Weekly roundup of the best art shows and art related events in and around the Lawrence/Kansas City area. This Friday, August 27 is the very first Final Fridays in Downtown Lawrence, KS.

FRIDAY AUGUST 27

• Final Fridays in Downtown Lawrence, Kansas
Downtown Lawrence (Massachusetts Street in Lawrence, KS)
Friday, August 27, 5-8pm

Lawrence’s first Final Fridays, a monthly celebration of the arts. Final Fridays will be presented by the Downtown Lawrence Arts District.

The gallery walk will include 15 commercial galleries as well as a number of local merchants who will take part in Final Fridays by hosting live music or displaying art. A few empty retail spaces will become “flash galleries” filled with temporary exhibits by local artists. Look for the bright yellow flags that signify a venue’s participation.

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Art event locations and participants for this month include:

739 Massachusetts Street
Flash Space, formerly Maurices
Group show presented by B.A.L.M (ongoing through September 17 by appointment)
From the organizers:
Opening reception for b.a.l.m. TRANS•parent TRANS•lucent. This is a group show exploring the idea of translucency and transparency curated by Darin M. White. Featuring works by Leah Busch, Jon Cowan, Christina Dostaier, TR Ericsson, Matthew Farley, Tyson Gough, Rex Hausmann, Vincent Leandro, Keith Lemley, David Parker, Andy Norquist, Debra Seeger, Linnea Spransy Shannon White, and Marc Wiegand.

1109 Gallery (Lawrence Art Guild)
1109 Massachusetts
According to the 1109 Gallery Facebook page, they will have “wine and cheese, great art and fun” as well as a “use your mom’s grocery bag for a book” art making activity from 5-8pm, $3 including all materials. Not sure what this all entails, but we do like, wine, cheese, art, and fun! Lawrence Art Guild’s Member Show of over 40 members work is currently on display through August 29.

Aimee’s Café & Coffeehouse
1025 Massachusetts
Paintings by Steve Swaggert, reception presented by South Massachusetts Art Guild

photo by Jeffrey Stephens

Bourgeois Pig
6 E 9th Street
Baby Heads 02 by Wayne Propst
From the organizers:
FREE HOT DOGS!

Twisty Bracelet by Makenna Bartel

Diane’s Artisan Gallery
4 E 7th Street
From the organizers:
Trunk show of jewelry by Makenna Bartel

Eccentricities
716 Massachusetts
Paintings by David Gross, Barbara Cleary, Hooshang Khorasani, and Shelly Bedsaul.

The Eldridge Hotel
701 Massachusetts
Artists displaying in the Crystal Ballroom include Stan Herd, Clare Doveton, Zac Barnes, John Stephen Howard, Louis Copt and Donna Dennis. A trio from The Lawrence Chamber Orchestra to perform in the lobby along with specials in the Jayhawker and TEN Restaurant.

The Etc. Shop
928 Massachusetts
Frank Lloyd Wright Collection items on display and for sale

Global Cafe
820 Massachusetts
Paintings by stained-glass artist Vivian Faulkner

Hobbs Taylor Lofts
730 New Hampshire
Installation by Zaguar (Zach Hangauer), owner of Rangelife Records

Invisible Hand Gallery
801 1/2 Massachusetts
Closing reception of Mask-Portraits by Jeromy Morris

It’s About Time
816 Massachusetts
Going out of business sale, 40% off metal works for your yard and home

by Jennifer Jarnot

Lawrence Arts Center
840 New Hampshire
Stan Herd and Simon Cardova photographs (ongoing through September 26)
From the organizers:
Stan Herd will exhibit photos and materials connected with the creation of the earthwork piece, “Countryside” while Simon Cardova will show photographs of the making of the film Earthwork.
Jennifer Jarnot, Reconstructing the Paint-by-Number
From the organizers: My recent paintings take their cue from my fascination for the nostalgia of popular culture, particularly those items that were influential, i.e., the stuff of one’s childhood, toys, books, and games.

Lawrence Percolator
Alley behind LAC at 840 New Hampshire
You Can’t Scare Me, I’m a Teacher! opening reception. Featuring artwork by art teachers from USD 497.

