Belger Crane Yard Gallery presents Milestones: Belger Arts’ Tenth Annual Resident Artist Exhibition opening Friday, June 2, 2023, at 2011 Tracy Avenue, Kansas City, MO 64108. The public is invited to view the work and meet the artists from 6 to 8 pm. The exhibition includes work by Cindy Leung, Sun Young Park, Gina Pisto, Adams Puryear, Meredith Smith, and Nicole Woodard.

This year Belger Arts celebrates a significant milestone: the tenth year of its Artists in Residence program. The program originated at Red Star Studios, a long-time Kansas City ceramics gallery and studio. After its closing the program found a permanent home in May 2013 when Belger Crane Yard Studios opened. Belger Crane Yard Studios continues to host national and international artists through the program, providing 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.

The group exhibition, with its range of styles, themes, and techniques, also marks a milestone for the six artists, as it is the culmination of their time in the residency program. Through porcelain, a ceramic material originating from the East and popularized by the West, Cindy Leung facilitates conversations around topics such as consumerism, colonization, and cultural hybridity. Sun Young Park combines clay and non-clay materials to create large, abstract sculptures that reflect how she processes and translates her reality and explores the duality of the material and the conceptual. Adams Puryear documents pop and internet culture, combining traditional techniques and contemporary imagery inspired by the internet’s “anti- filter.” Curio as a site within the domestic, plays a major role in Gina Pisto’s work that explores the ritual of collecting and preservation as an act of desire. Meredith Smith uses clay, figurative sketching, poetry, and various other aspects of her work to relay an array of experiences across the human condition. Nicole Woodard’s work currently focuses on exploring the vulnerability and trauma of the body from the perspective of a woman.

“One of the extraordinary undertakings of our time.”
- Smithsonian Magazine

Please join us at Four Chapter Gallery for a print exhibition featuring the art and calligraphy of the Saint John’s Bible.

In 1998, Saint John’s Abbey and University commissioned renowned calligrapher Donald Jackson to produce a hand-written, hand-illuminated Bible. This work of art unites an ancient Benedictine tradition with the technology and vision of today, illuminating the Word of God for a new millennium.

St. John’s Bible is a unique and stunning work of art that represents a modern-day masterpiece of the ancient art of illuminated manuscripts. Commissioned by Saint John’s Abbey and University in Collegeville, Minnesota, this Bible is a collaborative effort of calligraphers, theologians, artists, and craftspeople from around the world. It was created using traditional techniques and materials, including vellum, gold leaf, and natural pigments, but with a contemporary approach and a fresh interpretation of the biblical text.

The result is a stunningly beautiful and visually striking Bible that reflects the diversity and richness of contemporary culture and the timeless wisdom of the Bible. With its intricate details and vibrant colors, the St. John’s Bible has captured the attention of art lovers and Bible enthusiasts alike and has become a treasured work of art and a testament to the enduring power of the Bible as a source of inspiration and spiritual guidance.

Learn more at https://saintjohnsbible.org

Exhibit Dates: June 2 — August 27, 2023

First Friday Receptions:
June 2 and August 4 | 5:30 – 9:00pm

Open Hours:
Saturdays | 12:00 – 4:00pm

William Rainey 

(American, b. 1943)

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.

Rainey received he first art award 53 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.

Jones Gallery May Group Art Show!
First Friday opening, May 5th..
Artist reception is from 5 till 9pm. All welcome and always free.
Also with 150 pieces on display, both local and national Artists
Show runs thru May 25th.
Also open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Closed Sunday
Jones Gallery 1717 Walnut, KCMO. 64108
816 – 421-2111
https://jonesgallerykc.com/ 

Artist Statement:

My art morphs different mediums into visual meditations and dream-like imageries. Creating is therapeutic, a form of alternative medicine for me. As an artist, I create forms of communication from the subconscious and conscious state of mind. I am constantly learning and listening to my personal visions. I have a strong need to create something that is healing for myself and possibly a connection for others. Drawing intricate line patterns compared to sand painting or the cracks in your hand is the way for me to have the introspection of self-like meditation. Which in turn, creates a positive impulse of calmness, intensity, or a balanced flow. I create because it stimulates an internal mind-bending effect of my center that takes me somewhere else. This kata (form) of expression is an escape from my current reality to release an honest and raw output of my existence through creativity: To visually twist a space with or without technology to amplify a human experience. With spontaneous and or controlled movements with patience and thought, I like to integrate the environment with unique visuals and collaborations with video and sound waves. This expanding language is interpreted with personal contemplation. 

-Adrian Halpern 

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Rich “JKR70” Lester is a music producer, audio engineer, and visual artist from Kansas City, Mo. He has over 25 years of experience in his art form. 

Artist Statement:

I am formerly of the Hip Hop group Human CropCircles. I have worked with Ces Cru, Sage Francis, Young Rob, Romy of Macromantics, Red Dot Didactics, Rough Draft, Approach of Dat Gang/Datura Records, Milkdrop of Dat Gang/Datura Records, Lucid Flows, Lou Rip, Donald “Scribe” Ross, Anti Crew, Sike Style of Sike Style Industries, Flavor Pak, and Liz Suwandi to name a few.

I have happily worked with Adrian Halpern off and on for approximately 15 years on various art/ audio collaborations, most of which can be enjoyed at www.adrianhalpern.com. This current collaboration was a bit of a departure from our usual dynamic. This time I was asked to compose audio based on the overall vibe of seeing Adrian’s process. I took inspiration from conversations, text correspondence, and viewing his art at various stages during his process over a 45-day period.

The audio you’ll hear at this showing is the result of that inspiration. It was quite fun as well as a bit challenging at times, I do hope you enjoy it.

-Rich “JKR70” Lester