Short Reviews
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Short Reviews *
Nancy Friedemann-Sánchez Explores Colonialism’s Invasion and Evolution
Spanish Colonial culture is at the core of Nancy Friedemann-Sanchez’ practice. She lays bare a centuries-old history that is neither diluted nor forgotten but is remembered in specific objects.
Understanding the Free Fall in Reality at Leedy-Voulkos
Reality was a group show that took place at the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, comprised of work that explored the idea of reality through various forms of media and personal interpretations.
An Optimist’s View: Open Spaces KC
Sometimes we’re in such a hurry to see all the art that we don’t see any of the art. It takes several days to see everything in Open Spaces, spread across the Kansas City metropolitan area, running through October 28.
Over and Over and Again! But Not The Same
The work of Baron Mattern and Max Pond were shown together in an act of radical transparency; the artists let the viewers into the process behind their practice.
Inside & Outside the Frame: in A Dream About My Garden Without the Smell of Dirt
A Dream About My Garden Without the Smell of Dirt at Front/Space is an installation that reads like a book who’s title quickly draws you in between its covers.
Ceramics That Kill, Quilts That Admonish: Linda Lighton and Jessica Wohl
One of the many takeaways from Linda Lighton’s work is mankind’s pursuit of ownership and power through the guise of glossy weaponry.
Evocative Objects at Play in Really, Apparently
Have you ever seen that show on Netflix, The Toys That Made Us? It is what I thought of when I saw Really, Apparently at Front/Space.
Archie Scott Gobber and the Uncertainty of Practice
Archie Scott Gobber has been working in Kansas City for decades and has established his place as a sign painter with a sense of humor
Armchair Travel and Simulations in P L A Y P I T at OpenHouse
“Please remove your shoes,” the sign reads. P L A Y P I T transforms Open House into a serene, fabricated oasis.
Looking at Our Desire To Escape to Imagined Worlds in Really, Apparently and Recreationical Serenetorium
Two shows offer retreats from the quotidian, acknowledging our desires for alternate worlds. While their methods, materials, and aesthetic couldn’t be more different, Kylie McConnell and Bobby Haulotte’s Really, Apparently at Front/Space and Monica Dixon and Annie Woodfill’s Recreationical Serenetorium at Vulpes Bastille are both immersive spaces suited to viewers projecting their visions and dreams.
Minimalisms’ Spurious Distractions in a Collaborative Installation
For Recreational Serenetorium, Monica Dixon and Annie Woodfill are commanding the space and determining the “tyranny of perspective.” In macro terms, these artists command what is seen and control the reality of environment. Manifest Destiny ne plus ultra!
E S S A Y 5: Success in Gravity is Only Falling.
Success! In Art! Is Difficult! What is an appropriate metric for judging it, anyways?
A love letter to a pillow
Inside the gallery some people were holding chiffon bean bags and I felt a sense of anxiety. A worry that I needed something to occupy my hands. White panels of fabric hanging from the ceiling kept me calm and secluded in my corner.
Three KC Exhibitions Look at Intention Setting in Late Capitalism
We’re all searching for who we are. We rely upon Google as an oracle to give us meaning and occasional ‘answers’.
The Feeling is Mutual: When Open House Became a Home
The Feeling is Mutual at Open House explored ideas of intimacy within our home-based relationships through various forms of new media. Photographs and video were scattered around the unfinished walls that reference the underlying structure of our understanding of a home.
A State of Capitalist Paralysis at Nerman MoCA
Anxious Abstraction at Nerman MoCA opens doors of perception to our anxieties in a culture already fraught with tension. The work invites scholarship and cynicism that offers an understanding the patriarchy is undergoing a shift in management and it is time to rethink our ideas of ownership.
Eugene Richards: The Run-On of Time: Too Rough for a Museum?
When we first enter the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art’s retrospective of 146 photographs called “Eugene Richards: The Run-On of Time,” it is through the eyes of a 25-year-old VISTA worker who put no distance between himself and the “few comforts or surprises” of the people of the Arkansas Delta.
Nkame: Cuban Mythology Through a Female Lens
In her retrospective, Nkame, at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Belkis Ayón offers a feminist perspective on an Abaku mythology, myths that have been generated from a male dominated society in Socialist Cuba.
Such Great Heights: The Potentials in Well Loved Ones and All Tomorrow’s Parties
There is a link between Well Loved Ones, Melissa McGrath’s solo show at PLUG Projects and the recent group exhibition at La Esquina All Tomorrow’s Parties. Both presentations consider the beauty and celebration that comes when we allow ourselves to accept the inevitable decay of time.
Seeking the Sacred Self in the work of Peyton Pitts
Peyton Pitts’ work is full of hidden symbols. She finds joy in using secretive imagery and watching how others interpret it. As a member of the African diaspora, Pitts has been denied access to much of her ancestral history.