The Denver Blues.

• Author: Griffin, Kelley
• Position: Art museums in Colorado

Denver has two famous towering blue pieces of public art: one is beloved--and one bedevils.

First, the beloved: a 40-foot-tall blue bear peering in through the windows of the Colorado Convention Center. The artist, the late Lawrence Argent, said he wanted to acknowledge Colorado wildlife and reflect curiosity about all the ideas circulating and conversations taking place inside the center. The blue color was a happy accident when a small prototype from a 3D printer came back in blue, and the artist went with it.

The playful sculpture, called "I See What You Mean," is a popular backdrop for photos, and small replicas of it are sold in the gift shops at the convention center and the nearby Denver Art Museum.

The other icon is the 32-foot-tall brilliant blue muscular mustang with red-lit eyes, rearing on its hind legs at the entrance to Denver International Airport. The sculpture, by the late Luis Jimenez, is officially tided "Mustang."

Locals call it "Blucifer."

It's those demonic eyes--and the fact mat part of the sculpture fell on the artist and killed him. His wife, Susan Jimenez, told Colorado Public Radio her husband had no intention of evoking evil with the work; rather, the lighted eyes were in part to honor his father, who owned a neon-sign shop where Jimenez apprenticed as a teen.

Since the work was installed at DIA in 2008, two years after the artist's death, people have called for its removal; there was even a Facebook page tided "DIA's Heinous Blue Mustang Has Got to Go." But plenty of people use the name "Blucifer" with pride and like that Denver greets visitors with a dramatic piece of art that reflects power and wildness.

DIA officials have said it's not going anywhere.

Denver Art Venues

* American Museum of Western Art

* What: Permanent home of The Anschutz Collection, a formerly private collection of paintings of the American West from the early 19th century to the present.

* When: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

* Where: 1727 Tremont Place, anschutzcollection.org

* How much: $5; guided tours available at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., $10.

* Clyfford Still Museum

* What: Minimalist showcase for the stunning large-scale paintings and archives of the most famous abstract expressionist you've never heard of.

* When: Wednesday-Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

* Where: 1250 Bannock St., clyffordstillmuseum.org

* How much: $10; 17 and under free; discounts for 65+, teachers, military, students.

* Denver Art Museum

* What: With over...