5 small art fairs in Denver offer big thrills in the coming weeks

March is a time of transition for museums and galleries. The winter blockbusters have started to wind down and the big summer shows have yet to start. Art fans need to look for the gems.

But they are out there, especially this year when a number of institutions put on well-designed, tightly curated, modestly sized shows.

Think of this exhibition list as an à la carte menu of gallery-visiting opportunities. Any of these options could make for a satisfying stop — or combine them for a full day of sightseeing.

Here are five things that look promising right now.

A trio of exhibitions featuring Ana María Hernando, various locations, through July 5

This was a shining moment for Ana María Hernando. He has had solo shows at two of Colorado’s most important contemporary spaces, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver and the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. At the same time, he was part of a group show at the Robischon Gallery.

In Springs, the “Cantando Bajito (Singing Softly)” retrospective continues through July 3 and brings together many of the elements that Hernando combines to profound effect in his art: sculptures made of tulle, paintings, drawings and a little poetry.

The MCA Denver show (March 5-July 5) is titled “Seguir Cantando (Keep Singing),” and deals with a similar theme, proceeding “chromatically, starting with works made with black charcoal, gray tulle, and dark paint to white tulle and embroidery, to colorful new works.”

Combined with her role in Robischon’s “Ostinatos” (through March 21), this is a great opportunity to celebrate the career of one of Colorado’s important voices in the visual arts.

More info: 719-634-5581 or fac.coloradocollege.edu

“Conversation Pieces: Stories from the Fashion Archives,” Denver Art Museum, through October 11

Many people know about the Denver Art Museum’s extensive collection of paintings and sculptures, but its extensive fashion collection often goes unnoticed. “Conversation Pieces” highlights one of DAM’s underrated attractions.

The show has over 60 objects in its list. Each was runway ready, and many were shown in the gallery for the first time.

On the shelves: clothes and accessories from names such as Coco Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Yohji Yamamoto, Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, Karl Lagerfeld and others. There’s a nice local touch to the show, which puts separate emphasis on some of the clothes worn by Denver’s fashionable set of the past and present.

More info: 720-865-5000 or denverartmuseum.org.

“What We’ve Done: People,” Denver Art Museum, through September 29

“What We’ve Done” is part of the Denver Art Museum’s ongoing series in which the photography department displays images from its collection that the public has never seen before. So far, the series has been great, serving the dual purpose of entertaining visitors with high-quality displays, while also giving Coloradans a chance to see some examples of how millions of dollars in public art funding goes toward acquisitions.

As the title suggests, this edition focuses on portraits. Even though it seems narrow, there is a lot of diversity within the genre which makes this show still interesting, one of which is because the curators decided to combine the work of contemporary photographers with images from photo artists dating back to the 1800s. The list of exhibitors includes Lucas Foglia, Francesca Woodman, Flor Garduno, Tina Modotti, Andrea Modica, Jess T. Dugan and many more.

More info: 720)-865-5000 or denverartmuseum.org.

“Future: 528.0: Regional Graphic Arts Exhibition,” Fine Arts Center (Part of Graphic Arts Month)

Denver Printmaking Month begins in March, and this exhibition, at the Visual Arts Center, is one of its early highlights. As the title suggests, this show features the work of artists who live within a 528-mile radius of the city.

At the heart of the curation is a diversity of materials, to showcase “traditional and alternative methods used in the field of contemporary printmaking.” Among the judges were esteemed names, including CVA director and curator Cecily Cullen; Rick Griffith, founder of Denver-based MATTER, a nonprofit organization that supports all types of graphic arts; and Chinn Wang, a national artist whose works are held in major museums across the country.

With such a wide geographical area, the roster is huge – really big – with around 70 names on the roster, including local stars like Trine Bumiller, Carlos Frésquez, Viviane Le Courtois, Mark Lunning, Taiko Chandler, Tony Ortega and many more.

Printmaking Month — better known as Mo’ Print — includes a number of exhibitions, discussions, workshops, and more spread across dozens of galleries and other venues, with major shows at CVA, RedLine Contemporary Art Center, and Arvada Center.

For information about the CVA event and other Mo’ Print events, visit moprint.org.

“Ostinatos,” Robischon Gallery, through March 21

Robischon Gallery represents many of the area’s top artists, and typically exhibits them through small solo shows. However, over time, this place grew bigger, collecting the works of groups of artists whose output was connected by a theme or process. When that happens, the exhibit is almost always a winner because viewers get to see a variety of Colorado’s top names all at once.