{not} Quiet on the Western Front includes work by west coast artists from the Belger Collection who helped define the Funk Art movement. Funk came onto the art scene like a car wreck with its anti-formalist aesthetic, tongue-in-cheek commentary, irreverent character, and humor. Invoking a sense of cathartic release to the violent times of the 1960s, it was an alternative to mainstream art that made political commentary on war, gender, racial tension, and other social threats palatable. While its point of origin can be traced to 1950s northern California, the attitudes and approaches of Funk artists spread to other parts of the country and lives on in work by contemporary artists today.

Artists in the exhibition include Robert Arneson, Clayton Bailey, Viola Frey, David Gilhooly, Robert Hudson, Ed Kienholz, Ed Massey, Ron Nagle, H.C. Westermann, and William T. Wiley.

This exhibition is dedicated to William T. Wiley, a founder of the Funk Art movement, and a core artist of the Belger Collection. After a long and successful career, which included teaching at the University of California – Davis, he died on April 25, 2021, at the age of 83. He will be missed.

Belger Crane Yard Gallery presents Reset, Belger Arts annual resident exhibition. Reset celebrates the work of the current Artists in Residence: Elaine Buss, Coleton Lunt, Lilly Powell, Kate Schroeder, Amy Young, and ChengOu Yu.

For the six artists, the past year has been one of reworking schedules, readjusting expectations, redefining “normal,” and reimagining the future, in a world that’s still reemerging. Reset is the culmination of a year in which existence was pulled inward – into the smaller spheres of our homes, our immediate surroundings, and often within our own minds.

Referencing architectural forms, the work of Elaine Buss is driven by intuition and a surrender to natural forces. Her instinctive making process becomes a playful flow between cause and effect. Coleton Lunt’s sculpture cluster explores the notion that ecosystems exist all around us, and how cycles of addition and loss create an ever-changing present state. The work of Lilly Powell directs attention to the often overlooked or discarded objects we routinely touch but take for granted. Kate Schroeder’s light installation draws the eye upward and into an enchanting array of tiny, illustrated worlds. Each ceramic light fixture offers a serene view of domestic life, surrounded by the familiar objects of home. ChengOu Yu’s distorted vessel forms demonstrate how perspective and location can alter an experience and influence understanding. The figurative work of Amy Young delves into the interior of a mind living with PTSD. Through detailed symbolism and intricately carved surfaces, Young gives shape to feelings of pain, struggle, and acceptance.

Belger Crane Yard Studios continues to host national and international artists through its Artists in Residence program. A residency provides ceramic artists the opportunity to expand their body of work or create a special project that may be outside of the scope of their routine studio practice.

For high-resolution images, click here. Artist bios and additional images are available on our website.

At the Threshold
KU Graduate Arts Association
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Group Exhibition
June 3 – August 14, 2021

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Featured Artists

Dora Agbas
Debbie Barrett-Jones
Mark ‘Fitz’ Fitzsimmons
Sadie Goll
Tiana Nanayo Kuuleialoha Honda
Allison Ice
Hannah Lindo
Tristan Lindo
Dillen Peace
Sarah Pickett
Sophia Reed
Kirsten Taylor
Jenny Welden

“Thresholds are dangerous places, neither here nor there, and walking across one is like stepping off the edge of a cliff in the naïve faith that you’ll sprout wings halfway down. You can’t hesitate or doubt. You can’t fear the in-between.”― Alix E. Harrow, The Ten Thousand Doors of January

“This is and always will be where my heart is. It is what I care about.” – William Christenberry

Over the course of many decades contemporary art icon William Christenberry made annual pilgrimages to Hale County, Alabama, documenting the landscape, its architecture and its transformation. Tracing Time offers an examination of Christenberry’s relationship to Hale County, where he spent his summers as a child, its influence on his conceptual approach and artistic vision, and the psychology of place and memory.

The exhibition includes photographs, drawings, paintings and sculptures from the Belger Collection, some never before seen in Kansas City. The evolution of Christenberry’s experimental, creative process is also presented in displays of source material pages from his sketchbooks, photographs that served as foundations for drawings and structures, and rare early constructions from the early 1960s. The artist’s father, a woodworker and a strong early influence on the artist, would create models of buildings that were important to him out of simple, sometimes unrefined materials. One of these buildings is included in the exhibition.

Christenberry’s deep affection for Hale County, his curiosity about the effects of mankind and nature on the landscape, reveal a poignant perspective on the passage of time and chronicle the life cycle of place. Although profoundly personal and geographically specific, the themes of William Christenberry’s work are universal and remain relevant.

Exciting news in the Crossroads District, after 10 years MLB Designs has moved to a new location!!! We are now located at 217 W 18th street and are very proud to announce our Grand Opening on Frist Friday, July 2nd from 5pm — 9pm.
We will be featuring new gallery work, gifts, jewelry vendors, with small bites and refreshments.