Lawrence Public Library
707 Vermont
Paintings by Dian Hauser in the main gallery
Insect Art by Katie Van Blaricum in the entrances
Jewelery by Rachael Sudlow in the library cases
Pencil, charcoal and pastel sketches by Stephanie Barrows in the lower level
All shows are ongoing through August 30

Love Garden Sounds
822 Massachusetts
I’m OK, Art Quilts by Hannah T Johnson (ongoing through September 2)

Mirth Cafe
745 New Hampshire
Photography by Matt Needham

Pachamamas Restaurant
800 New Hampshire
Acrylic paintings by Liberty Hollis

People’s Optical
737 Massachusetts
Paintings by Marilyn Horsch

Phoenix Gallery
919 Massachusetts
Highlighting local artists represented by the gallery

Signs of Life Gallery
722 Massachusetts
Through the Artists’ Eyes: Landscape Interpreted, paintings by Rodney Troth, Elizabeth Rowley and Deb Schroer

Through A Glass Productions
1009 New Hampshire, Suite A
Screening of Cigar By Car by local filmmaker Marlo Angell.
From the organizers: The sleepy day of a cigar attendant is disrupted when he follows a young shoplifter through a mystical cow pasture.  When the cows break free of the fence that binds them, Genius Grass finds the spirit to reclaim his youth and wake up to life.

Van Go Mobile Arts
Flash Space, formerly Arensburgs Shoe Store at 825 Massachusetts
Live mural painting from 5-8pm by students and teachers from Van Go

WheatFields Bakery and Café
904 Vermont
Paintings by Barbara Reid

White Chocolate Skateboards & More
933 Massachusetts
Photography by J. C. Cirese (ongoing through August 30)

by Sighn

Wonder Fair Art Gallery
803 1/2 Massachusetts
No One Knows How Deep This Goes, featuring the work of Sighn (Matthew Hoffman), text-based object installation

Update: New Art Space Opens Its Doors
Quintessential Gallery
512 East 9th Street, Lawrence, Kansas
“Quintessential Gallery” opens its doors for the first time to help ring in the inaugural Final Friday event in Lawrence, Kansas.  Founded August 1, 2010, Quintessential Gallery will be showcasing work by the gallery’s founding artists and Fresh Produce Art Collective members. Traditional and new, the works included are an eclectic mix of mediums from fabric, paint, photography and more.

Exhibiting Artists:
Brent Teufel – Bobbie Powell – Erok Johanssen – Leo Hayden – Rachel Herring –
Fresh Produce Art Collective
Exhibition curator(s):   Leo Hayden, Erok Johanssen and Bobbi Powell

Quintessential Gallery is comprised of five local artists who believe in sharing art with the community.  Located in a shared space with Anam Cara – A Healing Resource Center, Quintessential Gallery is devoted to the continuing creation and exhibition of new work.

posted by: Scott Stewart

Weekly roundup of the best art shows and art related events in and around the Lawrence/Kansas City area. August 27 will be the very first Final Fridays in Downtown Lawrence, look for a more detailed post about all of the art events associated with Final Fridays next week.

FRIDAY AUGUST 20

Voler Aerial Artists

• Lawrence Busker Festival
Downtown Lawrence (Massachusetts Street in Lawrence, KS)
Friday, August 20, 12-9pm (Ongoing until August 22nd)
Street performers will invade downtown Lawrence to delight young and old throughout the weekend. Performances include fire dancing, juggling, sword swallowing, magic, aerial dance, fire eating, music, acrobatics, hula hoop dance, belly dance, living statues, puppets, chalk art, face painting, and balloon art. www.lawrencebuskerfest.com

“Who Created Yo Ass?” Brass, Aluminum, and Rhinestones by Dylan Mortimer

• Peace Be With Yo Asses
KU Art and Design Gallery (1467 Jayhawk Boulevard in Lawrence, KS)
Friday, August 20, All Day (Ongoing through September 10)
From the organizers: A collection of Dylan Mortimer’s work from the last 3 years. Dylan’s work explores how private faith functions in the public sphere. It investigates the role of private faith outside of the self. www.dylanmortimer.com

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FRIDAY AUGUST 27

• Final Fridays in Downtown Lawrence, Kansas
Downtown Lawrence (Massachusetts Street in Lawrence, KS)
Friday, August 27, 5-8pm

From the organizers:
Lawrence’s first Final Fridays, a monthly celebration of the arts. Final Fridays will be presented by the Downtown Lawrence Arts District.

