CURATOR’S CHOICE Selections from Studios Inc’s Art Collection 11.12.21 / 12.23.21
Studios Inc Studios Inc provides studio space, professional development, networking, and exhibitions for mid-career artists in Greater Kansas City. We engage the Kansas City community through our Exhibition Series Program, which exhibits resident artist works throughout the year, free to the public
Launched in 2003 to serve mid-career artists, Studios Inc is Kansas City’s nonprofit arts organization that offers pivotal three-year residencies to mid-career artists who are poised to significantly expand their careers in accordance with the career goals articulated in their residency application. Its competitive application process, sharp focus on career advancement, and commitment to serve the under-served population of mid-career artists set Studios Inc apart from other artist-support organizations.
Studios Inc offers a unique immersion experience for resident artists, who use their studio and exhibition space to produce and exhibit work, network and learn from one another, and attract and cultivate relationships with art patrons, collectors, and arts professionals.
1708 Campbell Street, Kansas City, MO 64108
816-994-7134 | info@thestudiosinc.org
www.studiosinc.org
Curator’s Choice
on view Friday, Nov 12th thru Thursday, Dec 23rd, 2021
This exhibition features selections from the Studios Inc Collection chosen by multiple curators. The participating curators share thoughts regarding their selection from the collection. Similar to the previous exhibition, THROUGH THE EYES OF A COLLECTOR, this exhibition will highlight different perspectives and reactions to artworks in the collection.
Escape Hatch, Silver Lining by Beniah Leuschke Paper envelopes framed, 38 1/2 x 17 inches; 48 1/2 x 28 1/2 inches
Selected and written about by Courtney Wasson Beniah Leuschke’s “Escape Hatch, Silver Lining” is an invitation to play and take chances. It offers a bit of respite and evokes a sense of curiosity and wonder. Punctured holes in standard-size business envelopes conjure images in your mind through the word association. It reads as an invitation to break a secret-code and engage your inner-child playfully. This piece speaks to simplicity, trust, play, and whimsy. It is an authored cure for boredom.
Origination by Lori Raye Erickson Acrylic and enamel on canvas, 44 3/4 x 35 3/4 x 2 1/4 inches
Selected and written about by Maria Seda-Reeder I’m not normally a person who gravitates towards paintings. Though they are what the world often expects when we use the term “art”, it is the rare painting that actually attracts my eye. [How does one reinvent the primary product that artists have reinvented over and over for generations??] Origination, by Studios Inc artist-in-residence Lori Raye Erickson, however, is an exception to that general rule. There is something otherworldly in Erickson’s paintings like this one and Revelation, that feel akin to Swedish artist and mystic Hilma af Klint’s early abstract works. Erickson’s juxtaposition of muted and saturated color, crisp lines and minimalist visual cues hint at depth and space, adding to the work’s mysterious flair. Even the artist’s use of spare, ambiguous titles allows the viewer to make their own meanings around the work. As Conceptual artist Sherrie Levine said in her 1982 “Statement” (riffing on Roland Barthe’s iconic “Death of the Author”), “A painting’s meaning lies not in its origin but in its destination.” And I think Erickson’s Origination painting likewise plays with that tension in a visually compelling and conceptually rich way.
Still by Hye Young Shin Graphite on vellum, 41 1/2 x 120 inches
Selected and written about by CJ Charbonneau For my selection I chose the drawing “Still” by Hyeyoung Shin. This work was part of a solo show in 2017 at The Studios, Inc. that included a series of large scale self-portraits by the artist, nudes rendered in graphite. Eerily backlit, the drawings exuded a sense of extreme vulnerability and quiet sadness. “Still” is life sized and presented on a flowing sheet of mylar. Deeply personal and intimate, Shin’s drawings were conceived as a response to a recent experience of grief and loss. Her openness in illuminating her personal pain was so emotionally resonant for me! The loss of a parent is a watershed moment that can leave us unmoored, a psychic trauma with countless unanticipated consequences. Shin’s depiction tackles the physical manifestation of her wounded psyche. The figure is both exposed and hidden, her face obscured behind a curtain of hair and her body drawn into itself. The emotion here is palpable; so raw that to look upon her feels uncomfortable and vaguely intrusive. Her slumped posture and lowered head serves to conceal both her body and face, isolating her in an emotional bubble. There is a whiff of defeat. And yet, there is also a suggestion of quiet strength in the solid rendering of the limbs, her body held upright by a sturdy hand. In opposition to canonical representations of the female nude, the figure is not objectified or eroticized for the consumption of the viewer. There is not even a hint of sexual innuendo in the presentation, nor any context surrounding the figure to suggest such a scenario. Rather, the portrait lays bare the emotions that are carried within a body that is enlivened with her pain. Shin reappropriates the female form to contemplate the complexities of the interior landscape and by doing so, reclaims the body as hers alone.
