Illustration 
‘ARTE Y OAXACA’(1)
August 26, 2011 —
In April, two Kansas City exhibitions of drawings by Francisco Toledo brought Mexico City gallerists Armando Colina and Victor Acuña to the Kansas City Public Library for a discussion about Mexican art and Toledo’s work, hosted by Julián Zugazagoitia of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. The exchange was a privilege, bringing awareness of contemporary art from Mexcio to Kansas City. Toledo’s Oaxaca base is a city alive with new work and draws Kansas City artists there for inspiration.
Full Story»It’s a Dog’s Dream: John Hare
John Hare’s illustrations for “Dog Day Daydreams” are whimsical, colorful and engaging.
One Order of Chaos, Please: Kellie Bloxsom-Rys
Viewing Kellie Bloxsom-Rys’ work is like making a new friend with an offbeat, even skewed sense of fun … and wondering just where the lines between “I’m serious” and “I’m just playing’” are drawn.
Story Time: Brandon Hill
Brandon Hill has the ability to make the subjects of each shot (whether humorous or more straightforward) emotionally accessible. They’re characters in his stories, yes, but a sense of the subject’s personality comes through as well.
Steady Course, 90 Degrees: James Woodfill
James Woodfill’s flat works are full of the same quiet yet insistent presence as his installations; for all their surface simplicity, there’s an enigmatic quality here too. Like the 3-D works, they reward repeated viewings from varying perspectives (inner as well as outer).
LIFE DURING WARTIME
The latest Lawrence Report brings highlights from Final Friday’s exhibition openings in January, along with what’s been going on this month, including what not to miss for February 25th’s Final Friday art walk downtown, such as new work by Michael Krueger and Josh Adams.
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.
Book of Life: Justin Marable
Justin Marable’s illustrations mix sweetness, hope and melancholy into an engaging whole — much like the real-life stories (with one special character) that inspire him.
Scenes Real and Imagined: Judith G. Levy
Levy has cannibalized, digitized and recombined the real to create the fanciful, using images from real vintage postcards to create places that both exist and don’t, times and spaces both actual and imagined. And, in the process, she has opened the doors to all manner of dialogues about race, economy, history and culture.
Two Continents, Many Talents : Christina Vantzou
Christina Vantzou, a Kansas City native now living and working in Belgium, proves that the region’s strain of homegrown creativity can thrive anywhere.
The Light, Fantastic : Lauren Brunk
Lauren Brunk clearly has her visual choreography down, her well-placed white space giving the effect of light reflecting off a curved surface. That, combined with her eye for (and skill in depicting) rich detail, gives her works an almost three-dimensional quality.
Perfectly Imperfect: Doug Bowles
The more time spent with Bowles’ colorful creations, the more their seeming faults become the key to their good-natured accessibility and offbeat charm.
A Full House of Dark Fun: John Stamos
Running strongly through the entire show is a wry, often grim sense of humor … the sort that elicits a dark chuckle, rather than a head-thrown-back, open-mouthed laugh.
The Inner Cliffhanger: Jeremy Collins
His mixed-media work is full of motion and progress (and even a bit of danger), but it’s all of the symbolic and inner varieties.






