Carlos Fresquez at Kaiser

I was over at Kaiser Permanente's Franklin Street building the other day. They have a great art collection there! I firmly believe art heals, both in the doing and in the experiencing. One of my favorite paintings there, in a walkway facing a wall of windows along 20th Ave., is Carlos Fresquez's, A Westside Wedding. It's big, larger than five foot square, and the color and bravura brushstrokes are amazing and uplifting to behold. Pictured are a bride and groom on the steps of St. Cajetan's Church, which was the center of the Spanish speaking community there. It was built in 1925, and has a special place in my heart. The Delgado side of my family were members, and my mom was baptized there in 1927. It has been designated a historic landmark by both the National Register of Historic Places and by Denver Landmark Preservation Commission. That is probably the only reason it is still standing, as much of the neighborhood around it was demolished to make way for the Auraria Campus, which holds the University of Colorado at Denver, Community College of Denver, and Metropolitan State University at Denver, my alma mater. It is also Carlos Fresquez's, who graduated with a BFA from Metro in 1980. I had returned for a second stint there at that time. I never met Carlos, but I remember seeing his work in the studios and at Emmanuel Gallery, another beautiful old church/synagogue that escaped the wrecking ball. To see more of Carlos Fresquez's work, click: http://carlosfresquez.com/index.html