The Story
Once home to iron and steel manufacturing and sprawling railroad yards, the River North Art District (RiNo) is now in transition, honeycombed with craft shops, artist's studios, galleries, graphic design firms and upscale lofts.
Among the old factory sites that have been converted to new uses is the hundred-year-old Box Ironworks at 3349 Blake Street, which has had many incarnations over the course of the century. It once manufactured equipment and electric hoists for the Colorado gold mining industry, as well as harvesting and processing equipment for the sugar beet industry.
RiNo Denver’s first art gallery
Home is where the art is.
Today, the site is home to The Pattern Shop Studio, an AIA Award-winning studio and art gallery designed by architect David Owen Tryba, and home to Sharon and Rex Brown since 1991. Sharon is literally the “artist in residence,” as her paintings have been exhibited regularly for more than 15 years along with other artists, such as photographers Michael Ensminger and Nick Del Calzo, and painter Eric Zimmer, and many more.
Pattern Shop Studio is more than a gallery, it is an actual home, and a magical place to explore the intersection of art and our daily lives, as described so well in the pages of 5280 Magazine:
“Like all shows at the Pattern Shop, the 45 featured works are spread throughout the Browns’ home, in stairwells and hallways and offices. Which may be precisely what has kept the Browns in business for so long: Nowhere else in Denver can you see art in the context of a home, surrounded by furniture and yesterday’s dishes—as it would be if you purchased it. Here, you begin to understand how art can fit into a space and transform it. The Browns gave art a home in an area where no one expected to find it.”
Though the Pattern Shop Studio may be the oldest gallery in RiNo, it still continues to innovate and push the boundaries of what an art gallery can be, and who art is for. By breaking down barriers to art by building a family of curious, creative pioneers through community events, special gatherings, and private tours, Pattern Shop Studio provides a place where people can learn, grow, gather, and dream.
From arty events or salon-type gatherings or even special music experiences and learning series, Sharon and Rex invite you to make their home, your home.
