Still in Sound Exhibition Opens on May 16 at the Clyfford Still Museum
DENVER, April 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Clyfford Still Museum will open the new multisensory exhibition Still in Sound on May 16 in Denver, CO. Co-curated by Bailey Placzek, the Museum's curator of collections, and Ben Coleman, a British multidisciplinary artist, Still in Sound explores how visitors may experience abstract visual language through sound in the Museum's six largest galleries. Additionally, the Museum will open a special-feature exhibition, Celebrating 15 Years: 15 New Paintings in 15 Months, in the first gallery, and a chronological display of Still's works in the first three galleries.
The Still in Sound curators engaged contemporary artists who work with sound in their practice, including Maria Chávez, Maya Dunietz, Kalyn Heffernan, Matana Roberts, and Michael Schumacher. After brief Museum residencies, each artist selected an abstract Clyfford Still artwork and composed an original, sonic interpretation in response. Their selections and resulting compositions set the tone for each gallery, then Placzek filled the rooms with other artworks that resonated with their contributions. Coleman curated the artist's sound interpretations to create a holistic, immersive environment through the galleries. Denver artist Phillip David Stearns also designed a special interactive experience for the exhibition in response to Still's pastel drawings.
The Still in Sound exhibition digital guide enables visitors to experience the show at their own pace. The guide will also include a sound tour following Still's chronological collection highlights.
About the guest artists: Matana Roberts is a sound experimentalist, musician, and alto saxophonist who works in many performance and sound mediums. Kalyn Heffernan fronts the internationally acclaimed band Wheelchair Sports Camp. Based in Brooklyn, pioneering American sound artist and composer Michael J. Schumacher has innovated in spatialized sound and algorithmic composition. Born in Lima, Peru, and based in New York City, Maria Chávez is best known as an abstract turntablist, sound artist, and DJ. Maya Dunietz is an artist and musician who works at the intersection of music, visual art, performance, technological research, and philosophy. Phillip David Stearns' work draws from music and sound art, expanded photography, installation art, textile art, new media, and digital art.
Still in Sound will close on February 14, 2027.
Fifteen years after the Clyfford Still Museum opened, roughly two-thirds of its art collection has never been on public view. In Celebrating 15 Years, the Still will unveil 15 paintings that Still created between 1947 and 1973, introducing one new artwork each month for 15 months.
Visit clyffordstillmuseum.org.
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SOURCE Clyfford Still Museum
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