




Client: Denver Art Museum
Location: Denver, CO, United States
Completion date: 2013
Project Team
Client
Arpie Chucovich
Denver Art Museum
Artist
Gail Folwell
Folwell Studios

Overview
Tête à Tête is in the Modern and Contemporary collections of the Denver Art Museum. The figures spin in place, engaging in a variety of dialogs based on their position. They move to interact with the clientele, other installations at the museum or a dialog between them.
Goals
Placed on the glass bridge over 14th Street, they address street traffic, mistakably human in form and confronting gesture.
Process
Finding an appropriate place for touchable art in a museum where art is untouchable was an enjoyable collaborative effort. The custodians held the responsibility of spinning the figures until Tête à Tête became a popular stop for docents and museum visitors to spin and arrange in their own interpretation.
Additional Information
The piece was too intriguing for guests to keep hands away. Eventually the curatorial staff was happy to have people engage and spin the art themselves. Alone in a high traffic area,Tête à Tête established its own precedent for touchable art.