A lot of people don’t know The Kirkland. It can be easy to miss. With an entrance on 12th Avenue and Bannock Street, the incredible space that celebrates Colorado art and international design can easily get eclipsed by the more ornate buildings of the Denver Art Museum, with which it shares a campus.
The museum is ostensibly a celebration of Colorado artist Vance Kirkland, a prolific painter whose style ranged from designed realism and surrealism, all the way to the dot paintings that marked arguably the pinnacle but also twilight of his career. “He’s our namesake artist. We would argue that he’s the most important modern painter to come out of Colorado,” said Assistant Curator for The Kirkland Becca Goodrum. Over the course of an introductory retrospective, six era-specific time-travel galleries, an area for rotating exhibitions, a kids section and Kirkland’s own studio space, the museum makes a compelling argument for the man’s relevance and brilliance.
In March, The Kirkland debuted Space is the Place, a dense and succinct appraisal of Atomic Age art and design. “The idea for this exhibition is that the universe is the ultimate muse,” said Goodrum, who was responsible for selecting the items and creating the showcase’s overall vision. This will be Goodrum’s second solo exhibition, following Vanity and Vice, an Art Deco show that ran for most of 2025.
The collection features a range of items produced from 1957 through the mid 1970s. Together, the objects evoke a sense of possibility, steeped in aspirations for a future that was either thwarted or missed. Chairs that were inspired by astronauts’ helmets sit next to a Jetsons-esque record player, a David Bowie record at the ready. Star Trek clips play near a lineup of chairs that were used on set. “This was the first era where we were all watching TV shows together. We started to have a collective vision of what the future looked like,” said Goodrum.
While the world of tomorrow that the artists on display jointly dreamed of didn’t pan out exactly as they had envisioned, the exhibit is decidedly hopeful. “I think we’re getting into another space age now,” said Goodrum, noting that she believes the Artemis program has been a boon for global creativity. Nothing in the exhibit feels dated, and as a whole, it invites guests to look to the past to contemplate the future. “The world is really hungry for explosive imagination,” said Communications and Media Relations Associate One Luv Hull.
Throughout The Kirkland’s galleries, art and design pieces are arranged in a vignette style. Under Goodrum’s direction, remarkable elegance feels homey. “The fine art is not separate from the decorative art. Nothing is better than the other,” she said, adding that items intended for use sometimes don’t get the same acclaim as their wall-mounted counterparts. Space is the Place is arranged in a similar fashion. Guests have the opportunity to lounge in the living rooms of future past.
The Kirkland started as an independent collection at a standalone location in 2003 before moving to its current spot in 2016. In 2024, it merged with DAM, during which time it was reformatted to its current iteration. A ticket to the main buildings also gets guests in to visit what may have sneakily become the whole place’s star attraction.
While the DAM makes a strong case for the essential place of art in human existence, The Kirkland demonstrates Colorado’s long viability as an artistic hub, even when set against its coastal peers. Space is the Place fits right in.
The Kirkland Museum of Fine and Decorative Art at the Denver Art Museum is located at 1201 Bannock Street, Denver. It is open Thursday – Tuesday from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Space is the Place: Art and Design in the Atomic Age is on display now until February 21, 2027.
Tickets can be purchased here. All children and teens under the age of 18 get in free.
Photos courtesy of Christina Jackson.
