Review

"Untitled," Watercolor.

Angela Lopez
On the Up Side

6-9 p.m. (Third Friday Opening)

Urban Culture Project Space
21 E. 12th
Kansas City, MO
816.221.5115

Hours after Third Friday: Noon-5 p.m., Thursdays and Saturdays
Runs through: Feb. 12

Gallery site: http://www.urbancultureproject.org

Let's see: There's a war on. The outgoing occupant of the White House has an awful approval rating, while the next man to take the (daunting) job is an unproven commodity. And the economy's not just in the tank, it's six feet under it.

Sounds like a great time for an optimistic art show -- No, really. If we ever needed to be reminded of the good stuff, this is it. And by "optimistic," I don't mean "the chirpy sort of happy that makes you want to strangle the next cute thing you see". I mean work that says, "Yes, things are bad. But we have a chance to make them better."

Enter Angela Lopez. Her statement for On the Up Side makes her aim clear:

All of the work created for this show was made with a tired yet still hopeful public in mind. I entitled the show On the Up Side with the intent of shifting focus from the negative side of these issues to a more positive twist.

Instead of dwelling on the carnage of war, Lopez portrays military members who spoke out when they saw wrongs. Instead of depicting the devastating impact of pollution, she shows animals and flowers in the bloom (pardon the pun) of health and contentment. Her message is a benevolent one; her visual touch, in watercolors and oils alike, is light and reassuring as well.

This is a show suited to its time, even if it's unlikely to lift the spirits of the determinedly gloomy. We (and by this I mean all of us) need to be reminded that we still have the freedom to speak our consciences, the right to assemble with those who share our ideals and the chance each day to leave the world a little better than when we found it. Not only mindful, but grateful.

A more local gratitude, for Kansas Citians who love art, has to be the Urban Culture Project and its parent organization, the Charlotte Street Foundation. Their Third Friday openings breathed life into a previously lackluster corner of Downtown well before the Sprint Center or the Power and Light District opened.

While you're down there tonight, check out the Foundation's other openings, all of which run from 6-9 p.m. Start in the Project Space. Then move on to Free Will, featuring the work of Cortney Andrews, Adam Cruces and Martin Murphy, next door at Paragraph Gallery (23 E. 12). The artists at Bonfils (125 E. 12th) and pARTnership Place (906 Grand, 13th floor) will open their studios to the public.

Free art and a chance to see where it's made. There's another reason to smile.