Review

"Brick and Mortar," Intaglio Print and Colored Pencil.

Matt Kuhlman
Spontaneous Construction

By appointment.

Plenum Art Space
504 E. 18th St.
Kansas City, MO
816.929.5930

Hours: By appointment
Runs through: April 23

Artist's site: http://www.mattkuhlman.com
Gallery site: http://plenumspace.weebly.com

Not to draw any unpleasant links between cities and infections, but sometimes it's hard not to think of the land as a vast petri dish, full of geometrically and exponentially multiplying organisms.

A few buildings here and there, most likely near a decent water source (or at the very least, a railhead), and the next thing you know you've got yourself a city. And where there are cities — especially when those cities are unrestrained by such geographical barriers as oceans and mountain ranges — there will be urban sprawl.

Matt Kuhlman, whose hometown of Lawrence will someday be swallowed up by the Kansas City metro area, doesn't come across as either pro- or anti-development in Spontaneous Construction, his show of mixed-media works at Plenum Art Space in the East Crossroads.

Then again, he also doesn't come off as indifferent.

I am fascinated by the cities we build for a number of reasons, but this body of work I have produced primarily focuses on the organic qualities of the city, writes Kuhlman, who is studying for a master's degree in journalism at the University of Kansas after earning a BFA in printmaking there in 2008. Like all living organisms begin with a single cell, all cities begin with a single building; and both grow in very similar patterns by multiplying and expanding from the point of origin.

Kuhlman creates his urban organisms out of photographs of building, placing them on penciled-in backgrounds. In several cases, the life in his work has progressed well beyond the single-celled.

The colorful "creatures" in Brick and Mortar, today's featured piece, could be seen from above as a colony of bacteria. But from the side, they resemble nothing so much as a pair of  hulking prehistoric animals stomping across the landscape.

Remember, though, Kuhlman takes no position (beyond fascination) concerning sprawl and its effects:

Depending on the point of view used, this growth can be interpreted as either good or bad.  While some may see cities as a cancer creeping across the land, others may see them as signs of progress and prosperity.  These differences aside, I am interested in the city itself. The buildings of the city are the environment that we choose to create for ourselves to live in.  Every structure was intentionally created to be a part of that environment, right down to the last detail.  In that light, I see the city as a work of art in itself, and a constant source of inspiration.

So the next time you're attempting to get from Gardner to Liberty during the rush hour/construction project double whammy, remember ... you're not stuck in traffic, you're navigating art.

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