New gallery gets downtown talking

Tucked away into a little alcove of the Plaza of the Rockies building between Nosh and COPPeR is something special and new. It's GOCA 121, UCCS's new downtown art gallery.

The purpose of the new gallery is to get a conversation started about arts in Colorado Springs, and to use the gallery itself as a venue for that conversation and its outcomes. The first exhibition, called "Point A: A Place to Start," features a small series of large, site-specific installation pieces by local artists DeLane Bredvik, Corey Drieth and Izumi Yokoyama.

The artists have created unique environments for their individual spaces, which pull viewers into the works themselves. It's a small selection, but a provocative group regardless. Drieth's piece is a series of large, hanging prints paired with masks of broken glass and gives a feeling of smallness and of being lost in a crowd. Bredvik has two installations, both quite shiny and sparkling - surreal, almost - but still vacant-feeling. Yokoyama created a cozy, snowy place out of yarn and cotton that invites viewers into a whimsical story-book scene.

While the messages the pieces convey are each unique , the common tie between them is that each one literally brings its viewers into them, to interact with them and feel as if the art they're viewing is more of an environment than simply a piece at which to look.

The gallery itself is small and intimate, with four distinct spaces along with one large introductory space where visitors can look at flyers for other upcoming shows, sign a guest book and, most interestingly, check out FEEDBACK.

FEEDBACK is where visitors are asked to use a typewriter to answer a few questions. The questions are printed on the wall and visitors are asked to discuss the creative community in Colorado Springs and to then pin their responses to a real-life message board, where other visitors and staff can read their answers.

The best messages were the ones that didn't answer the questions, though, and one I thought really captured the space (as well as the city of Colorado Springs) read, "Very Limited. More Content More Content More Content."

It will be exciting to see what GOCA 121 will show in the coming years, and even more so to continue the conversation it has started. Ideally there will be more content, more content, more content.

GOCA 121 is located at 121 S. Tejon St. in suite 100. Hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday; admission is free.