Review

"Western Auto", Block Print.

Jackie Denning

8 a.m.-11 p.m.

Muddy's Coffee Shop
318 E. 51st
Kansas City, MO
816.756.3121

Hours: 6:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday-Sunday
Runs through: Aug. 31
Artist's site: http://www.jackiedenningart.com
Gallery site: http://www.muddyskc.com

It's paradoxical, but true, that the things which seem the simplest are often the hardest to pull off well.

Triple-caramel double-mocha wet soy Amarettolattecino Supremo, extra sprinkles? No problem: Screw it up by adding too much syrup, and you can always compensate by adjusting the blend. Mess up a straight espresso shot or cup of black coffee, though, and there's no hiding the goof -- or saving the results.

It's the same way with block prints. They look easy enough -- heck, grade school kids used to do them in art class. (Anyone else remember trying to turn a potato into a printing block? Fun, huh?) Maybe potato prints are still a sixth-grade standard, assuming the sharp carving tools don't run afoul of zero-intelligence -- sorry, zero-tolerance -- weapons rules.

Anyway ... that's a rant for another time in another forum. The important thing is that Jackie Denning gets the simple form right, in her show at Muddy's Coffee Shop.

The show also includes a handful of colorful paintings, but the stars are Denning's black-and-white prints: Stark, bold and yet holding a skewed, playful storybook quality.

Most of the prints at Muddy's are of iconic Kansas City scenes: the West Bottoms, the Shuttlecocks at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art ... and, of course, the obligatory homage to the Western Auto building (pictured above). They're images anyone who lives here has seen before ... and again ... and again ... but Denning presents them in a way that's both visually fresh and emotionally engaging.

Her affection for the city is obvious. That's a case of absence making the heart grow fonder, she writes: I think Kansas City is a great city and have more appreciation for it since moving away to  in 2001. I started in New York City. That only lasted a few years, but boy was it fun.  Then I was off to live by the beach in Florida. 

Denning is now back in Kansas City and has opened Gallery111, a combination art gallery, teaching hub and metaphysics center in the West Bottoms. She's also continuing her block printing project, with new pieces to be unveiled at a future First Friday opening in the Crossroads.

You don't have to wait to enjoy Denning's deceptively simple  art, or a straightforward cup of coffee. Her show at Muddy's runs through the end of the month.

And for the record ... the fancy drinks there are good, too.

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