To Persevere or Surrender
Catie Michel. Digital mock-up with color swatches for Kingfisher, 2024. Courtesy of the artist.
about this exhibition
To Persevere or Surrender is inspired by The Work of Art: How Something Comes from Nothing by journalist and editor Adam Moss. The book is a collection of conversations with notable artists who create culturally significant works across a spectrum of genres. The book’s subjects include Stephen Sondheim, Kara Walker, Sofia Coppola, Barbara Kruger, Taylor Mac, Marc Jacobs, Samin Nosrat, Shela Heti, and more. For each intimate interview, Adam and the artist focus on a single project, tracing its nonlinear path from conception to completion through stories, sketches, and drafts – through struggles, dormant periods, and eventual breakthroughs.
This exhibition will take a similar approach to the one Adam explores in his book, presenting local artists’ practice through materials that contribute to the culmination of their artworks.
Featuring work by Frankie Toan, Chelsea Kaiah, Catie Michel, and Juan Fuentes.
The exhibition reception takes place in conjunction with the event How Something Comes from Nothing: Adam Moss in Conversation with Mardee Goff on Tuesday, February 10, 2026. Both the exhibition and the event with Adam Moss are part of RMCAD’s Recontextualize Series.
EXHIBITION on view
February 2 - March 27, 2026
OPENING RECEPTION
Tuesday, February 10th, 2026 at 5:30 pm in conjunction with How Something Comes from Nothing: Adam Moss in Conversation with Mardee Goff
GALLERY HOURS
Monday through Friday, 11 am - 4 pm.
The Philip J. Steele Gallery is located on RMCAD’s campus at 1600 Pierce Street, Denver, CO 80214.
ABOUT THE PHILIP J. STEELE GALLERY
Named in honor of RMCAD’s founder, the Philip J. Steele Gallery features dynamic and innovative work from contemporary artists and designers, RMCAD alumni, current students, and faculty. Open to the public, these galleries serve as a place to foster critical discourse around art and design for the RMCAD and broader communities by presenting challenging, educational, and significant exhibitions and projects.
ARTIST BIOS
Catie Michel is a Denver-based science illustrator and public artist whose work bridges field research, science communication, and visual storytelling. Drawing on collaborations with organizations such as NOAA, The Nature Conservancy, and botanic gardens across the West, her practice explores connection, access, and environmental advocacy through public art, murals, and interdisciplinary research.
Frankie Toan (they/he) is a Denver-based artist working with craft, DIY materials, and textiles to create soft sculptures, immersive installations, and collaborative performance projects. Their work has been shown nationally at venues including Atlanta Contemporary and the Museum of Museums, and they are a co-founder of Rainbow Dome and a co-creator of large-scale, community-driven art experiences.
Juan Fuentes is a photo-based artist born in Chihuahua, México and raised in Denver’s Northside neighborhood. His work explores intimate stories of immigrant and Chicano life in the U.S., using photography and installation to examine memory, family, erasure, and belonging while centering marginalized communities. Fuentes has exhibited widely, including at the Denver Art Museum and Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, and his work is held in several institutional collections.
Chelsea Kaiah is a multidisciplinary artist working in sculpture and community-centered practices. Born on the Northern Ute reservation, she is White River Ute and White Mountain Apache, and her work is grounded in sustainable material exploration and traditional craft processes such as beadwork, quillwork, and hide work. Kaiah approaches materials as sentient collaborators, allowing forms and stories rooted in identity, history, and family to emerge through care and intention.