Theater poster by Phil Risbeck, 2007
July 16 – August 27, 2009
Opening Reception, July 16 from 4-7
Emmanuel Gallery, Denver
Emmanuel Gallery is pleased to announce our second summer show featuring the graphic designs of Phil Risbeck. We will open Phil Risbeck: Poster Art on Thursday, July 16th with a reception for the artist from 4:00-7:00pm. Featuring almost 40 posters from the 1960’s to the present, this exhibition will be the first to showcase the graphic talents of Risbeck for the Denver community.
After receiving both his BFA and MFA from Kansas University, Risbeck devoted his design work to the poster. He worked for Herbert Bayer in Aspen, Colorado and began teaching at the Colorado State University in Fort Collins where continues to teach today. He co-founded the Colorado International Invitational Poster Exhibition (CIIPE) in 1979 to enrich the graphic design education of his students and to bring the best in contemporary international poster design to American audiences. A book devoted to his poster art was published in China, and resulted in artist residencies in Beijing, Chungking and Wuhan. At the height of the Cold War he was invited to Moscow to stage the first solo exhibition by an American in more than fifty years. Risbeck has conducted residencies in numerous venues in the US as well as in France, Portugal, China, Cuba, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and Brazil. He has served on international juries for poster exhibitions in Poland, Russia, China, Ukraine and Mexico. His work has been exhibited in group exhibitions in the aforementioned countries plus Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Bolivia, Slovakia, Japan, Ireland, Germany and Denmark. Risbeck was recently asked to design a series of posters for ICOGRADA World Congress entitled, Respect Culture, which the gallery will feature.
Risbeck has recently won several recognitions including a distinguished professor award, an award for service to the performing arts, and legacy and teaching awards from the Art Directors Club of Denver. In 2004 he was recognized by the UN for outstanding contributions to the international poster movement. In 2008 Moscow artists formally recognized his efforts in “poster diplomacy”. In 2009 he was appointed an honorary faculty member of the Hubei Institute of Fine Arts in Wuhan, China.
Emmanuel Gallery is always free and open to the public. Hours are Tuesday – Friday from 10-6 and Saturday from 11-5. Join us for Phil Risbeck’s first Denver show!
© 2009 Emmanuel Gallery, Auraria Campus, Box 177, PO Box 173364, Denver, CO 80217-3364, USA