First Friday – Belger Arts Center | | Renée Stout, Crossroads, (detail), 1990s. Mixed media, 96 x 114 x 143 inches. Courtesy of the Belger Collection. | Whispers and Screams: Voices from the Belger Collection opens on First Friday, April 5, from 6 to 8pm, at the Belger Arts Center (2100 Walnut St., KCMO). The artists in the exhibition explore their memories and perceptions of people, places, and moments in time. Some of those memories are loud and jarring. Others are more reflective and have softened with the passage of time. There are examples of stereotypes, idealized love, lust, romance, excitement, loss, and regret. There are glimpses into the complexity of communities at all levels, the commonalities, and the differences. Whispers and Screams: Voices from the Belger Collection will be on view through August 3, 2024. To schedule a tour, please email gallery@belgerarts.org or call 816-474-7316. | | | First Friday Openings – Belger Crane Yard Gallery | | Belger Arts is pleased to present Heartland 6, a juried exhibition of the Midwest’s finest glass art. The exhibition opens with programming at two Belger Arts locations: Opening reception on Friday, April 5, from 6pm to 8pm at the Belger Crane Yard Gallery (2011 Tracy Avenue, Kansas City, MO 64108). Artists whose work was selected as “Best in Show” and “Honorable Mention” will be recognized at 6:30pm. Artist talk and demonstration on Saturday, April 6 featuring the Heartland 6 “Best in Show” artist from 3pm to 4pm at the Belger Glass Annex (1219 E. 19th Street, Kansas City, MO 64108).
Glass artists from Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma were invited to submit work to Heartland 6. The exhibition includes selected works by: Karina Boatright (NE), Joey Bourdow (KS), Olivia Brummet (NE), Megan Chalifoux (MO), Kate Clements (MO), Olivia Dobkin (MO), Roberta Eichenberg (KS), Genevieve Flynn (MO), Jessica Gorecki (NE), Swede Hickok (MO), Katie Hogan (MO), Cole Kennedy (KS), Sara Sally LaGrand (MO), Sky Maggiore (KS), Jessalyn Mailoa (MO), Taylor Moore (NE), Emily Nickel (OK), Mary Peterson (MO), Audrey Puckett (MO), Nadine Saylor (NE), Olivia Shelton (MO), Lauryl Sidwell (MO), Pamela Sabroso & Alison Siegel (MO), Kale Stewart (KS), Marie Tabler (MO), Kat Weltha (KS), and Evan Wunsch (MO).
This year’s guest jurors were Samatha De Tillio and Leo Tecosky. De Tillio is a contributing editor to GLASS: The UrbanGlass Art Quarterly and museum curator working with institutions including the Corning Museum of Glass, Museum of Art and Design, and Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian National Museum of American Art, among others. Tecosky is a Brooklyn-based glass artist with a BA in Fine Arts from Alfred University and an MFA from the School of Visual Arts. Tecosky’s artwork explores the intersection of cultural and craft traditions with influences from hip-hop and graffiti.
“Best in Show” and “Honorable Mention” works and artists will be recognized at the exhibition’s opening reception on April 5 at 6:30pm.
The idea to host an annual "Heartland" exhibition began at Monarch Glass Studio in 2017. Since 2022 Belger Arts has carried on the tradition. | | | | For Digital Debut, Sarah Veak leans into her artistic origins, with clean lines and bold swaths of color that speak to her earliest work and some of her earliest memories. She wanted to create that feeling of nostalgia from her childhood--the checkered tablecloth in her grandmother's kitchen, air thick with the sweet nuttiness of pancakes and syrup, the scent of rich coffee, tree ripe orange juice and mouthwatering bacon.
Sarah Veak was born in the Southeast. In 2010, she apprenticed with studio potter Renata Wadsworth in Ithaca, NY. During this time, she learned everything from throwing pots to building and firing a wood kiln. Veak has worked and lived across the U.S. and continues to hone her craft. Based in Kansas City, she’s part of a strong clay community, working alongside some of that city’s best potters.
Veak's work will be available for purchase online and at the Belger Crane Yard Gallery from April 5 through May 31, 2024. | | | | The April Mug of the Month artist is Allison Achtenhagen. She is originally from Colorado and is currently an Artist in Residence at the KC Clay Guild in Kansas City, MO. Her work begins on the potter’s wheel. She then combines parts, piercing them with an X-acto knife to create striking, patterned objects. Achtenhagen gravitates towards an uncomplicated, but colorful, use of glaze that enhances the beauty of each object, while allowing the form to be seen clearly. Achtenhagen's mugs are available online and at the Belger Crane Yard Gallery through April 30. | | | | | Work by 2024 resident artists (left to right) Gina Pisto, Logan Reynolds, and Joel Pisowicz. | Small Shop is back! Belger Artists-in-Residence will have small sculptures and functional wares available for purchase at Belger Crane Yard Studios. Meet the artists at a reception on Friday, April 5 that includes craft cocktails. Proceeds support their studio practices and professional pursuits, such as attending conferences, preparing for exhibitions, and material costs. Belger Arts members will have exclusive online access on Thursday, April 4. Details are listed below.
Online Member's Preview and Sale: Thursday, April 4 at 12pm (CST) - Friday, April 5 at 12pm (CST) In-person, First Friday Opening and Member’s Preview: Friday, April 5 at Belger Crane Yard Studios (2011 Tracy, KCMO) First Friday Reception 6-8pm CST with craft cocktails. Continued shopping Saturday, April 6 from 10 to 4pm (CST).
Online Public Small Shop: Launches Saturday, April 6 at 5pm (CST) and runs through Saturday, April 13, 5pm (CST). Works will be available on our website at Small Shop 2024.
This is the perfect time to collect artwork by Joel Pisowicz, Gina Pisto, and Logan Reynolds.
For questions or additional information, please visit Small Shop 2024 or call 816-474-7316. | | | On view at the Belger Crane Yard Gallery | | Salvador Jiménez-Flores, The Fire Next Time, 2022. Red and white stoneware, underglazes, glazes, black stain, gold luster, epoxy, wood. 83 x 20 x 20 in. Photo courtesy of the artist. | Salvador Jiménez-Flores is a Chicago-based artist and educator who, as a teenager, immigrated from Mexico to the U.S. His body of work is steeped in his experience as a bi-cultural, bilingual artist living “concurrently in two different worlds.” Arte-Sano: Soy libre porque pienso showcases the breadth of his practice through a range of media. His ceramics, glass, metalwork, photography, and prints reflect the artist’s continued exploration of the politics of identity and the state of double consciousness. He also highlights the struggles and complexities of Latinx people living in the U.S. A review of the exhibition is included on the KC Studio Magazine website. | | |
|
|
