Catch a SMiLE

The closing reception for “A Golden Thread,” featuring work by Boulder icon SMiLE, will fill the Bus Stop Gallery from 6-9 p.m. Friday. But first, fans can bid on the elusive street artist’s 15 new pieces before the show.

SMiLE is famous for sleuthing around Boulder throughout the night, putting up his famed works of cats, foxes, Beat poets and more. After a rare exhibit displayed his work at Bus Stop Gallery earlier this month, his pieces sold out within minutes, Nod Norkus, NoBo Art District’s gallery and event manager, said.

The people want more SMiLEs, so the people shall get more. SMiLE will auction off 15 new pieces of art, created on repurposed materials, for his closing show at Bus Stop. The auction will be in person and online. The new pieces will be put up online for bid starting at 8 p.m. Thursday and will close at 8 p.m. Friday. In-person bidders can appear at Bus Stop for the closing reception from 6-9 p.m. Friday.

Norkus said that if the auction drives prices higher than SMiLE’s accessible and affordable start points, proceeds will be donated to All Roads, a Boulder County shelter and nonprofit that works to create permanent solutions to homelessness.

From Ella Cobb’s in-depth feature on the Boulder icon:

Armed with a meticulously handcrafted and hand-cut stencil, several cans of spray paint, and an inconspicuous get-up, SMiLE sneaks into the night to impress his vibrant creations onto the more mundane parts of Boulder. While his art is technically considered vandalism as defined by the city of Boulder’s Municipal code, SMiLE isn’t some rogue ruffian. Each work of art is placed in a location that is carefully chosen with deep consideration.

— Christy Fantz

Boulder area

Ana’s Art Gallery: “Waiting for Autumn,” by Linda Faul showcases new and past work, including “Grazing in the Mountains.” Faul is a powerful colorist who combines realism with a touch of fantasy. ; 5-8 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday; 1100 Spruce St., Boulder; anasartgallery.com.

Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art: “Smoke & Mirrors,” group show highlighting optical illusions made by eight artists using reflective materials, up through Jan. 12; 1750 13th St., Boulder; bmoca.org.

Dairy Arts Center: “Homelands: Reconnection,” tribute to the Arapaho, Cheyenne and Ute tribes, honoring the connection to their ancestral lands that now make up Boulder, up through Nov. 3; Open studios preview exhibition, work from the 2024 tour. Opening reception at 5 p.m. Friday, up through Oct. 27; 2590 Walnut St., Boulder; thedairy.org.

Nick Ryan Gallery: “Recollections,” by Jessica Rohrer, Andrew Watel, Brenda Stumpf and Daniel Granitto, up through Saturday; 1221 Pennsylvania Ave., Suite 110, Boulder; nickryangallery.com.

NoBo Art Center: “Digging Up Dirt — Unearth the Dark,” featuring the figurative sculptural work of Cindy Britan and contemporary abstract floral artwork by Lorena Fox, up through Sunday; 4929 Broadway, #E, Boulder; noboartdistrict.org.

CU Art Museum: “Better Days,” artists respond to historical moments where uncertainty prevailed with works of art imagining a better world, encouraging silver linings, up through Oct. 26; “William Villalongo: Myths and Migrations,” presents almost 20 years of artmaking by William Villalongo, including figural and narrative paintings, works on paper and sculpture that incorporate flocking, cut paper and collage, up through Dec. 20; 1085 18th St., Boulder; colorado.edu/cuartmuseum

Longmont area

Firehouse Art Center: “Blue Whispers,” by Erica Podwoiski, the nature of moths through the cyanotype technique, up through Oct. 6; “Somatic Alchemy,” by Samara Johnson, the inner workings of the human body, up through Oct. 6; 667 Fourth Ave., Longmont; firehouseart.org.

The Great Frame Up: Pastel Society of Colorado Members Show, up through Oct. 31; 430 Main St., Longmont; longmont.thegreatframeup.com