(Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post)


A Cote Absinthe Bar, 2239 W. 30th Ave., is so French, so artistic, so ooh la la it makes My Brother's Bar look like Chopper's. A few stools crowd the zinc-topped bar, which is backed by lots of absinthe bottles and the fountains that drip the water that clouds the liquor as it passes through sugar cubes. They take no reservations, says owner Patrick Dupays, neither here nor at Z Cuisine, next door. People come and go as they please, but Dupays will throw you out if you're drunk and bothering the bespectacled crowds who are busy talking, cooing, looking at the local art, watching the Andy Warhol/Edie Sedgwick movie on the wall, or listening to background music that moves from house to Edith Piaf.

Robin Rule.
Robin Rule. (Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post)


Robin Rule, 52, grew up in Kansas City, Mo., in a house that was filled with art and music. She studied marketing and communication at Missouri State University, came to Denver to study graphic design at the Colorado Institute of Art, then landed at Perkins Shearer selling clothes. All this came before she entered the contemporary-art world, first in a gallery with art wizard Cydney Payton, then on her own. Rule Gallery has hopped all around the city over the past two decades, representing the best of the regional artists. She moved again this week from her gallery at 227 Broadway to settle into a new space in RiNo, 3340 Walnut St. She is open by appointment (303-777-9473) until she barges back with a grand opening on May 6. She lives in Highland with a dog and a cat and lots of art. She orders a La Vie en Rose, a heady concoction of fresh grapefruit juice, vodka, granita and rose champagne. Somehow, it does not fog her glasses. We later share a Leopold Bros. absinthe, elegantly served. BH: Have you made money in the gallery business?

Rule: Sometimes. It's been tough. It's boom or bust.

BH: How is it right now?

Rule: This week is fantastic. 2010 was horrible.

(Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post)
Now some clients are coming out of the woodwork again. And I am so grateful because I was really getting frightened. Really frightened, and every dealer would say that.

BH: Why do you keep pounding away at this? There are easier professions.

Rule: This is what I do, where I get great joy.

BH: Is Denver a supportive arts town?

Rule: Denver is tough. But every artist in every city says that, unless you're in New York, and you struggle there unless you are famous. But Denver is nurturing. Denver is coming around, and it has a lot to do with the art museums here that are getting a lot of national attention.

BH: The recession hurts art?

Rule: It's the first thing to go. It's an expense people can pull back on. It's a luxury item, and it always has been.

BH: Do you like the Cherry Creek Arts Festival?

Rule: It encourages people to think about art. Hopefully they'll buy something decent and they'll think, "That was fun." And then they may go buy a piece of art from a gallery.

BH: Why should anyone trust an art dealer?

Rule: Art dealers get a bad rap. But I know the artist. I try to show only art that I would own myself, that I would like to have hanging in my life. Otherwise I would feel phony about it.

BH: What kind of art do you like?

Rule: My particular taste in art is geometrically and mathematically based, abstract painting, also conceptual work, text-based work.

(Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post)

BH: Do you sell a lot of that?

Rule: I try, but it's not Denver, really. I've thought of taking all the art in my house and putting it into my new gallery and saying, "This is what I have." Not sell it, just have a big party.

BH: Why are you moving your gallery to RiNo?

Rule: My lease is up on Broadway, and I wanted to be near other artists, galleries and studios. I wanted to be in an arts district, and I just love RiNo.

BH: How do you describe youself? A bohemian? A square?

Rule: Both of those. And nerdy, chic, smart, geeky. I am a mix of people, and that's the thing I like about the arts. It's a very interesting, forgiving environment.

BH: Is art sometimes pretentious?

Rule: Well, yes. It's sometimes about the haves and the have-nots. But that's part of the world I live in. You can let it eat you alive and make you insecure and weird, or you can say OK. I have a bungalow in the Highlands that I love dearly and I love my garden. I just can't be negative. It does not help.

BH: So you like your life?

Rule: I do like my life. You like your life?

BH: It's OK. This interview is about you, not me. Do you like being single?

Rule: I don't mind being single. I am not one of those people who feel incomplete because I don't have a boyfriend. I have a really interesting life and great friends and a really cool business. And that's something.

BH: What is Kansas City like?

Rule: It's a very sophisticated city with ghastly weather. The art scene there is hot, the museums are amazing.

BH: What's your idea of happiness?

Rule: Entertaining my dear friends in my garden.

BH: Greatest fear?

Rule: Horror Vacui. A space without art.

BH: What don't you like about yourself?

Rule: My unwillingness to yield.

BH: In others?

Rule: Cruelty.

BH: What's your current state of mind?

Rule: Positive.

BH: What don't you like about your appearance?

Rule: I accept my appearance.

BH: Person you most despise?

Rule: I don't despise anyone I know personally.

BH: What quality do you like in a man?

Rule: Generosity. I also like a man who can build something, a man who has tools.

BH: In a woman?

Rule: Compassion and humor.

BH: Is there a word or phrase you overuse?

Rule: "Whatever."

BH: What or who is the greatest love of your life?

Rule: My two sisters.

BH: When are where are you happiest?

Rule: Being outside, walking my dog. Hiking and gardening. I'm inside all the time with my job.

BH: What would you change about yourself?

Rule: I would not be so anxious.

BH: You seem so comfortable with yourself.

Rule: I am a good actress.

BH: What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Rule: Keeping a gallery open since 1987.

BH: Where would you like to live?

Rule: I'd like to have been a 49er in San Fancisco.

BH: What's your most marked characteristic?

Rule: I am resilient.

BH: Who are your favorite writers?

Rule: Wallace Stegner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John O'Hara.

BH: Who is your favorite hero in fiction?

Rule: Jay Gatsby. He would throw these big parties and just watch. He really didn't want to participate. That's what I do at every opening.

BH: Favorite art museum?

Rule: The Menil Collection in Houston.

BH: What food wouldn't you eat even to be polite?

Rule: Hot dogs.

BH: Music?

Rule: I don't have an iPod, I have CDs. I listen to Lucinda Williams, Bob Dylan. I love Debussy.

BH: Do you exercise?

Rule: I take a power walk with my dog every day.

BH: Where do you shop?

Rule: Max, Wardrobe Works, Target and Urban Outfitters.

BH: What is your greatest regret?

Rule: That I didn't own a bar in my 20s. If I liked to stay up late, which I don't, I would have made a great barkeep. Like Miss Kitty in Dodge City.


Rule: I love TV. Don't you hate people who don't have a TV? I love bad TV.

BH: How would you like to die?

Rule: I just buried my mother, so I want to die peacefully. Please. I hope somebody can give me a shot or a pill.

BH: Motto?

Rule: Don't overthink it. But I overthink everything.

Interview conducted, condensed and edited by Bill Husted: 303-954-1486 or bhusted@denverpost.com.