Sharif Bey is a Syracuse-based artist and educator whose inspired by modernism, functional pottery, Oceanic Art and Art of the African diaspora. His works investigate the cultural and political significance of adornment and the symbolic and formal properties of archetypal motifs, while questioning how the meaning of icons and function transform across cultures and time.

The exhibition opens on Friday, February 3 and will remain on view through May 6, 2023 at the Belger Crane Yard Gallery (2011 Tracy Ave, KCMO).

BIO

Although I trained as an apprentice, in a state-of-the art ceramics facility, my current works evolve outside of conventional Western facilities. I primarily work at home (oftentimes with my children), firing in my back yard or fireplace, and resist the narrative that ceramic artists require expensive facilities, costly materials or concentrated periods of time. When professional demands or family life takes up my day, I often carve out a few hours (by way of multiple 10-minute settings), producing small clay components or rummaging through shard piles to reclaim and reconfigure. I employ a combination of traditional and nontraditional ceramics materials and processes to suit my lifestyle. For me, working outside of institutional structures not only affords me more time with my family but invites other material and aesthetic influences into my trajectory. I might use glazes in the ceramic studio but while working in my kitchen I cold-finish works with paste wax and cinnamon/turmeric or incorporate spray/auto body putty in the garage. My practice is informed by my numerous roles and my transient nature, resisting the conventions of ceramic production.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Inspired by folklore, functional pottery, modernism, natural history and my lifelong affinity for West African and Oceanic sculpture, my works investigate the symbolic and formal properties of archetypal motifs, questioning how the meaning of icons, objects and functions evolve and transform across cultures and over time. As a consequence of colonialism and conquest African and Oceanic ceremonial objects made their way into Western consciousness as looted artifacts, stripped of their original frames of reference, inspiring European modernists both for their aesthetic interests and perceived otherness. Specifically, I am interested in investigating how fetish, racism, science fiction and popular culture impedes interpretations of ‘non-western’ cultural objects. I play on “westernized conjecture” by producing works that suggest nonwestern utilitarian, ceremonial or ritualistic purpose but are ultimately designed for ‘display’ for the Western spectator/consumer. I ultimately seek to expose the interpretative deficiencies of the colonized mind and place them on display beside my work.

Join us for First Fridays and our featured artist Nate Evans and check him out at NateEvansProductions.com. Come experience his amazing KC themed exhibit and take a piece home! Come checkout his work and pick up your favorite Starbucks drink. We will be serving appetizers and adult margaritas courtesy of Los Cabos Mexican Grill & Cantina

With an affinity for the Old Masters, especially French artists like Boucher, Fragonard and Manet, Carol Johnson’s bold use of color, exuberant pattern and expressive style lends a unique twist to both her original painting and her recreations of iconic images.

A self-taught artist, her style has been honed over the years. She infuses her figurative art with a passion for the subject, as well as lightheartedness and humor.

Joy is the hallmark of her paintings. Johnson’s vivacious color and fluid strokes draw the viewer into the “present” of the subject, creating a timeless quality to her paintings.

“When looking at my work makes the viewer happy, I consider it a success,” says Johnson.

Johnson’s delight in figurative painting is reflected in both her originals and in works reminiscent of the old masters. These works give collectors an opportunity to have a beloved and familiar painting, though always with a unique twist from the artist’s humorous sensibility — a hallmark of her original paintings.

Open daily Monday – Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Closed Sunday.

January and February 2023 represent the fifth year BCAW (Brush Creek Art Walk) has been invited to show a series of recent originals at Lexitas. The 50 original/framed works currently on display represent 33 artists working in Plein Air or Outdoor Painting which has seen a significant resurgence over the last decade.

Brush Creek Art Walk recently celebrated its 11th Annual Plein Air Weekend in September (16th-18th) along
the 4‑mile stretch of Kansas City’s 2nd most scenic waterfront, Brush Creek, which runs east from the Plaza to the Little Blue River. Over 33 registered artists were active participants in our weekend of activities which
included a Friday night “Nocturne on the Plaza”, a “Saturday at the Discovery Center” and concluded
on Sunday with an “East Side Sunset” at the Brush Creek Community Center with surrounding views.

ARTISTS MAKE SPACE TO HONOR LOSS & IMAGINE HEALING

Featuring words & images from Jeran Avery, Jenna Brack, Gregory Kolsto, Sandee Finley, Dylan Mortimer, Kelli Sallman, David Oakes, and Fredric Sims.

No human being experiences life without enduring grief and loss. Because grieving is universal, there is a particular kind of power to these shared experiences, shaping communities in profound ways. Loss can unite, bending us outward as we tend to one another’s wounds with care. It can also divide, turning us inward as we struggle to survive.

For all of human history, the arts have been an integral part of the rituals that aid us in metabolizing grief into something that has the power to nourish communities. In his beautiful book on grief, The Wild Edge of Sorrow, psychoanalyst Francis Weller explains grieving as a fundamentally creative process; “We are remade in times of grief, broken apart and reassembled.” Artists physically break apart and reassemble their materials into new creations, and when they turn toward subjects of personal or communal loss, the work of their hands can create spaces of authentic mourning, hope, and transformation.

In the midst of our grief, it is natural to wonder where God is and what his purposes are. Many might feel closer to God as they are broken apart and remade through loss. It is telling that the first two beatitudes from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount address spiritual poverty and mourning:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted…”

This proclamation that such people are blessed in the kingdom of God is an incredibly powerful promise that harmonizes beautifully with many other passages of promise and hope from the Scriptures. The exhibit title, Those who dream in the midst of sorrow, is inspired by Psalm 126. In times of grief, we must use creativity as we hope for healing – this is how we imagine a world that doesn’t yet exist. This transformation of tears into a nourishing harvest helps us believe the promise and hope in Jesus is not just a dream.

This exhibit opens during the longing of Advent, the retelling of the anticipation of God’s promised Deliverer. His one and only son Jesus came to earth in a human body and experienced the fullness of grief and loss. The exhibit will close during Lent when we groan together in anticipation of Jesus’ resurrection.

In Those who dream in the midst of sorrow, I have curated work from four visual artists and four poets to create a space to experience grief and glory together. These artists grapple with themes of illness, anxiety and depression, spiritual crisis and trauma, broken relationships, loneliness, deferred dreams, loss, and disappointment. Though these themes are heavy, the work of these artists shines with the glory of transformation, resilience, miracles, joy, and hope. Their acts of creation in the midst of loss remind us that we serve a God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that do not exist (Romans 4:17). It is this truth that allows us to dream in the midst of our sorrows.

-KELLY KRUSE, CURATOR