The gallery walk will include 15 commercial galleries as well as a number of local merchants who will take part in Final Fridays by hosting live music or displaying art. A few empty retail spaces will become “flash galleries” filled with temporary exhibits by local artists.

Art event locations and participants include:
Peoples Optical (Marilyn Horsch, paintings)
Love Garden Sounds (Hannah T. Johnson, art quilts)
WheatFields Bakery and Café
Teller’s Restaurant and Bar
Pachamamas Restaurant
Mirth Cafe
Global Cafe
The Eldridge Hotel
Aimee’s Café
715 Restaurant
Van Go Mobile Arts
Through A Glass Productions
Signs of Life Gallery (Rodney Troth, Elizabeth Rowley and Deb Schroer, landscapes)
Phoenix Gallery
Lawrence Public Library
Lawrence Percolator
Lawrence Arts Center (Stan Herd and Simon Cardova, photography)
Framewoods Gallery
Diane’s Artisan Gallery (Makenna Bartel, jewlery)
Wonder Fair Art Gallery and How! (Matthew Hoffman, text-based object installation)
739 Massachusetts Street – Flash Space, formerly Maurices (Group show presented by B.A.L.M)

Much more information about Final Fridays in Downtown Lawrence to come!

posted by: Scott Stewart

Weekly roundup of the best art shows and art related events in and around the Lawrence/Kansas City area.

SATURDAY AUGUST 14

• Artilicious Craft Fair
St. Mark’s United Methodist Church (6422 Santa Fe Drive in Mission, KS)
Saturday, August 14, 9am-4pm
A large variety of craft work that really is closer to fine art will be shown and sold to benefit the nonprofit group Friends of Recovery. Types of work include purses, t-shirts, art dolls, home decor, and more. Artilicious on Facebook

Betsy Barratt

• Viva La Femme
Alcott Art Center (180 South 18th Street in Kansas City, KS)
Saturday, August 14, 7-10pm
From the organizers: Group art show. Featuring talented female artists who push the envelope and definitions of art. Brave, edgy, and bold. This is not a show of the timid of heart. This is a show of female artists who take their art to the max and live it like its all they know.
Featuring artists Dame Osaurus, Nikki Moreno, Rachel Asbury, Jessica Logsdon, Drew Orrin-Brown, Chrystel Ann Wentling, Jennifer Boe, Apryl Mcanerney, Sarah Thompson Lift, Lori Raye Erickson, Holly Matthews, Lacey Lewis, Mary Ware, Becky Buznedo, Molly Murphy, Christel Highland, Jessica Bloom, Joanne Schiller, Betsy Barratt, Rhianna James, Angelica Sandoval, Angelica Sandoval, and Sarah Burkhart. Plus a short film “Sunset of My I” by local film maker Rossana Jeran, refreshments provided by Edible Cake Art, theatrical performances, body art of Jessica Bloom, live dance, and burlesque. Live music by The Infamous and Mercury Mad and The Plastic Bitches.

• Fire/Water: Saving the Gulf
Conspiracy Room in the Uptown Theater (3700 Broadway in Kansas City, MO)
Saturday, August 14, 7-10pm
This benefit for the Sierra Club will have a silent auction and posters with the themes of fire and water on display by Zachary Trover, Matt Hawkins, Dan Padavic, Tad Carpenter, Daniel Bartle and Phil Shafer. Also, live music by singer songwriter Heather Thornton and a special aerial acrobatic performance by Voler – Thieves of Flight. $10 donation for admission.

FRIDAY AUGUST 20

• Lawrence Busker Festival
Downtown Lawrence (Massachusetts Street in Lawrence, KS)
Friday, August 20, 12-9pm (Ongoing until August 22nd)
Street performers will invade downtown Lawrence to delight young and old through out the weekend. Performances include fire dancing, juggling, sword swallowing, magic, aerial dance, fire eating, music, acrobatics, hula hoop dance, belly dance, living statues, puppets, chalk art, face painting, and balloon art. www.lawrencebuskerfest.com

posted by: Scott Stewart

Weekly roundup of the best art shows and art related events in and around the Lawrence/Kansas City area.

