Gio Ponti designed the incredible Denver Art Museum structure 50 years ago. After years of effort, the the renovated and greatly expanded north building opened as the Lanny and Sharon Martin Building. We purchased tickets for the opening gala before Marla’s illness. As the date approached I asked her, “What do you think? Would it be too much walking and standing for you?” She said, “Nothing will keep me home.” Marla is a motivated trooper about her passions and the art museum is on this list. We carefully navigated through the crowd to pick up our table number for dinner then headed upstairs to the Asian Art Galleries. We were beyond excited to see the Burmese Buddha shrine which we gave to the museum four years earlier. I must say Marla and the shrine looked regal in the new reimagined galleries!

People met in various rooms prior to dinner upstairs.

Marla said, “Smile.”

Marla is with Einor Cervone, the new Associate Curator of Asia Art. She joined the Denver Art Museum from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Her CV is quite broad, earning her PhD in Pre-Modern Chinese Art and Literature from Harvard.

Christophe Heinrich, the director of the Denver Art Museum, welcomed the 600 attendees with thanks for their support.

Denver’s Mayor, Michael Hancock, addressed the crowd as well.

Happiness!

I was very fortunate to sit next to Hyonyeong “HJ” Kim Han, the new curator of Asian Art, at dinner. She will oversee the museum’s collection including objects from China, India, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia and the Himalayas. She came to Denver from the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. We are lucky to have her at the museum!

She asked me how I became interested in collecting Asia Art. I told her the catalyst was probably a Japanese Satsuma bowl my Mother gave me many years ago. I wrote a blogpost on the subject. Click on the link: Collecting Asian Art.

The gala continued with music after dinner.

The Burmese Buddha shrine is stunning! And, so is Marla!

We first spotted the Burmese Buddha shrine while in Chiang Mai shopping for our old business. This LINK is a pictorial history on how Marla and I began importing furniture, accessories, and antiques for our business.

I’m in front of the Burmese style building of one of our resources in Chiang Mai many years ago. The owner’s grandparents were from the Shan ethnic tribe and fled Burma for Chiang Mai many years ago.

While strolling around the many fascinating structures Marla spotted this Buddha shrine in a private area normally closed off from visitors. It really “talked” to Marla but it was not for sale. We told our agent to contact the owners and let us know if it ever came up for sale. Weeks later they agreed and the rest is history.

We displayed the shrine at the warehouse headquarters of Wesco Fabrics in Denver.

My office was on one side of the shrine and Marla’s office was directly across. Marla and I purchased the shrine and Buddha when we sold the business to a competitor in 2017. It was obviously too large to fit in our home. We contacted the then curator of the Asian Art to see if they would like it as a gift. His answer was…“yes!”

What a fabulous evening! We loved the gala, the new building additions, the new curators and redesigned Asia Art Galleries,…and of course our Burmese Buddha pavilion! Love her smile!

While waiting for the car I glanced up at the modernistic Hamilton building wing on the left and the new Sie Welcoming Center and Martin building on the right. Click on this Axios link for more information on the new expansion: $175 million dollar Makeover.

I hope you have a chance to visit the beautiful Denver Art Museum soon. Click for more information: DENVER ART MUSEUM

Photos: Dick Gentry. Not to be used without permission.