Is there a way to view a published but pending article on the frontend?

There are people that want to proof the article but we do not want them to have backend access.

I have logged into the frontend but I still don't see the pending k2-items.

If the user is the author she/he can see unpublished items in her/his user page.

Ok, I see that now.

Ideally, wouldn't it make sense to allow a publisher or higher see unpublished items from users below them like editors and authors? Is this possible?

If that is the case you can allow that user to be a Manager and access the backend with limited rights.