FRIDAY AUGUST 6

• Jeromy Morris: Masked Portraits
The Invisible Hand Gallery (801 1/2 Massachusetts Street in Lawrence, KS)
Friday, August 6, 7-10pm
From the organizers: A series of masked, mixed media portrait paintings, with a hint of nostalgia, inspired by an early photographic process. www.jeromymorris.com

• Jeanette Powers: Self-Portrait as the Mad Hatter
Plenum Space (504 E 18th Street in Kansas City, MO)
Friday, August 6, 6-10pm
From the organizers: Jeanette Powers is a graduate physics student at the University of Kansas and a self-taught painter. Her expressionist paintings are imaginative and intense and have been collected for the last ten years throughout North America. She enjoys representing chaotic motion and fluid dynamics in her paint application, without losing the focus of the mind. Portraiture is the mainstay of her work thanks to her belief in the importance of friends and family. www.arttract.com/jeanettepowers.htm

• re:vision quest
The Slap & Tickle Gallery (504 E 18th Street in Kansas City, MO)
Friday, August 6, 6-9pm (Also open Saturday, August 7, 1-4pm)
This show features new paintings by Gryphon van der Hole. This quote directly from the artist’s statement for this show, “gay culture. queer aesthetic. kinky indulgences.”, is all we need to hear to peak our interest. We are not sure if the name Gryphon van der Hole and his photo on Myspace does the same or scares us away. www.myspace.com/gryphons_hole

• Molly Murphy: Spatial Constructions
BNIM Architects (106 W 14th Street in Kansas City, MO)
Friday, August 6, 5-7pm
From the organizers: Spatial Constrictions is an installation of paintings, drawings, text and human hair to be housed in the display windows of BNIM Architects. The show of multiple paneled works will span around the the block of 14th and Baltimore in the urban core of Kansas City, Missouri. www.mollymurphyartwork.com

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SATURDAY AUGUST 7

• I’M OK
Love Garden Sounds (822 Massachusetts Street in Lawrence, KS)
Saturday, August 7, 7pm (Ongoing until September 2nd)
New art quilts by artist Ha Johnson. Lawrence bands Strong Smells, Lite Loins, and Weird Wounds will perform starting at 7pm. Plus plenty of cookies to munch on. Yay!

• Get Your Pink On
Alcott Arts Center (180 S 18th Street in Kansas City, KS)
Saturday, August 7, 6-10pm
An art show fundraiser benefiting Passionately Pink for the Cure. This show includes art for sale, live music by Eu4ik (rock/heavy metal), a caricature artist, raffle and door prizes. Light food and beverages by Whole Foods, Tapatio Mexican Grill, and Boulevard Brewery. Admission is $5 children under 12 free.

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MONDAY AUGUST 9

• Dirty Business: “Clean Coal” and the Fight for Our Energy Future
Lawrence Arts Center (940 New Hampshire Street in Lawrence, KS)
Monday, August 9, 7-9pm
From the organizers (Films For Action): In the digital age, half our electricity still comes from coal. Dirty Business reveals the true social and environmental costs of coal power and tells the stories of innovators who are pointing the way to an alternative energy future. Free and open to the public.
Watch the Trailer: http://dirtybusinessthefilm.com/dirty-business-trailer

posted by: Scott Stewart

Fabric8 Galleries (3318 22nd Street in SF, CA) presents Multifarious Tendencies, a group show of new work by the artists Brett Amory, Adam Flores, Kevin Taylor, and Micke Tong, curated by Sandra Silvoy. The show will be on exhibit from August 6 through August 30, 2010 with an artists’ reception on Friday, August 6, from 7-10pm.

While different in style and background, these artists translate a mutual concern for the particularities of human tendency. Brett Amory captures our state of anticipation, wherein an individual is not entirely present to the moments passing. Adam Flores reveals struggles of social and economic classes, religion, family values and morality. Kevin Earl Taylor bypasses a natural law that binds us as he explores absurdities of an animal’s relation to man. Micke Tong steps into a dialogue of faith, power, and life’s anomalies with his sculptural constructions. Touchstones of the human experience arise in combining these multifarious tendencies.

Brett Amory was born in Portsmouth, Virginia and moved to San Francisco in 1996 to study motion pictures at the Academy of Art. After one drawing class, he switched his major to fine art and started his first body of work called “Waiting,” a series of paintings about the anticipation of the next moment, which he still continues to paint today.

Adam Flores illustratively analyzes and illuminates contemporary issues that are often questioned but rarely answered — religion, mortality, society, consumption, and the improbable acquisition of the American Dream. He holds a BFA from Academy of Art University.