Selected and written about by Kimi Kitada The immense, vulnerable, and evocative work of Hyeyoung Shin holds an emotional weight. Immediately, the viewer is confronted by a life-sized portrait of the artist. The solitude of figure, and its expressive body language with a downward tilted head, suggest a sense of isolation and mourning. Still is part of a series of nine large-scale self-portraits, which were on view at Studios Inc. in March 2017. Following the passing of her father, the artist created these works as a way to process the lingering feelings of loss and grief. The density of the mark-making implies a steady, repetitive gesture in certain areas of the composition, such as the flowing strands of hair. What draws me to Hyeyoung Shin’s work is the delicate precision of the line work and the direct impact of the body language. In the words of poet Claudia Rankine, “the body has memory.” Trauma can remain within us—sometimes silenced, suppressed into crevices, hidden from view—but carried with us as we move through the world. Still creates a moment of pause to sit with the emotional depth of grief and memory.
Stratification of Time III (with an absence draped in gold) by Kevin Townsend Acrylic, flashe, and gold leaf on panel, 27 x 27 inches
Selected and written about by Erin Dziedzic Townsend’s engagement with time, space, and materials recall ways in which we’ve willingly/ unwillingly had to compartmentalized our time over the past nearly two years of the global pandemic. Each silvery line and mark read as individual moments, hinged together as in the right panel and exploding outward in the left, that are arranged to embody the ebb and flow of time lost/gained/changed. The shimmering gold fissure dividing these two panels hint at moments or perhaps breaks in time that are still being unpacked. Townsend’s paintings and durational drawings allow us to see both the intimate and vast visualizations of a space and time. His work will be featured in a solo exhibition ³/works by Kevin Townsend at Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art (February 3 – May 30, 2022), which will feature new work including a large-scale durational on-site drawing installation.
Sketchbook #12 by Yoonmi Nam Porcelain, underglaze, and glaze, 8.5 x 6 1/4 x 3/4 inches
Selected and written about by Robb Gann Sketchbook (small #12) takes Yoonmi Nam’s familiar two dimensional botanical work and moves it onto a three dimensional canvas. Cleverly fashioning this sculpture into a sketchbook, Yoonmi shows her masterly skill with ceramic arts as well as prints and paintings. I was drawn to this work due to my interest in medieval herbariums. I’m fascinated over the detailed depictions prior to the invention of cameras. Yoonmi shows this same careful rendering of each stem, blossom, and unfurling leaf. Yoonmi respects the negative space in this piece, and creates a distinguished art work.
Martin Cortés by Miguel Rivera Relief Mixed Media: Lithography, Relief, Laser engraving and CNC drawing, 28 x 48 inches framed
Selected and written about by Courtney Wasson Miguel Rivera’s process and focus is abstraction that is rooted in themes of map-making, travel, conquest, and history. Lines begin to fold and converge on the saturated surface of Rivera’s print. The exacting nature of the abstracted image is reminiscent of scientific exploration that, at once, obscures and is flavored by distorted references to renaissance printmakers. Similar to the roots of a tree, these themes remain mostly abstracted with hints of the sourced inspiration peeking through the composition here and there if you know where and what to look for.
Wiggle Room by Emily Sall Installation of 36 panels (8 x 8 inches each), Acrylic on wood panel
Selected and written about by JoAnne Northrup Emily Sall’s Wiggle Room was my immediate first choice after perusing Studios Inc’s collection for several reasons. The work engages on different levels: first, it’s a single painting that is comprised of thirty-six separate panels, but all join together for a unified visual impact. Second, it appears to be a grid in two dimensions but upon closer inspection it opens up into three dimensions, giving a sense of space—or even special architecture, a layered matrix of color. Finally, I selected this paintings because I was familiar with Sall’s work, since the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art has collected a painting by Sall from the same year that is equally captivating but executed quite differently. I believe that abstraction provides a way for artists like Sall to investigate color, line, shape, composition, and mode of construction without constraint. Wiggle Room’s very title delights —after all, who wouldn’t want a little bit of ease, to have the potential for shifting or changing, to maintain a position that is not fixed in time or space—some wiggle room?
