As I have been in the process of simplifying my work, I find that there is much more going on that is unseen. I believe painting is a series of adjustments no matter what the subject matter or lack thereof.

Continuous change occurs until the painting says we are done. My job as artist is to know when to stop.

Take time to look…there is more than first meets the eye.

The process of abstract art does not translate easily to words. I am not as comfortable talking about my art as I am in making it. I listen to jazz when I paint. Jazz is an improvisation on a theme, a blend of elements in the space of time. My art is like that. My paintings always begin with drawing nonobjective shapes, the use of line to define area and to push the limits of real and abstract. I can’t imagine painting something exactly as it is. That’s what a camera is for. For me, color and my own emotions play the themes, blending the elements in the space of the canvas.

I require nothing special of the observer… Each viewer may see and feel what they see and feel, and play their own themes and improvisations…That way we can both be surprised.

Rainey received he first art award 54 years ago and since has attended Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Snowmass Village, CO and the Santa Fe Institute of Fine Arts, Masters Program. Represented exclusively by Blue Gallery since 2000, William Rainey’s paintings can be found in private and corporate collections worldwide. Select corporate collectors include; Shook, Hardy & Bacon, Kansas City, MO, Data Systems International, Kansas City, MO, Restaurant Management Company, Wichita, KS, Missouri Bank, Kansas City, MO, Lanard Toys Ltd., Hong Kong, and The Conafay Group, Washington, DC.

Phillip “Swede” Hickok is currently a long-term artist in resident at Englewood Arts located in Independence, Missouri. He was born in Gothenburg, Sweden and grew up in Littleton, Colorado. Swede attended the glass trade school, Riksglaskolan, in Orrefors, where he obtained his certificate of Journeyman in Glass, and studied Grall and Swedish overlay techniques, both of which he uses on much of his work.

In 2019, he began his studies at the Danish Royal Academy of Fine Arts where he focused on glass design. During his time at the academy, he researched contemporary glass design and soon found a love for assembly and instillation art. Swede completed his Bachelor of Craft in Glass Design in June of 2023. He has exhibited both internationally and nationally, has been a resident artist at several distinct residencies, and has also completed internships in France, Denmark, and Hawaii. He continues to strive for personal balance between concept and craft, by pushing the boundaries of the material and incorporating other materials, such as wood and metal.

Studio Above is a Studio/Gallery with six resident artists, located in the heart of the Kansas City Crossroads Arts District. Artists Nancy Clay, Vanessa Lacy, William Rose, Noelle Stoffel, David Uhlig and Jackie Warren create a wide variation of visual art. Open most First Fridays, 6:00 – 8:00. Visitors are welcome by appointment any time.

The shutter clicks and the image is frozen, but what about the moments before and after? Where do those moments, lost in time, reside?

I’ve always been interested in how the camera can freeze motion as Muybridge famously did in his photographic studies of the human figure. However, I’m even more fascinated by motion blur as an expression of time. It embodies the constant flux of life and the perpetual state of becoming. Motion in my work is a metaphor for growth, transition and the relentless passage of time.

This work is a celebration of movement, light and form. Using light and time, my aim was to create serene transformative images that speak to the grace of movement, the elegance of the human form, and the transitory nature of life.

Working with a gifted dancer, we created a delightfully unique and otherworldly aesthetic by abstracting and exploring the unique properties of motion. As our work progressed, the dancer often appeared to emerge from the darkness, incarnate, as if borrowed from a dream… never to be seen again.

With special appreciation to Laura Wallner and Jennifer Owen.

Steve Wilson 

November 2024

Artist Bio: 

Steve Wilson has been an arts professional and photographer his entire adult life. His interests include exploring 19th century photographic processes, digital approaches, and astrophotography. His work is found in the Hallmark Photographic Collection at the Nelson/Atkins Museum of Art, the former Polaroid Collection, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, and private collections. 

COMMON THREADS

Every day we are immersed in words and images that extol our individuality and uniqueness,

these words and images reflect how distinctive we are 

and how unique our cultures are.

Nevertheless, a paradox lives alongside this individuality and uniqueness. 

A paradox which has become abundantly clear to me over six decades of global wandering,

…we humans all share more commonalities than differences. 

I celebrate our distinctiveness as individuals,

I delight in our unique cultural heritages.

However, 

I revel in the things we share, 

our common threads.

No matter who we are or where we live, 

no matter our age, race, ethnicity or wealth,

or any other characteristic that seems to divide us.

We need to love and be loved. 

We need to smile, laugh and enjoy each other’s company. 

We need to move, dance, touch and even get physical with each other. 

We need to belong, to be part of a family or community. 

We need to express ourselves. 

We need to tell and listen to stories. 

We need time to ourselves to reflect. 

We need to feel a sense of purpose.

In my photography, I work to find those universal things we all seek, feel and do. Whether I’ve captured an ephemeral moment, a gesture or look, a vision of repeating, consoling beauty in our natural or built world, something we glimpse in passing, or a situation we have all encountered at some point in our lives…

we all share these experiences.

Common Threads, those strands we share which bind us and make us part of the greater human tapestry.