Kevin Earl Taylor holds a BFA from The Savannah College of Art and Design and has exhibited throughout the United States as well as internationally. Primarily an oil painter, he has lately been exploring animals and other subject matter that people consider sacred.

Micke Tong perceives art as his way of assimilating into humanity. Much of his work reinterprets life and does so through unusual use of color, shape, and transparency. In his latest series, he builds three dimensional landscapes that have graphical pop-art sensibilities with underlying narrations that touch upon current events, politics, religion and sociology. He holds a BFA in New Media Arts from Academy of Art University and is the Art Director for Computers & Structures, Inc.

posted by: Tricia Rock

Weekly roundup of the best art shows and art related events in and around the Lawrence/Kansas City area.

FRIDAY JULY 30

• Do You Need A Friend To Go With?
Wonder Fair: Art Gallery, Shoppe & Studio
(803 1/2 Massachusetts Street in Lawrence, KS)
Friday, July 30, 7-10pm (Ongoing until August 22nd)
From the organizers: Christopher Bostwick is a graduate of the printmaking department at the Kansas City Art Institute. It was here that he developed his skills as a printmaker but also reaffirmed his penchant for drawing directly on paper. Do You Need A Friend To Go With? features colored pencil and gouache drawings – some as large as 60” x 48”. These drawings take the form of a set or stage, the theatrics of which are always implied, the actors never shown. Bostwick sets the scenes, rife with absurd details culled from a culture of excess and Google image searches. He revels in humorous juxtapositions and complicitous pairings. His drawings become abandoned scenes full of misleading clues to the most banal of mysteries – the everyday.

• Dem Young Arts
Dot Dot Dot Artspace (1910 Haskell Avenue in Lawrence, KS)
Friday, July 30, 7-10pm
We don’t know much about this show but there will be Live Musick Hip Hop (not sure what that means?!) and will feature local artists Matt Avila, Sam Foster, Kyle Longabach, Jordan Moshiri, Josh Snoddy, Alexandra Sova, and Ryan Storck.

THURSDAY AUGUST 5

• Last Splash Bash
Lawrence Public Library (707 Vermont Street in Lawrence, KS)
Thursday, August 5, 6:30pm
This is not an art event, but we love the LPL and everything they do. This bash will include games like Dunk a Librarian, a live performance by the wonderfully fun and lovely duo Truckstop Honeymoon, plus food and more.

FRIDAY AUGUST 6

• Jeromy Morris: Masked Portraits
The Invisible Hand Gallery (801 1/2 Massachusetts Street in Lawrence, KS)
Friday, August 6, 7-10pm
From the organizers: A series of masked, mixed media portrait paintings, with a hint of nostalgia, inspired by an early photographic process. www.jeromymorris.com

• Jeanette Powers: Self-Portrait as the Mad Hatter
Plenum Space (504 E 18th Street in Kansas City, MO)
Friday, August 6, 6-10pm
From the organizers: Jeanette Powers is a graduate physics student at the University of Kansas and a self-taught painter. Her expressionist paintings are imaginative and intense and have been collected for the last ten years throughout North America. She enjoys representing chaotic motion and fluid dynamics in her paint application, without losing the focus of the mind. Portraiture is the mainstay of her work thanks to her belief in the importance of friends and family. www.arttract.com/jeanettepowers.htm

• re:vision quest
The Slap & Tickle Gallery (504 E 18th Street in Kansas City, MO)
Friday, August 6, 6-9pm (Also open Saturday, August 7, 1-4pm)
This show features new paintings by Gryphon van der Hole. This quote directly from the artist’s statement for this show, “gay culture. queer aesthetic. kinky indulgences.”, is all we need to hear to peak our interest. We are not sure if the name Gryphon van der Hole and his photo on Myspace does the same or scares us away. www.myspace.com/gryphons_hole

• Molly Murphy: Spatial Constructions
BNIM Architects (106 W 14th Street in Kansas City, MO)
Friday, August 6, 5-7pm
From the organizers: Spatial Constrictions is an installation of paintings, drawings, text and human hair to be housed in the display windows of BNIM Architects. The show of multiple paneled works will span around the the block of 14th and Baltimore in the urban core of Kansas City, Missouri. www.mollymurphyartwork.com

posted by: Scott Stewart