Floyd D. Tunson: Ascent
A major survey exhibition featuring works from the past five decades by Colorado artist Floyd D. Tunson.
On display June 10-July 31, 2022.
About Floyd D. Tunson: Ascent
A major survey exhibition will feature works from the past five decades by artist Floyd D. Tunson.
Two major arts centers in the Denver metro area—the Arvada Center for the Arts & Humanities and Redline Contemporary Art Center—will present the exhibition simultaneously, collaboratively curated by Wylene Carol, Daisy McGowan and Collin Parson.
Photography credit: Wes Magyar
Floyd Tunson is one of Colorado’s most important contemporary artists. Over the past 50 years, he has prodigiously, fearlessly, and innovatively created art from his keen cultural perspective, taking on identity, race, and history in a number of series.
An incredibly influential educator over 30 years in the public school system, Tunson’s impact extends beyond the art world to the students fortunate to work with the artist in that context.
Meet Colorado artist Floyd D. Tunson and learn about the inspiration behind Ascent
Southwest Contemporary Highlights Floyd D. Tunson's Summer Exhibitions
Interview with Curator Daisy McGowan
Learn more about the fascinating inspiration and history behind Floyd D. Tunson: Ascent and the Black Power Tarot exhibitions.
About Floyd D. Tunson
“Haitian Dream Boats” by Floyd D. Tunson. Photography credit: James Rowe.
In 1936, during the Great Migration, Floyd D. Tunson’s parents and the first five of their ten children left Paris, Texas, and settled in Denver. Born in 1947, Tunson is the one surviving artist among three in the family. Even as a child watching his older brother draw, which seemed magic to him, he knew that’s what he was going to do – make magic.
During his youth, he spent many hours at the Denver Art Museum, viewing work of artists such as Jacob Lawrence and Charles White, whose images of Black people confirmed to him that Black people could be artists as well as subjects of art.
Tunson studied at the University of Colorado, Parson’s School of Design, University of Denver, and Adams State College, where he earned an MA Degree.
Image courtesy of Floyd Tunson - “Keeper of the Secrets”
In 1974, long before diversity and inclusion were stated missions of museums, he exhibited a solo show at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. Since then, he’s shown extensively throughout the Rocky Mountain region. In 2012-2013, he was given a 40-year retrospective, Son of Pop, at the Fine Arts Center.
In 2018, his solo show, Janus, celebrated the opening of the Marie Walsh Sharpe Gallery at the University of Colorado’s Ent Center for the Arts. Currently, he’s collaborating with musician Tomás Doncker and poet Yusef Komunyakaa on Endangered, a multi-disciplinary event premiering at the FAC-Colorado College, June 16, 2022.
Floyd D. Tunson is represented by Michael Warren Contemporary, Denver.
Ascent Artist Statement
Floyd D. Tunson at the opening reception of “Ascent.” Photography credit: James Rowe.
“I chose the title Ascent because it represents who I am. I’m always reaching for a higher level of accomplishment, for surprises that exceed any expectation I set for myself.
But ascension is not a linear path. Sometimes I have to stop at the landing and reflect, take stock of my work so far and ponder, “Have I done enough? What’s missing? Where should I go from here? Is the path too steep for me? Am I a mere Sisyphus?
But after all the introspection, my gut always guides me to the studio, where I try one thing after another until a concept clicks. Then I’m committed to finish what I started. The ascent continues.”
Curator Quotes
“This exhibition makes the emphatic case that Floyd D. Tunson is a big deal, and his work and legacy should be more widely known – regionally, nationally, and internationally. As a curator, I have long admired his prodigious art practice, as well as his impact as a long-time art educator. His art searingly investigates core issues of our time, opens up dialogue, and balances representation with abstraction with a fluidity that makes obvious his inherent genius. It is an honor to work with him as a curator on this important survey exhibition three years in the making.”
- Daisy McGowan, Director/Chief Curator/Community Activator, UCCS Galleries of Contemporary Art
”A deserving artist who deserves more! With a 45 year+ career, Floyd D. Tunson is a prolific artist whose influence reaches far beyond the Western region he calls home. Tunson is a good person who makes good art, and he uses his work to speak volumes about the ongoing social and racial injustices of our society. Working in a range of styles, media, and scales, Tunson is a master at making challenging subjects accessible and expressing the ugliness and beauty of the human condition. The Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities is honored to be co-hosting a survey of this impactful, important Colorado artist.”
- Collin Parson, Director of Galleries and Curator, Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities
Curator Collin Parsons and Floyd D. Tunson in front of Tunson’s work “Haitian Dream Boats.” “Ascent” opening reception at RedLine. Photography credit: James Rowe.
“Floyd D. Tunson’s story is America’s story. Growing up in Denver during the Civil Rights Movement and the explosion of non-objective art, his work embodies America’s dynamic history: sometimes dark, sometimes lush with beauty, sometimes hilarious with irony – but always in pursuit of a dream.”
“Tunson’s subject matter is expansive, including the Mississippi Delta; injustice experienced by vulnerable people everywhere; and subtle composition in abstract painting, mixed media, and sculpture. Because he’s prolific in all these areas, the curatorial task is daunting. When fifty pieces in a series are equally powerful, the decision to omit any one of them is humbling. Indeed, multiple sites are required to present Ascent.”
- Wylene Carol, Co-Curator
Curator Wylene Carol in front of work by Tunson. “Ascent” opening reception at RedLine. Photography credit: James Rowe.
“Looking at life from one direction, I see the terror of chaos, man’s inhumanity to man, mortality, and the vastness of the unknown.
From another direction, the human condition seems like a magnificent, orderly evolution of extraordinary beauty.
The totality of my work reflects my quest to comprehend and express these forces and their interconnectedness.”
