July art preview: Where to go, what to see in KC this month
Welcome to July 2019.
Several galleries are taking a lull due to the summertime. But never fear, many are soldiering on through these vacation-laden months. Get your fix for new visual arts at the exhibitions below.
Is This Thing Working?
Front/Space
Need a palate cleanser after the rah-rah hyperpatriotism of Independence Day? Check out this site-specific installation that seeks to inspire skepticism of the systems we live in. With photography, video, sculpture, and interactive installation, local artists Carter Floyd and RJ Junger consider topics including capitalism, humor, consent, and memory.
Opening reception Friday, July 5, 6pm-9pm. 217 W 18th St.
Vulpes Bastille
Comedic tension runs through this exhibition of new work by local artists Dan Ohm, Max Pond, and Stephen Proski. Ohm’s wily ceramics, Pond’s cartoonish collages, and Proski’s bold canvases demonstrate an ability to be as playful as you are deliberate.
Opening reception Friday, July 5, 6pm-9pm. 1737 Locust St.
Imagine That!
Every artist at Imagine That! will be represented in this staff-selected show. With over 60 artists working in collage, photography, fibers, sculpture, painting, and more, expect a wonderfully diverse exhibition.
Opening reception Friday, July 5, 6pm-9pm. 2010 McGee St.
Disguise / Divulge by Luke Huling
More Flowers by Keira Sunshine Norton
Bunker offers a dual exhibition opening featuring ceramicists that hail from University of Indiana’s MFA program. Luke Huling strives to provoke uneasiness in those viewing his work, which has an element of dark humor. Keira Sunshine Norton uses the figures of dolphins and whales to explore ideas of gender fluidity, sexuality, and power dynamics.
Opening reception Friday, July 5, 5pm-10pm. 1014 E 19th St.
Capsule
Immersive video and strange performances take over Capsule for one day only as two artists will present their multimedia performances. Julia Vering, a Kansas City artist also known as Unicorns in the Snow, will share “The Understudy” (pictured above). In her interactive projections set in spaces like corn fields and abandoned industrial buildings, Vering also collaborates with adults with early stage dementia — as narrators, dancers, and actors — from her video-based drama therapy for the dementia activity program at Jeanne’s Place. Visiting from Pittsburgh, Anna Azizzy presents “For Retired Gymnast,” which draws on her own past as a gymnast, reimagining narratives and desires for athletes, coaches, and moms in this absurd multimedia performance.
Performances Friday, July 19 at 1:30pm [family-friendly] and 8:30pm [mature content]. 1664 Broadway.
