In She’s Back, Patty Carroll’s most recent photographs in her Anonymous Women series, we find Carroll’s domestic heroine/victim, plucky and hapless as ever. With only a few bits of her visible, she succumbs time and again to her zest for décor in reimagined domestic interiors that range from the wild west to game night. She is both the victim of her obsessions as well as the invisible creator. She is sad and funny, silly and serious, slapstick and tragic, but always game for more.

Carroll’s slight-of-hand commentary on society is so skillful and her mastery of color, light and composition so convincing that the subversive quality of the work may at first fly under the radar. Who is this woman and why does she keep showing up for greater hijinks and eventual demise? Theatrical sets of puzzles and games in some photos echo the confusing information of our time and our heroine tries to make sense of it. In other images, a cabin refuge locks our gal away in a western myth. The keen observer soon becomes aware of a greater complexity, paradox and the deeper implications suggested at first laugh as dark humor.

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.

A native New Yorker, Terry Winters graduated from Pratt Institute in 1971, focusing on painting. Through the 1970s, while studying nature, especially molecular level life forms, Winters honed his craft as a drawer and a painter until he was ready for his inaugural exhibition in 1982 at the prestigious Sonnabend Gallery. Later that same year he began his first foray into printmaking at Universal Limited Art Editions (ULAE) on Long Island. Winters became one of the leading printmakers in the U.S. At first, he was leaving his Manhattan studio one day a week to work with the master printers at ULAE, and that later escalated to up to four days a week. As art historian Richard Axsom wrote in “The Philosophers’ Stone: The Prints of Terry Winters:”

Printmaking is a forum whose procedures and collaborative protocols have allowed Winters to explore the expressive nature of his drawings. For an artist whose cardinal subject is protean form, printmaking encourages a changing image through the various proofing phases that lead to an editioned print. A print reflects a progressive history of alterations. It is a record of mutation, an accumulation of discrete changes that has no exact counterpoint in drawing or painting.

Over the years, Winters’ paintings, drawings, and prints have been featured in major retrospectives at the Boston Museum of Fine Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Irish Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Rob Stern has been working with glass for over 30 years, and has studied and taught glass around the world. Stern has a BFA from San Francisco State University and an MFA from the University of Miami. Stern apprenticed for 5 years with John Lewis Glass (Oakland, CA) where he trained as a metal fabricator and expert glass caster and cold-worker. He then went on to train as a master in the Czech Republic in the Ajeto Glass Factory. Rob is known for his large-scale installations and site-specific sculpture. He was even a contestant on the third season of the hit Netflix show “Blown Away!” During his time at Belger Arts, Rob will make work, give a public artist talk, give a free glassblowing demo, and teach a four-day workshop.

Rob’s expertise and versatility make him an excellent instructor. His energy and showmanship make him a riveting artist to watch live. Rob’s workshop, “Finding Your Way,” will take students on a deep dive into the process of creating glass sculpture. With daily project-specific demos and one-on-one instruction, students will design, develop, and expedite personal projects taking their glass blowing skills to the next level. All programs will take place at the Belger Glass Annex (1219 East 19 th Street, Kansas City, MO 64108).

We are excited to welcome your attendance for our featured artist Celia Lamprecht. Her art features recycled items with floral patterns. We will be featuring a wonderful spread of appetizers and featured libations.

As a full time engineer, life can get busy. I use art as an escape. It is a great stress reliever and a wonderful way to brighten up my house. I’ve generally just painted for myself and for friends but recently more people have found interest in my paintings.

My love for flowers but lack of a green thumb has inspired me to create flower art that I can forget to water. The beer coasters are often my medium of choice due to my love of beer and a vast collection of coasters from my travels. I am still unsure how this idea came to me but I am passionate about the beautiful creations I have made. 

Paper scraps are a byproduct of my flower art. I collect the scraps and create my own paper to make even more flowers. Minimal waste and recycling!