger movement. That ripples out and affects Denver at large."
"Pauli Murray" by Adri Norris. Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
"Easter Sunday" by Mar Williams. Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Pangburn, Frances and Ilczyszyn all said it's important that they recognize Women's History Month with this event, especially because it helps attract new audiences. But they were all unequivocal: This work must, and does, happen every month.
"It's Women's History month now, but we focus on this year-long," Ilczyszyn said. "For us it's actually every day.
Where to find the show
What: Babe Walls Women's History Month Gallery Show
Where: Ryan Joseph Gallery - 2647 W 38th Avenue, Denver, CO
When: March 9th - April 10th, 2024
