Published: 2026/01/11 07:35:17
Gary Simmons’ “Rush” at Denver’s Cookie Factory: A meditation on American History
Gary Simmons’ immersive installation, Rush, currently on view at the Cookie Factory in Denver, Colorado, is a profoundly moving reflection on movement, memory, and the often-erased narratives within American history. Simmons, renowned since the late 1980s for his artistic exploration of erasure, expands his conceptual practice to an architectural scale, transforming the gallery into a sprawling blackboard environment where images materialize, dissolve, and linger just beyond complete disappearance. The exhibition is a bold statement on how we record, remember, and ultimately, contend with the past.
The Blackboard as Canvas: A Foundation in Drawing and Erasure
The blackboard isn’t a new element in Simmons’ work; it’s a foundational surface he’s consistently returned to. In Rush, the artist employs a physical act of drawing and partial erasing, leaving behind ghostly smudges and residues – visual echoes that exist between visibility and oblivion. This tactile process underscores the essential importance of drawing itself within Simmons’ broader artistic vision.
“Everything is based in drawing for me,” Simmons explained during an exclusive preview. “It’s one of the purest forms of interaction. If I said, ‘Hey, how do I get to this destination?’ You would draw me a map. And it’d be a crude map, but I would probably understand it.”
For Simmons, drawing’s power lies in its inherent honesty. The possibility of mistakes and revisions elevates each stroke, imbuing it with intentionality. This emphasis on the process—the making and unmaking—is central to the overall impact of Rush.
Mapping the West: Chaplin,the Donner Party,and the Mythology of the Frontier
The imagery within Rush directly engages with the mythology of westward expansion in the United States,specifically as it relates to Colorado’s history. The exhibition’s title is drawn from Charlie chaplin’s iconic film, The Gold Rush (1925), invoking enduring American ideals of perseverance, ambition, and the pursuit of progress. However, Simmons doesn’t present a romanticized vision. Rather, he centers on potent frontier symbols – the cabin and the covered wagon – referencing both Chaplin’s cinematic depiction and the harrowing historical account of the Donner Party.
Presenting these images on a blackboard, a medium traditionally associated with education and learning, creates a compelling tension. They are presented as lessons,but deliberately unresolved,inviting viewers to grapple with the complexities and often-dark undercurrents of the American West. The choice to employ sepia tones in his wall drawings further enhances this effect, evoking a sense of historical distance while simultaneously highlighting the constructed nature of historical narratives.
A Unique Venue: The Cookie Factory and Community Engagement
the exhibition’s location—the Cookie Factory in Denver—is deliberately unconventional.As curator Jérôme Sans points out, “Most museums around the world are not surrounded by homes, they are surrounded by life.” This placement is integral to the exhibition’s intent; it actively avoids the isolation frequently enough associated with traditional art institutions. The Cookie Factory, intentionally open and accessible, fosters a connection with the surrounding community.
Amanda J.precourt, the co-founder and Executive Director, reinforces this commitment, stating that the venue is “free to the public” and “privately funded so that we can be in collaboration, not in competition.” this ethos allows Rush to engage a diverse audience, extending its reach beyond the usual art-world circuit.
Movement, Decay, and the Fragility of Memory
The theme of movement permeates the entire exhibition, resonating not only with the historical narratives of westward migration but also with the building’s own evolving history—from paper mill to cookie factory, eventual abandonment, and now, a vibrant cultural space. Simmons draws a parallel between these physical transitions and the often-tumultuous journeys undertaken by those seeking a new life in the West.
Simmons notes the promise of prosperity inherent in the concept of Manifest Destiny was rarely realized without important hardship and loss. “There were all these routes and paths and corridors that had to be navigated,” he explains, “and there was a lot of slippage and death and all kinds of other unfortunate things along the way.”
The introduction of sepia tones and recurring imagery of shooting stars introduces a layer of poetic reflection. Simmons views these stars as symbols of both aspiration and impermanence: ”There’s a joy and a wishfulness to them, but there’s also tragedy.” He connects the fleeting nature of shooting stars to the personal meaning of witnessing one—a moment indelibly etched in memory, shielded from public disclosure.
A Constantly Evolving Experience
rush is conceived as a work that changes over time. The drawings are designed to soften and fade, allowing the elements—time, weather, and repeated viewings—to alter and rearrange the imagery. Simmons anticipates that visitors will leave with a ”fractured memory” of the exhibition, a subjective recollection filled with gaps that they themselves will fill.This act of personal completion highlights the inherently unreliable and reconstructive nature of memory.
Simmons emphasizes this cyclical process of creation and erasure, observing that “this work being about erasure, and then erasing again as it lives on in someone’s mind—that’s really where the power is for me.” The impact of Rush lies not just in what is present, but in what is vanishing, and in the space created by that absence.
Visiting Rush
Gary Simmons’ Rush is on view at the Cookie Factory in Denver through May 9, 2026. The exhibition offers a thought-provoking and visually arresting exploration of American history, memory, and the enduring power of art to challenge our perceptions of the past.