Portraits of Queer Couples by Judith G. Levy Ramona and Ivy from the band Tilted Mission (Top) Austin and Ray (Middle) Tim and Tom (Bottom) Archival digital print created from found salt and pepper shakers, found photographs, and other materials, 20 x 28 inches framed
Selected and written about by Alice Gray Stites Playful and tender, Judith G. Levy’s Portraits of Queer Couples both capture and subvert the subject of companionship, contradicting societal assumptions of heterosexuality when presented with images of couples or pairs. In these photographs of table wares and decorative objects, typically paired as binary, Levy reinvents these vintage mates, envisioning an evolution towards acceptance and love for all. Levy imbues the everyday with pathos, mixing whimsy and gravitas in works illuminate the power and significance of those details that are often overlooked. A selection of Portraits of Queer Couples is on view in 21c Museum Hotel Kansas City’s current Elevate exhibition on view through May 2022. Elevate presents exhibitions of works by artists living and working in the communities surrounding our 21c Museum Hotel. Elevate provides hotel guests with unique access to the work of notable regional artists, while featuring these artworks in the context of 21c’s global exhibitions.
Proximity by Kathy Liao 4-Plate Aluminum Lithography, 21x19 inches framed
Selected and written about by Michael Schonhoff Although completed in 2017, Liao’s “Proximity” holds contemporary resonance. The image, process and medium are effective communicators of figures with nearness in space, time and/or relationship. Seeing this work in the context of 2021, for me, is quiet, still and soft...without masks. A reminder to a past and a reimagined future.
Courtney Wasson is the Executive Director of Studios Inc. At the beginning of 2019, the Board of Directors at Studios Inc welcomed Wasson as the organization’s new Executive Director. Wasson joins Studios Inc with 10 years of gallery, marketing, and business management experience. Wasson received a BFA with honors from the Kansas City Art Institute in 2005. She majored in art history and printmaking. After graduation she has continuously worked to support artists through exhibitions, studio critiques, and marketing. Wasson began working for Weinberger Fine Art at the beginning of 2016, working as the Curator, Marketing and Gallery Director. Since 2010, Wasson has worked with the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center and is now the acting Executive Vice President for the Leedy Foundation. In 2016, Wasson began working with Linda Lighton as the Program Coordinator of the Lighton International Artist Exchange Program. Wasson is a dedicated artist advocate whose mission is to service the promotion of artistic dialogue and connect artists to opportunities. She is responsible for the general management and advancement of Studios Inc, building on the foundation established by Smith and the Board of Directors.
Maria Seda-Reeder is the Director of Exhibitions & Artist Support Initiatives at Wave Pool: A contemporary art fulfillment center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Seda-Reeder has been working with and on behalf of artists for the past 15 years. As a curator, writer, and academic she taught at the University of Cincinnati's College of Design Architecture Art and Planning for more than a decade; has covered the work of living artists for online and print publications alike; and has independently organized exhibitions at The Weston Art Gallery (Cincinnati, OH), The Lexington Art League (Lexington, KY), KMAC Museum (Louisville, KY), LMAK Books+Design (New York, NY), ProArts (Oakland, CA), Salisbury University Art Galleries (Salisbury, MD), The Carnegie Visual & Performing Arts Center (Covington, KY), Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park (Hamilton, OH), The Reed Gallery at the University of Cincinnati (Cincinnati, OH), The Ohio Art Council's Riffe Gallery (Columbus, OH), and The Contemporary Arts Center (Cincinnati, OH). She uses language as a bridge for critical discourse because she believes that contemporary art has the power to not only reflect the past but also inform the future.
C.J. Charbonneau (she/her) is an arts writer, curator, activist, and the Co-Director/Co-Curator of plug, an independent artist-run space in Kansas City, MO. She is currently a Charlotte Street Foundation Studio Resident, and is the founder and director of KC Women in the Arts Networking Group.
Robert Gann is the owner of Habitat Contemporary which is a commercial art gallery with the objective of exhibiting new talent/artwork every six weeks. Gann has developed years of exhibition skills curating works by mid-career artists. Serving as the Associate Director of Studios Inc allowed him to establish many ties within the arts community. Working as a purchasing consultant and artist liaison, he helped to place many works in private and corporate collections. Gann has also curated regional and international traveling exhibitions.
