artist statement

My work alludes to an underlying current of knowing that is governed by feelings and emotions. The images that I produce are symbolic of an inner-personal and vulnerable human existence. They develop their identity through spontaneity, intuition, association, and chance.

In making art, I am only aware of the forces I use in order to move along the course of my pictures. The course of my art is a visual translation of internal feelings, thoughts, and emotions in relation to the inner condition of self.

process

The work involves a variety of materials and processes. The materials used include: paper, paint, inks, marker, pencil, glue and dried paint chips and paint skins. My work involves aspects of painting, drawing, collage and assemblage.

The idea of using dried paint chips came about as a byproduct of the process that I go through when painting on canvas. When working on canvas, I paint and scrape off the paint a number of times to achieve a surface appropriate for the painting. During this process, a lot of paint falls to the floor and dries.

Through this process, I realized the random beauty that lives within the surfaces of the dried paint and decided it was still very much useful. I started re-applying the dry paint chips to my canvases at first, but then discovered the possibilities of scaling down the size of the current work to 5×7 inches on paper. I use the paint chip in its natural form as well as manipulate it to a desired form. I also fabricate acrylic paint skins and then manipulate them into final abstract figures on paper and wood panels. Approaching my work the way that I do, I am able to fulfill a desire to collage, assemble and sculpt without straying from my original discipline of painting.

A large-scale, textile triptych titled Towers by British artist Alice Kettle. The artist created the work in response to the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. After the work was first shown in the U.S. during a 2009 Surface Design Conference in Kansas City, the artist gifted Towers to the Belger Collection so that it would remain in the U.S. We are honored to have received this special gift and to share it with visitors. To learn more about Alice Kettle, please visit her website.

Ada Koch’s preoccupation with war began with her childhood in Oak Ridge, TN where both parents worked at the Oak Ridge National Laboratories, a production site for the Manhattan Project where researchers developed the atomic bomb. She was persistently reminded of WAR: the Cold War, the Vietnam War, anti-war songs, local bomb shelters, and bomb drills in school. Now, decades later, Ada revisits anti-war protest songs from the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s in her quest to understand the repetition of violent cycles. Sadly, the songs of the past are currently relevant in the context of local and international violence.

Collectively, the pieces in this show touch on causes of war (power, fear, confusion, misinformation) which lead to violence, hate, and death. Yet Ada promotes a REMIX, taking what we have learned from a violent history and hoping for a more positive outcome with an emphasis on love and individuals.

Belger Crane Yard Gallery presents Common Thread opening Friday, February 4, 6 pm – 8 pm at 2011 Tracy Avenue, Kansas City, MO 64108. Artists remarks at 6:30 pm. The exhibition will remain on view through May 5, 2022.

Common Thread brings together the work of five ceramic artists who are inspired by textiles and textile processes. While the artists’ inspirations and representations vary, each incorporates fibers or fiber techniques in their process.

Shae Bishop explores the relationship between ceramics and textiles by making connections between each medium’s cultural history, pattern-making systems, and interactions with the human body. His work includes wearable garment sculptures made of interlaced ceramic tiles. Jeremy Brooks crochets, knits, and weaves strands of elastic clay to create forms that are inspired by traditional vessel making, mundane objects, and the queer experience. April Felipe’s collaged works blend ceramics, fiber, and wood and reference her childhood home, themes of identity, and the desire to belong. Inspired by ancient Italian and Lithuanian techniques, Anna Valenti’s woven and pinched clay vessels highlight shared traditions, human interaction, connectivity, and empathy. Casey Whittier’s work examines the systems of construction adopted from historical craft disciplines. Linking forms such as ceramic coils and beads she creates ceramic quilts, flowers, and other objects used in daily life.

The artists in Common Thread demonstrate a mastery of craft, a profound understanding of human connection, and share a playful and experimental approach to clay materials and processes.

February First Friday

Friday, February 4th, open 10 a.m., meet the artists from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Jones Gallery 1717 Walnut. 816 – 421-2111

www.jonesgallerykc.com

Thank you!