Review

Frankenfame Unbound: Stefan Jones

Stefan Jones’s “Fame Monsters” loom for one night only at S2 Studios in Kansas City, Kansas, open July 9 for Second Friday Art Walk; the artist aims with his brightly colored paintings to depict celebrities beyond reality, as a reaction to how society has placed them beyond reality.

An Eye for the Inner View: Megan Barnes

Photographer Megan Barnes is — pardon the expression — focused on developing her art. Her first exhibition opens at her Central Avenue Arts space in Kansas City, Kansas, June 11 and offers a promising start, both visually and as a way for viewers to compose mentally their own faceless portraits of loved ones.

(ARTKC365) Resistance is Anything but Futile: Valerie Doran Bashaw at Kaw Valley Arts & Humanities

East meets West. Fiber meets bamboo and dye. Fiber meets bleach and more dye. Light meets pigment, and the two fall in love and make colors. The end effect is somewhere between soft stained glass and diaphanous abstract painting … but without Bashaw’s resist-dyed silk art losing its own identity.

Light Construction: Stanton Fernald at Kaw Valley Arts and Humanities

Stanton Fernald
5-8 p.m. (Opening Reception)
Kaw Valley Arts and Humanities
756 Armstrong
Kansas City, KS
913.371.0024
Hours after Second Friday: 1-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday (call for appointment)
Runs through: Nov. 6.
Artist’s site: http://www.s-fernald.com
Gallery site: http://www.kvah.org
Besides having a thriving arts community, the Kansas City area is increasingly a hub for bioscience research. After dark tonight, the two will meet on the sidewalk outside [...]

Friday Night Burger Run (With Extra Clouds in Your Coffee): Seth Smith at The Rice Gallery of Fine Art

“Stead’s”, Oil on Board.

Seth Smith
New Works
5-9 p.m.
(Opening Reception)
The Rice Gallery of Fine Art
11535 Ash St.
Leawood, KS
913.685.8889
Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday
Runs through: Oct. 15
Artist’s site: http://www.sethsmithstudio.com
Gallery site: http://www.thericegallery.com
Seth Smith bills himself as an abstract artist — and, to be fair, a lot of his work in tonight’s opening at the Rice Gallery of Fine Art fits [...]

Well-Versed in Light: Steve Larson at Alcott Arts Center

Steve Larson
6:30-10 p.m. (Opening reception)
Alcott Arts Center
180 S. 18th St.
Kansas City, KS
913.233.2787
Runs through: Aug. 28
Gallery site: http://www.alcottartscenter.org
The gleam of bronze. The green of grass, lined out in fine brushstrokes. The sparkle of gems in their settings.
Visual art is, ultimately, about the manipulation and reproduction of light. Paint and textiles reflect certain wavelengths, producing the effects [...]

The Naked Truth: Lacey Lewis at Hilliard Gallery

Lacey Lewis
Sirens
6-9 p.m. (First Friday reception)
Hilliard Gallery
404 E. 18th St.
Kansas City, MO
816.561.2956
Hours after First Friday: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday
Runs through: Aug. 28
Artist’s site: http://www.lacey-lewis.com
Gallery site: http://www.hilliardgallery.com
Finding an image to go with today’s post was a bit of a challenge. There are a lot of appealing works in Lacey Lewis’ Sirens, which [...]

Monkeys Shine: Jill Putzier at Tomasic & Rehorn

Jill Putzier
My Monkey Farm: Textile Sculptures with a Simian Theme
By appointment during business hours
Tomasic & Rehorn
419 N 6th St.
Kansas City, KS
913.281,3828
Hours: Monday-Friday; call for appointment.
Runs through: July 24.
Artist’s site: http://www.mymonkeyfarm.com
Gallery site: http://www.tomasicrehorn.com
Two things, before we start. As this post is about a show at a law firm, call it “skipping to the fine print”.
First,  while [...]