Kimi Kitada is the Jedel Family Foundation Curatorial Fellow at Charlotte Street Foundation. Previously, she was Curatorial Assistant at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles in 2019-20, where she assisted on Xu Zhen: In Just a Blink of an Eye. From 2014 to 2018, she served as Public Programs & Research Coordinator at Independent Curators International (ICI) in New York. Her recent curatorial projects include: With Liberty and Justice at Charlotte Street Foundation, Kansas City, MO (2021); where we came from & where we are going at Transformer, Washington, DC (2019); reset at Garis & Hahn, New York, NY (2016). She co-curated Postscript: Correspondent Works at artQ13, Rome (2015); 7×8 Curatorial Conversations at Budapest Art Market, Hungary (2013); and (in)complete at TEMP Art Space, New York (2013). Kitada received a BA in Art History and Classics from Bucknell University and an MA in Museum Studies from NYU.
Erin Dziedzic is Director of Curatorial Affairs at Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri. Dziedzic has curated numerous exhibitions at Kemper Museum including Adam Cvijanovic: American Montage (2015), Siah Armajani: Bridge Builder (2016), Rashid Johnson: Hail We Now Sing Joy (2017), was co-curator of Magnetic Fields: Expanding American Abstraction, 1960s to Today (2017), Angela Dufresne: Making a Scene (2018), and Summer Wheat: Blood, Sweat, and Tears (2019) among many others. Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: Pulse Topology in 2021. Dziedzic also originated Kemper Museum’s Atrium Project featuring commissioned projects by emerging and mid-career Hispanic and Latinx artists including José Lerma: La Venida Cansa Sin Ti (2016), Firelei Báez: To See Beyond Its Walls (and access the places that lie beyond) (2017), Paul Henry Ramirez: Sweet On (2018), Angel Otero: Diario (2019), Joiri Minaya: Divergences (2020) (organized by Jade Powers), and a project with Aliza Nisenbaum (2021). She was previously curator at the SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah, Georgia, where she curated Liza Lou: Let the Light In (2011), Damián Ortega: Belo Horizonte Project (2012), Rehearsals: The Practice and Influence of Sound and Movement (2013), Regina Silveira’s Track Series (Octopus) (2013), and Jean-Michel Othoniel’s OTHONIEL (2013).
JoAnne Northrup was appointed Executive Director and Chief Curator of the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art in 2021. Before relocating to Kansas City, she was based on the West Coast. As Curatorial Director and Curator of Contemporary Art of the Nevada Museum of Art (2012-21), she founded the contemporary art program and curated cutting edge exhibitions, including the nationally touring Unsettled (2017-19), organized in collaboration with Ed Ruscha. Prior to her time in Nevada, Northrup was Fulbright Senior Research Scholar at the ZKM Center for Art + Media in Karlsruhe, Germany. As Chief Curator (2008-2011) and Senior Curator (2001- 2008) at the San Jose Museum of Art, in California, she curated and authored the first nationally touring survey exhibitions and monographs on contemporary media artists Jennifer Steinkamp (2006) and Leo Villareal (2010). Two of Northrup’s exhibitions came to Kansas City—the Steinkamp exhibition toured to the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in 2007, and the Villareal exhibition toured to the Nerman in 2011.
Alice Gray Stites, Museum Director and Chief Curator of 21c Museum Hotels based in Louisville, KY with 8 other locations including Lexington, Durham, Cincinnati, Nashville, Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Bentonville, and Chicago. Alice curates exhibitions and oversees commissions, cultural programming, and museum operations for 21c’s multiple venues, in addition to collaborating with Steve Wilson and Laura Lee Brown on art sourcing and acquisitions. Prior to this role with 21c, Alice was Director of artwithoutwalls, Adjunct Curator for the Speed Art Museum, and has served in various editorial roles for ARTnews, Contemporanea, and Art & Auction. Michael Schonhoff (he, him, his) currently serves as the Director of the KCAI Gallery: Center for Contemporary Practice. Born in Dubuque, Iowa, his practice includes the roles of director, artist, and musician. He earned his MFA in Visual Art at the State University of New York at Buffalo. His BFA was completed at Iowa State University. He lives and works in Kansas City, Missouri.
Studios Inc’s three-year residency program provides a unique immersion experience that allows mid-career artists to use their studio space to conceptualize, produce, and exhibit their work.
Studios Inc serves the Kansas City Community and Crossroads Arts District by offering a free, open-to-thepublic exhibition series throughout the year, which includes opening receptions, First Friday receptions, artist talks, regular gallery hours, as well as scheduled tours and events. It is our hope to showcase and promote high-quality, interesting artwork to both visitors and members of the Kansas City community.
Courtney Wasson, Executive Director
courtney@thestudiosinc.org
thestudiosinc.org