Salvador Jiménez-Flores is a Chicago-based artist and educator who, as a teenager, immigrated from Mexico to the U.S. His body of work is steeped in his experience as a bi-cultural, bilingual artist living “concurrently in two different worlds.” Arte-Sano: Soy libre porque pienso showcases the breadth of his practice through a range of media. His ceramics, glass, metalwork, photography, and prints reflect the artist’s continued exploration of the politics of identity and the state of double consciousness. He also highlights the struggles and complexities of Latinx people living in the U.S.

Rich in symbolism and iconography, Salvador Jiménez-Flores draws upon Afro-Futurism, Funk Ceramics, Robert Arneson’s satiric comedy, and references pre-Columbian traditions and pop culture, to create a world that he calls “Rascquache Futurism.” In the true nature of “rasquachismo,” the concept of making the most of limited resources, Jiménez-Flores attests to his own defiance and inventiveness as an “artesano” (“craftsman”) which is a larger reflection of the resilience of Latinx people.

The exhibition title Arte-Sano:Soy libre porque pienso directly translates to “Craftsman: I am free because I think.” Soy libre porque pienso references the freedom that comes with being able to think for oneself. Including a hyphen in the word “Arte-Sano” Jiménez-Flores creates two words and an expanded meaning “arte” (“art”) and “sano” (“healthy”) revealing his fascination with word play and the power of language.

Salvador Jiménez-Flores is an Assistant Professor in ceramics at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His work has been included in exhibitions at museums such as the National Museum of Mexican Art, Grand Rapids Art Museum, Urban Institute of Contemporary Art, Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, and Museum of Art and Design. Among his many awards and recognitions, Jiménez-Flores is a recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters & Sculptors Grant, a Burke Prize finalist, and a 2021 United States Artist Fellow. Currently, Salvador Jiménez-Flores is a member of The Color Network, an organization whose mission is to promote the advancement of people of color in the ceramic arts, and the Institutio Gráfico de Chicago, a socially conscious organization that utilizes printmaking to ignite community engagement in sociopolitical discourse.

Eden to Eternity is an exhibit from the Bowden Collection made up of forty stunning molas collected from various Cuna artisans on the San Blas Islands, just off the coast of Panama. Molas are panels of reversed embroidery meant to be applied to the front and back of Cuna women’s blouses. Each mola in this collection is a beautifully designed interpretation of a biblical story with whimsical treatments and tender insights. These molas are a reminder of the diverse, global nature of artistic expression within the Christian faith. 

Terrain is a collection of landscape images created using the Wet Plate Collodion method of photography. Invented in the 1850s, wet plate collodion is an entirely hands-on process that allows me to connect to each step. From mixing my own chemistry to utilizing my portable darkroom to sensitize and develop each image, I am deeply involved from start to finish. Much like the wet plate photographers that came before me, I travel with my large format wooden cameras, my darkroom and chemistry, and a passion for landscapes larger than I can imagine. Instead of a covered wagon, I travel in my 1979 Chevy camper van, creating images of the world around me that can be held and shared for hundreds of years.

Kansas City, MO — December 13, 2023 – Studios Inc presents “Generally Meant to Be Discarded”, a solo exhibition by Yoonmi Nam on view January 12 through February 24, 2024. 

Studios Inc will host an opening reception on Friday, January 12th from 5 – 8 pm.

Yoonmi Nam will give an artist talk in conversation with Aileen June Wang, Curator at the Beach Museum of Art, on Saturday, January 13th from 12 – 1 pm.

Yoonmi Nam is an artist born in Seoul, South Korea, and has studied in Korea, Canada, US, and Japan. Yoonmi received her MFA degree from the Rhode Island School of Design and BFA degree from Hong-Ik University in Seoul, Korea. Her work is in the collections of the RISD Museum, RI; Spencer Museum of Art, KS; and the Hawai’i State Art Museum, HI; among others, and has shown her work in over 25 solo exhibitions and 200 group exhibitions both nationally and internationally. Yoonmi is a professor of printmaking at the University of Kansas, and was awarded the Studios Inc artist residency in 2020. 

