* What: Work by Marc Berghaus, Lui Ferreyra, Gwen Laine and Dave Seiler (with a cast of dozens); with "Foothills Founders: A Retrospective," in Foothills II

* Where and when: Foothills Art Center, 809 15th St., Golden; through Aug. 31

* Happy birthday to them: Some people or institutions celebrate a milestone year with a blow-out, others more quietly. I'd put Foothills' exhibitions taking note of turning 40 in the second category.

That's because there might be a printed history on the wall, and the center has produced a video in which founders talk about the launch of a community art center for Golden. And the works commissioned for the occasion use the center's home - a 1892 former church - as their launching pad.

But the result is a mix of kitsch and promise. Bringing in the community - artists as well as "civilians" - is perfectly understandable. Yet the center is not just the building and not just the community. It also is the work displayed there over the years - for good and for bad. And any nod to that is lost.

Curator Michael Chavez asked four artists to contribute: Lui Ferreyra has created signature fragmented paintings depicting the center and Table Mesa; Gwen Laine made a photo-based installation incorporating images of the hands of community members; Kansas- based Marc Berghaus did an immense re-creation of the center (you can crawl inside, and this work apparently fueled the entire project); and artist and Foothills exhibition preparator Dave Seiler asked numerous friends to embellish small clay building replicas in artistic fashion, as he did, too.

That seems like a lot, but I left hungry and considering the center's strengths: the annual Colorado Clay show and some editions of the now-biennial North American Sculpture Exhibition. In my time following Foothills, I can recall a few other strong shows, where the director walked the line between wanting to present forward-thinking art to a conservative audience.

But if "XL" is on the "frontier," I don't think much ground has been gained, 40 years notwithstanding.

* Information: 303-279-3922; foothillsartcenter.org