In my artistic practice, Billie S. is not just a subject but an integral part of my creative process. Billie S. serves as a catalyst for working through the past, finding liberation, healing, and self-assurance, a fearless persona within me that frees me from self-criticism and embraces every part of who I am. For the past four years, I have created this work in the basement studio of my home. This exhibition marks the first time much of this art has been presented to the public. It feels especially fitting to present this work in the basement of my second home, the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center. 

-Debbie Barrett-Jones​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

VIEW CATALOG

Artist Statement
My work has been shaped by my background growing up in a rural community in Iowa. Industrial farming is a common practice in Iowa. It wasn’t a world that I was quite a part of until I began working as a mower at an industrial hog farm during the summers when I was in college. Growing up in Iowa, I was taught from a young age about agricultural practices and where our food comes from. There was a general knowledge of industrial farming in rural communities even without working on a farm. I worked on an industrial hog farm for four years mowing their operations. My work depicts my experience working around industrial hog confinements for four summers in Iowa. I navigate this industry in my work through my memories, through the things I saw and experienced. I focus on the things that impacted me. This collection of work depicts the workings of industrial hog farming and the complications of operating a large-scale farm. Much of this is not seen by many. Through my work, I shine a light on the realities of an industry that are usually invisible.

Bio
Sadie Goll was born and raised in eastern Iowa. She studied printmaking at the University of Iowa and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2019. She completed her Master of Fine Arts at the University of Kansas in 2022. Throughout her undergraduate and graduate career, her work has been focused on industrial hog farming and her experiences with the industry as she grew up in Iowa. She works in a variety of printmaking techniques such as lithography, intaglio, relief, and monotype.

Join us for the opening night of our immersive Art Experience!

Digital Dreams has partnered with The Spectacle Society to bring you a surrealistic, immersive art space!

Physical art merges with digital art in this interactive space!

Free entry for First Friday visitors.

$12 per person the remainder of September.

Doors open at 5pm!

Please join us for a solo exhibit of new work from Kansas City artist Emily Cramer. In Reverberation: Faith in Motion, Emily invites viewers to contemplate elements of faith such as courage, love, perseverance, and discernment through works with intimate details and dreamlike perspectives. Using images of water and ripples, Emily invites us to consider the ways our faith is not just our own: each act of faith belongs to the broader body of believers, where it ripples outward, carrying with it a witness of the divine source of all beauty and wonder.

Please join us for an opening reception on Friday, September 6, from 5:30 – 9pm. Emily will be giving an artist talk at 7pm, with Q&A to follow.