{"id":525,"date":"2010-06-03T14:32:48","date_gmt":"2010-06-03T20:32:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15bytes12\/2010\/06\/03\/al-denyer\/"},"modified":"2025-10-23T19:25:50","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T02:25:50","slug":"al-denyer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/al-denyer\/","title":{"rendered":"Al Denyer: A Matter of Perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Al Denyer in her studio at the University of Utah. Photo by Kelly Green.<\/p><\/div>\n

Alison Denyer (call her Al) greets me with a warm smile and an offer to make me a cup of coffee. I already have one so she goes about brewing herself a pot of coffee, which gives me an opportunity to look around her studio\/office at the University of Utah. The small but sunny room has cheerful stacks of work piled on counters, and the little bit of clutter gives me the impression this is a place where a person is welcome to put her feet up and feel at home. Denyer invites me to sit and I look to a comfortable chair just across the room. Right above it is a wall length bulletin board where some of her latest work hangs, much of which will be displayed at the Art Barn in mid-June. As I look at the work I\u2019m struck by the black paper she uses and at this distance the varied shades of graphite appear to depict the dark clouds of an incoming storm that could arrive at any minute.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u201cPeople will ask me, \u2018Why do you use black, are you depressed?\u2019\u201d she laughs. \u201cThe answer is no, for me black is more about the absence of color. When choosing a medium you have to think about the end result and what is the best material to get the job done.\u201d<\/p>\n

On my way over to the chair this makes sense to me. As I approach the work I\u2019ve been admiring, the pictures in front of me begin to change. Some of the shading reveals itself to be painstakingly drawn intricate lines that are reminiscent of a topographical map. The transformation is subtle but intriguing because, although I\u2019ve been looking at the same pictures, they suddenly offer a new perspective and my impression of them changes from one of familiarity to curiosity.<\/p>\n

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Denyer’s studio, photo by Kelly Green.<\/p><\/div>\n

Her coffee is brewed and Denyer now sits across from me where she relaxes with an easy sense of poise and begins to discuss her work in her charming English accent. Born in Bath, she spent most of her life in the south of England, earning a B.A in painting and drawing from the Winchester School of Art after which she worked for three years as an independent artist in Bristol. Then she began to consider graduate work and found exactly what she wanted from a program at Southern Illinois University. What finally brought her to Utah was an opportunity to teach (she is an Assistant Professor of art at the University of Utah) and focus on her career.<\/p>\n

When Denyer begins to discuss her work it\u2019s quite clear that she is passionate about her art, but her conversation is comfortable and inviting. Unlike some people, who can be overly dramatic when talking about their interests, becoming so animated they can overwhelm their listener, Denyer\u2019s love for what she does feels like a very natural extension of who she is: grounded, articulate and approachable. She wants to have a conversation with her audience, one that will take place through her art, and like any good discussion it starts with an introduction.<\/p>\n

At first glance her work may look like simple black squares. Denyer explains this is intentional and she hopes the viewer will catch sight of a shadow, a reflection or another detail that will compel them to look closer. It\u2019s an invitation to continue the conversation at a deeper level. Upon closer examination the viewer is treated to an experience similar to the one I had when I first came in to the office. Complex details come in to focus and the eye travels over serpentine lines, taking a journey further in to the work. It\u2019s almost hypnotic.<\/p>\n