FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Kansas City, MO – Belger Arts Center presents Whispers and Screams: Voices from the Belger Collection opening Friday, April 5, from 6 to 8pm, at 2100 Walnut Street, Kansas City, MO 64108.
One of the underlying premises in assembling the Belger Collection is the importance of collecting multiple works over time by the same artist. Collecting in depth provides a glimpse through the artwork into how the artist approaches life, love, loss, and the other inevitable changes over the course of time. The viewer brings a perspective through unique memories and personal experiences that leave a mark and inform identity.
The artists in Whispers and Screams 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.
The works selected for this exhibition focus on people, histories, and relationships. Human beings are pack animals. People look for their communities and how to understand their place in them. In the course of that exploration, an understanding develops of the past, present, and future.
Artists included in the exhibition: Terry Allen, Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Nick Bubash, Clayton Bailey, William Christenberry, Robert Cottingham, John De Andrea, Viola Frey, Michael Hannon, Jasper Johns, Guy Johnson, Kate Kretz, Wes Lyle, Ed Massey, Jack Mendenhall, Jerry Ott, Joey Quiñones, Mel Ramos, Robert Rauschenberg, Don Reitz, Larry Rivers, Alex Siburney, Herb Snitzer, Robert Stackhouse, Renée Stout, Akio Takamori, William T. Wiley, and Winter & Williams.
Whispers and Screams:Voices from the Belger Collection will be on view through August 3, 2024. For a high-resolution image of some of the works and a pdf of this press release, click here.
About Belger Arts:
Since 2000, the Belger Arts Center has encouraged viewers to explore, question, and deepen their understanding of art and the world around them. Drawing upon the extensive Belger Collection, as well as a rich variety of local, national, and international artists, the Belger Arts Center has staged over 100 large-scale exhibitions that represent some of the best in contemporary art.
Belger Crane Yard Studios, an arts complex dedicated to providing studio and exhibition space for artists, opened in 2013. A range of programming in ceramics education, in addition to an Artist in Residence program, have 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 workstations. 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 816-474-7316.
