Collage 
Words in Pictures: Mary McFarlane Espinosa(0)
June 15, 2011 —
Mary McFarlane Espinosa’s music is an equal and bittersweet mix of triumph and sadness, exultation and struggle. Her visual art, especially the assemblage work, mirrors that.
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BLUE CHIPS AND BIG TRUCKS
It’s now then-and-gone for “America: Now and Here,” which honored KC with being its first national venue on what is hoped to be a years-long project journey. It provided a month’s-worth of discussions, of music, film, poetry, and theatre events to inspire — from Eric Fischl’s colleague “blue chip” artists and our equally brilliant pool of local talent.
SAN ANTONIO, MEET LAWRENCE; LAWRENCE, MEET …
“The New Old San Antonio: Tales from the Little Big Town” showcases works by 33 artists who have strong ties to the city of San Antonio. They vary in theme, approach, and level of experience — but the pieces selected pieces work together as a whole. The resulting exhibition, which showed in San Antonio last month and is at the Lawrence Arts Center through June 17, is a mix of work that paints the city as a diverse and vibrant arts community.
Travelin’ Man(nequin): Emily Morris
Emily Morris has taken what might have been a light, whimsical show and given it both shadows and weight.
URBAN/ENVIRONMENT: A COLLAGE OF INSPIRATION IN JANET SATZ’S WORK
Janet Satz transforms small-scale, multi-layered collages of manipulated photographs, drawings, prints, and paintings into large archival pigment prints to address environmental issues. Her latest “Urban Landscape” series was featured at the Signs of Life gallery last fall, along with works from her “Modular Series” and others. The stark scenes evoked give viewers pause as they presume the human influence behind both the natural and city scapes.
FORTY YEARS UP
KCAI printmaking professor Hugh Merrill is celebrating a four-decade career with a new book, “Divergent Consistencies.” A release and signing party is April 21, from 6 to 8 p.m., at the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center. Janell Meador gives us an outline of Merrill’s motivations and trajectory, complete with a video interview produced by Ben Meade, in this profile of a diverse and dedicated artist who believes in not remaining a passive creator.
mariaurora IN STUDIO AT LEEDY-VOULKOS
Maria Creyts/mariaurora is on site during gallery hours at the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center through the duration of her “neoPanos” exhibition. Her photo friezes look innocent enough with their bright colors and highly texturized compositions, but they beg us to interact and to discover their creation process thorough careful examination.
Commandments to Self: Adriane Herman
Adriane Herman’s “Pick Me Up (a few things) explores the worlds of memory, listmaking, everyday activity … and the human propensity to break its own “Commandments to Self.”
COORDINATED COLORS, MESSAGES
“Pattern ID,” organized by the Akron Museum of Art, resonates with new energy at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, where it is on view through May 8. Featuring 15 highly acclaimed artists, the exhibition presents a diverse and varied group of artworks, which address the concepts of pattern and identity. The show is bright, energizing, and dynamic — a cultural mélange that reflects the globalized world of the early 21st century.
SPACIOUS IN A SMALL SPACE
In “What the Hell Was I Thinking?” at Invisible Hand Gallery, there is a balance between the nebulous flowing, paper-based work of Alicia Kelly and the crisp, linear constructions of Andrew Huffman that guides the viewer through the compact space. The work of these two artists presents youthful and fresh approaches to abstraction.
ROLL CALL FOR BOOKS’ ROLE
“Pages” marks our love affair with print culture in this age of digitized information and technological screens, with work from 43 artists and including a number of “please touch” libraries of handmade books, ‘zines, sketchbooks, and other creations. Curator Amy Kligman presents a compelling exhibition that serves as an ode to print culture.
Small Talks: Joe Ramiro Garcia
Joe Ramiro Garcia’s small scale pieces at Blue Gallery are every bit as deep and strong as his larger works, offering plenty of entry points for the eye and much to think about once inside.
It’s a Noble Gas, Gas, Gas: Willem Volkersz
Willem Volkersz blurs the lines between painting, sculpture, installation and collage in the same way that mid-20th century roadside culture blurred the lines between sculpture, advertising, architecture, kitsch and folk/outsider art.
Colors and Contours: Stephanie Freeman
Stephanie Freeman’s bright, colorful canvases explore the twin themes of creation and destruction … and it’s far from a grim exploration.
Expressions of Faith: Faith Bilyeu
Faith Bilyeu incorporates text into her work — sometimes as punctuation, sometimes as exhortation, sometimes as heartfelt praise, and always as a key visual element.