Back in 2001 when my gallery first opened in Denver, I heard about an operation by the name of Andenken run by Highland Mather. My first exposure to Andenken was actually a book they had published that featured their brand of cutting-edge art, and in one fell swoop I felt that perhaps I had already been made obsolete in my desire to bring a certain style of contemporary art and way of doing things to Denver. Fortunately I didn't let that fact get to me and soon discovered that Andenken was a neighbor to my gallery in the ballpark district and an extremely cool space that would host some of the finest shows ever brought to the city. Hyland himself was an artist and like most artists with their own gallery he had strong opinions and also presented his work to the public on select occassions, but mostly in the form of his "little man" paintings which were inexpensive ($20 each) and scaled to the dimension of an old LP cover. They sold in droves and were a defining point of his operation, which to this day has brought an inexpensive yet highly engaging product to a mostly younger audience. Hyland had way more talent to give as an artist and once another neighborhood gallery with the right aspirations and good taste (Studio Aiello) opened up shop, Mather had a showing of works that were at a higher price point and definitely more substantial that still captured the essence of his style and humor. I was a big fan, and fortunately got to know Hyland a bit though never in as much depth as I'd have liked, but we talked on occassion and he showed an interest in my design and artistic work to the extent that he invited me to participate in group exhibitions that Andenken held (including the seminal porno-themed show that was such an amazing idea and perhaps a defining point in Denver's limitation to engage with truly expansive art interests). We ended up working out a trade for the painting "Fitness" that was held in the back-section of Studio Aiello in their first or second year; it was a delightful body of work in which Hylands traditional figures expressed simple ideas in their clever ways, complete with diode lights hooked up to batteries embedded in the canvas (which was stretched on an unusual steel armature culled from building materials from home-depot). I loved them and felt that I always got the better end of the deal as I traded one of my "Kaos lamps" for the piece. It now sits above my son Udo's crib and has continually given me joy, particularly as I'm a bit loath towards fitness in general, which is what the piece is pretty much about! Andenken recently moved to 29th and Larimer into an absolutely amazing new space and still seems to hold the mantle as the most "rad-i-cool" (to quote Hyland of old) place for art in Denver. Hyland has someone run the operation for him (which includes studio rentals) and is now spending time in Amsterdam where I think he's trying to set up shop for more art and excellent creativity. Truly a visionary person who will always leave a big impact to all who know him.
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