Crossroads Arts District

Kansas City's Creative Neighborhood

La Gruta/The Grotto: Joann Quiñones

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Joann Quiñones’ exhibition is based on the concept of the grotto, an artificial or natural cavern used for both sanctuary and devotion. Rich in iconography and symbolism, La Gruta/The Grotto holds figurative sculptures, including “relics,” that explore the intricacies of race, class, gender, sexuality and religion — concepts that are highly ritualized. The work in the exhibition is an invitation to contemplate narratives of the domestic, family, and womanhood and how they are complicated by a history of slavery, stolen labor, and racism, particularly in the U.S. and the Caribbean.

In addition to these concepts, the materials selected by the artist have historical and personal significance. According to Quiñones, “I work with all materials, but consider ceramics and fibers to be foundational to my process and thinking because of their long history and aesthetic traditions in places like West Africa, Spain and the Americas.”

Joann Quiñones (they/them) is a mixed media artist who creates figurative work in order to explore Afro-Latinx identity. They were selected as an Emerging Artist of 2020 by Ceramics Monthly, were a Manifest Gallery Annual Prize Finalist, and received an Honorable Mention for the James Renwick Alliance Chrysalis Award. Their work has been shown nationally, including in the 2020 NCECA Annual Exhibition, The Burdens of History. Quiñones has an MFA in Studio Art from Indiana University, Bloomington, and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Iowa. They are currently an Assistant Professor of Sculpture at Alfred University, NY.

For high-resolution images, click here. Artist bio and additional images are available on our website. For a PDF of the press release, click here.

{not} Quiet on the Western Front

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{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.

Still Shakin’

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Belger Crane Yard Gallery presents Still Shakin’ opening Friday, November 5, 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 December 31, 2021.

Still Shakin’ is an exhibition that celebrates salt and pepper shakers. Artists were asked to create their versions of these functional tabletop essentials, which resulted in a playful array of styles and forms. From miniature outhouses, to control top panty hose, the inspiration and creativity behind these shakers is sure to make you smile and view these mealtime mainstays in a new light.

Belger Arts’ 2019 debut of this concept was such a success, the exhibition is back with new and returning artists. This year’s participating artists include: Nicole Aquillano, Andrew Avakian, Alison Brent, Bianka Groves, Pierce Haley, Mandy Henebry, Al Holen, Meredith Host, Paul Maloney, Courtney Michaud, Lilly Powell, Cydney Ross, Jamin Shepherd, Melanie Sherman, Malcolm Mobutu Smith, Casey Taylor, and Shalene Valenzuela.

The State of Contemporary Drawing

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Drawing is frequently considered the basis of all visual arts. Vasari states, “Drawing… represent the necessary beginning of everything [in art], and not having it, one has nothing.” Old Masters drawings by Michelangelo, Raphael and da Vinci were considered “studies” for a final painted work. Today all that has changed, drawings currently exist within the artworld as more than a means to the end, but for many artists has become the ends itself. The popularity of Contemporary drawings is increasing and no longer are they treated as less valuable artworks than paintings. Currently, there seems to be a renaissance for them among artists and art enthusiasts both.
What does contemporary drawing look like today? This show will address what it implies to be a contemporary artist as well as provide an overview of contemporary drawing. The State of Contemporary Drawing will examine the art of contemporary drawing by artist selected from a national juried pool of submissions. Traditionally drawing was considered the technique of producing images on a surface, usually paper, by means of marks, usually ink, graphite, chalk, charcoal, or crayon. But over the last couple of decades, artist have constantly pushed the boundaries of what drawing can mean and be, redefining drawing. Drawings currently don’t merely consist of the previous mentioned methods, but have seen processes like burning, cutting scratching, sticking, writing, and sewing. Materials such as wax, and metals have even been used. These works blur the boundaries between drawing and other mediums of art. Contemporary artists are using drawings to address questions of identity, place, time and memory, protest, power, and systems.

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS

Carla Aspenberg Ileana Barbu Mary Becker
Joseph Bellofatto Julia Bowden Jonathan Bridges
Emily Broussard Sally Brown Amy Bumpus
James Burrell Keith Buswell Susan DAmato
Sara Drescher Rosalyn Driscoll Lou Eberhard
Bruce Erikson Emily Fedorchak Joshua Field
Agop Gemdjian Ronald Gonzalez Jason Guynes
Dean Habegger Ahmad Hassan Curtis Hendrickson
Nona Hershey Richard Hoff Deepa Mahajan
Elena Masrour Denton Peter McCabe Michelle McHale
Lauren Myers Susa Nawrocki Jim Pearson
Kevin Perkins Beth Peck Whitney Powell
Brett Poza Chris Revelle Ana Sophie Ruju
Michael Ryan Hasna Sal Emily Shepard
Clark Stoeckley Kim Taggart John Thrasher
Clark Valentine John Vinklarek Russell Horton
Blake Hughes Peter Illig Hattie Lee
Natalie Levy-Costa

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