Printmaking 
HIDDEN BUT NOT FORGOTTEN(0)
August 14, 2011 —
The Wichita Art Museum has brought out from its collection works that have been in storage for years; though there is no stated theme beyond “unseen for a while,” careful curation has grouped the 40-plus pantings, prints, and sculptures into vignettes that provoke thoughful connections. Many even have the timely feel of summer; it is well worth your time to come and see Calder, Cottingham, Christopher, Leon Kelly, Grilley, and more. Opportunity knocks through October 23.
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Bones, Not Bare: Andrew Burkitt
There’s a lot going on not only within Andrew Burkitt’s prints themselves, but in the number of potential responses by and resonances for each person who sees them.
ALL HUCKED UP: GUNS, GALS, AND GORE IN AMERICA
One of the interesting things about Tom Huck’s work is that many of the images in his elaborate woodcut prints are indeed based on specific realities — they are horrifying but are not made up. Huck is a native Missourian, born and raised in Potosi, and he now lives and works in St. Louis where his Evil Prints shop is located. In this profile, Huck shares his connection to both the American narrative and to printmaking masters like Albrecht Dürer.
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.
With a Bright Bang: Orion VonOntjes
Orion VonOntjes mixes painting and screenprinting techniques to produce work that’s colorful, striking and as likely to produce bouts of deep thinking as they are to induce smiles and chuckles.
Constructive Destruction: Nikki Hager
Nikki Hager’s acts of destruction have proved constructive on multiple fronts … and memorable to viewers as well, in all of the good ways.
Poster Power: Patrick Giroux
Patrick Giroux favors simple color schemes and bold, blocky fonts, often mixing up typefaces and sizes, in his concert posters. Text is only half of the equation, though: The purely visual elements, many of them reminiscent of woodcuts, would stand just fine on their own merits as art prints.
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.
CRISP TAKE ON MODERNIST GRID
The exhibition run of “Not Here No There” at the Dolphin Gallery has been extended through April 22. Including the work of Matthew Kluber, Anne Lindberg, Colin C. Smith, James Woodfill, and Matt Wycoff, it succeeds in both re-visiting and re-booting the modernist grid, by showing it to us through technology, alternative media, and new-fashioned minimalism.
KANSAS CITY-CHINA CONNECTION
The year 2011 has seen spreading anti-government demonstrations in countries with oppressive regimes. In China, the so-called Jasmine Revolution was a non-starter, due to the strength of the government’s ability to suppress free speech and assembly. Kansas City artist and activist Hugh Merrill talks about being part of the upcoming Guanlan International Print Biennial, the Gao Brothers, and social justice issues in art.
To the Mountaintop: Michael Krueger
Michael Krueger’s colorful works manage to be both surreal and perfectly sensible. Whoever or whatever one finds in his high places, it is for a good reason and a (pardon the pun) higher purpose.
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).
Primary Seasoning: Jeff Immer
Jeff Immer’s graphic works are color and shape-intensive, cool in design and tone but bright in hue.
Pictures from Camp: Roger Shimomura
The prints and paintings in Roger Shimomura’s “Shadows of Minidoka” are both vibrant and stark, tranquil and confrontational, heart-wrenching and inspirational.
With and Against the Grain: Shannon White
Shannon White’s work is inspired by graffiti, but not of the confrontational/territorial sort. It’s definitely of the “I can’t help but create, and I hope you’ll stop and look” variety.