Image: Ceramic piece from “Generally Meant to Be Discarded”, E.G. Schempf

Exhibition hours: Wednesday through Friday from 10 – 4pm, Saturday from 12 – 4pm, and by appointment 

Location: 1708 Campbell Street, Kansas City, MO, 64108

Generally Meant to Be Discarded

Artist Statement

Yoonmi Nam

“I observe the things around me. I am deeply aware of the presence of objects that we handle, consume, display, and discard. I am drawn to them especially when they subtly suggest a sense of time that seems both temporary and lasting. There is truth and honesty in time, as all of us share the fate of impermanence. But the way we surround ourselves with collections of things, it is as if we feel a sense of permanence through these comforts and arrangements. In my work, I make images and forms that highlight everyday objects, spaces, events, and routines. While insignificant and mundane, they allow us to notice both the stillness and the passage of time.

Like many people during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, my husband and I stayed in our small house and relied on deliveries to sustain us. Every week, delivery boxes and plastic containers of varying sizes and shapes from local restaurants, shops, and online stores were left at our front door. I developed a routine of disinfecting them and then breaking down the boxes and other packaging materials to recycle them. It became a consuming part of my daily activity because if neglected, the boxes and plastic containers would start to take over the small space that we lived in. In the process of handling these objects for recycling, I noticed interesting shapes and began to collect them.

I am a collector of trash. My collection of flattened-out boxes became templates that I traced onto Tyvek sheets. The Tyvek sheet surfaces were first painted with Sumi ink and sprayed with the alcohol-based sanitizers that I had used to disinfect the surfaces of our deliveries. When the mist of this spray landed on the Sumi ink surface, it reacted with the still-wet ink and made visible the trace of my disinfecting action. Using my various box templates, I traced their shapes and made the necessary cuts and folds to imitate the original boxes. Using these ink and alcohol-stained cut-out shapes, I made studies of different arrangements and conditions. This body of work is collectively titled Delivered and Discarded. At times the box shape remains tethered to the rest of the Tyvek sheet, and at other times, different shapes of flatted-out boxes are stacked in a small pile, as if they were to be taken out to be discarded.

I continue to explore these discarded materials as a print matrix. In my work, there is a direct relationship between the subject matter and the materials. Unfolding is a series of monotype prints using the technique of pressure printing. Pressure printing is a method of printing that allows a direct imprint of my collection of boxes onto paper. I place several layers of flattened-out boxes behind a sheet of Japanese paper positioned on top of a fully inked Plexiglass plate. When this is run through the press, the physical presence of the boxes behind the paper applies more pressure onto the paper, picking up more ink, and creating an impression of the stacked boxes. 

The plastic containers are designed to be useful for very specific and brief tasks. They are designed to keep fragile or temporary items protected, such as eggs, COVID tests, take-out food, and Girl Scout cookies. I am interested in these objects as cultural artifacts of our present time. I am also interested in the contradicting sense of time that these objects inherently possess as materials and in their functions. Keeping is a collection of ceramic objects that are direct castings of the negative spaces of various plastic packages, and they become indexical signs of these disposable objects. Another series titled Cairn consists of porcelain takeout containers stacked neatly and placed on tables that are inspired by Soban, a traditional Korean dining table. These cast porcelain pieces are glazed with traditional Korean celadon glaze to further the conversation with history, culture, time, and identity.”

Jones Gallery January Art Show!
Art Show featuring David Jones.
First Friday opening from 6 till 8 pm.
All welcome and always free, thanks!
Show runs thru February 1st.
Regular Gallery hours are by appointment,
from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Closed Sunday
Jones Gallery 1717 Walnut, KCMO. 64108
816 – 421‑2111
https://jonesgallerykc.com/