Well-Traveled Art(ist): Lee Knox at Kaw Valley Arts and Humanities

Lee Knox
KCK … and Beyond
5-8 p.m. (Opening Reception)
Kaw Valley Arts and Humanities
756 Armstrong
Kansas City, KS
913.371.0024
Hours after Second Friday: 1-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday (call for appointment)
Runs through: Aug. 8.
Artist’s site: http://www.leeknox.com
Gallery site: http://www.kvah.org
It’s not often that viewers can get three full helpings of one artist’s work in a day … but that’s the case on this Second Friday.
Starting from [...]

Line by Line: Barbara Burton at Argentine Library

Barbara Burton
Inspired by Doré
8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
Argentine Library
2800 Metropolitan Ave.
Kansas City, KS
913.722.7400
Hours: 8:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 8:30 a.m.-5 pm. Friday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday.
Runs through: July 22
Gallery Site: http://www.kckpl.org/FINEARTS/exhibits.htm
It’s Second Friday, and that means another installment of the monthly ”Follow the Dotte” art walk in downtown Kansas City, Kansas. The walk — and this month, a street fair [...]

The Capture of Power: Tim Andersen at Homer's Coffee House

Tim Andersen
6:30 a.m-10 p.m.
Homer’s Coffee House
7126 W. 80th St.
Overland Park, KS
913.381.6022
Hours: 6:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Saturday
Runs through: June 30
Artist’s site: http://www.andersenimages.com
Gallery site: http://www.homerscoffeehouse.com
If you’re logging on this morning from the Kansas City area, chances are you’re cleaning up after last night’s thunderstorm.
Wind, rain, lightning, perhaps even tornadoes: The potential for destruction is always there when a [...]

Cool Beans: Jody Shannon at Kaw Valley Arts and Humanities

Jody Shannon
Café Americana
5-8 p.m. (Opening Reception)
Kaw Valley Arts and Humanities
756 Armstrong
Kansas City, KS
913.371.0024
Hours after Second Friday: 1-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday (call for appointment)
Runs through: June 5
Artist’s site: http://www.myspace.com/jodyshannon
Gallery site: http://www.kvah.org
Coffee-fueled art is nothing new. Caffeine and creativity go together like bongos and Ginsberg, tattoos and lip rings, battered Ovation acoustics and 2 a.m. jam sessions.
The roasted, [...]

Paint, Poetry and Purpose: Michael Acker at J Design for Urban Living

Michael Acker
11 a.m.-6 p.m.
J Design for Urban Living
1803 Baltimore
Kansas City, MO
913.269.0470
Hours: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Thursday and Saturday-Sunday
Runs through: May 30
Michael Acker opens his artist’s statement with two simple declarations:
I hope that my life has purpose. I hope that my life has poetry.
One look at Acker’s work makes it clear: He’s 2-for-2.
Acker’s new acrylic and gold [...]

Humans, Being: Marc Chamberlain at Kansas City, Kansas Main Library

Marc Chamberlain
Observations on Life’s Pleasures and Challenges
8:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m.
Kansas City, Kansas Public Library
Main Branch
625 Minnesota Ave.
Kansas City, KS
913.551.3280
Hours: 8:30 a.m. – 8:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday
Runs through: May 18
Gallery site: http://www.kckpl.lib.ks.us/mainpage/main.htm
Marc Chamberlain, like nearly all folk artists, is self-taught. He had a good teacher, and took the instruction well.
Chamberlain’s canvases, [...]

Dynamic Tension: Robert Quackenbush at Kaw Valley Arts and Humanities

Robert Quackenbush
Considerations
5-8 p.m. (Opening Reception)
Kaw Valley Arts and Humanities
756 Armstrong
Kansas City, KS
913.371.0024
Hours after Second Friday: 1-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday (call for appointment)
Runs through: May 1
Artist’s site: http://www.artbyq.com
Gallery site: http://www.kvah.org
The main gallery at Kaw Valley Arts and Humanities is a tranquil enough place. But the more time you spend there, taking in Robert Quackenbush’s paintings, the thicker the [...]