FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Kansas City, MO – Belger Crane Yard Gallery presents Sharif Bey: Ancestral Vestiges, opening Friday, February 3, at 2011 Tracy Avenue, Kansas City, MO 64108. An Opening Night Reception will be held from 6 pm to 8 pm, where the artist will give remarks at 6:30 pm. He will also give a public presentation on February 4 at 2 pm. “I describe myself as a sculptor who’s embracing his identity as a potter and looking at the history and repertoire of functional pots to predicate my sculptural works . . .” – Sharif Bey
Inspired by modernism, functional pottery, Oceanic Art and Art of the African diaspora, Bey’s works investigate the cultural and political significance of adornment and the symbolic and formal properties of archetypal motifs. Ancestral Vestiges includes vessel-inspired mixed media works (Kiwi Bird #1), mask-like sculptures (Protest Shield #2), and large-scale power necklaces (Louie Bones #4). These and other works in the exhibition reflect his continued exploration of functional and ritual objects, and the materiality of clay, metal, wood, and glass. Rich in symbolism and iconography, his work questions how the meaning of icons and function transform across cultures and time.
Sharif Bey currently lives and works in Syracuse, NY where he is a dual assistant professor in art education and teaching and leadership at Syracuse University. Born in Pittsburgh, PA, he knew he wanted to be a contemporary ceramic artist since he was fifteen. As a teen he received an introduction to community-based arts programming through an Apprenticeship Program at the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild’s (MCG) in Pittsburgh. Bey earned his B.F.A. in ceramics from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, an M.F.A. in studio art from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a Ph.D. in art education from Penn State University. He has participated in many artist-in-residencies and fellowships. He has also participated in many national and international exhibitions including the Gardiner Museum, Toronto, Canada, and the Pittsburg Glass Museum, Pittsburgh, PA. His work can be found in numerous public collections such as: The Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA; Smithsonian American Art Museum and Renwick Gallery, Washington DC; the Columbus Museum of Art, OH; and the United States Embassies of Khartoum, Sudan; Kampala, Uganda; and Jakarta, Indonesia.
Sharif Bey: Ancestral Vestiges will be on view through August 5, 2023. For high resolution images of the artist’s work and a pdf of this press release, click here.
| | Sharif Bey, Protest Shield #2, 2020. 21 x 20 x 10 in., earthenware and mixed media. Courtesy of the artist and albertz benda, Los Angeles and New York. | | Belger Arts is committed to maintaining a safe place for our visitors, studio members, and staff. Masks are not required, but Belger Arts will continue to monitor City of Kansas City, MO mandates and CDC guidelines. | | About Belger Arts: Since 2000, the Belger Arts Center has encouraged viewers to explore, question, and deepen their understanding of art and of the world around them. Drawing upon the extensive John and Maxine Belger Family Foundation collection as well as a rich variety of local, national, and international artists, the Belger Arts Center has staged over 70 large-scale exhibitions that represent some of the best in contemporary art.
In 2013, Belger Arts expanded the Foundation’s commitment to the creative process by opening Belger Crane Yard Studios, an arts complex dedicated to providing studio and exhibition space for artists. A range of programming in ceramics education, in addition to the Red Star Residency program and Crane Yard Clay ceramics supply store, has made Belger a center for contemporary art.
The Belger Glass Annex is the third Belger Arts location and opened to the public in October 2021. It is the first public glass blowing studio in Kansas City of its scale and scope. The new facility boasts state-of-the-art glass blowing equipment and tools, a furnace that holds 300 pounds of molten glass, and three work stations. The Belger Glass Annex is primed to be a Midwest hub for glass art, education, and appreciation, strengthening Kansas City’s reputation as an arts destination.
For more information on upcoming exhibitions, classes and workshops, or to schedule a group tour, please visit BelgerArts.org or call 816-474-3250.
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