First Friday tonight: Crossroads Flock Party, a last Late Show opening, a Patrick Schmidt takeover and other attractions
If tonight’s First Friday seems more crowded than usual, well, it is — thanks to the annual Crossroads Flock Party, which takes over the intersection of 19th Street and Wyandotte from 5 to 11 p.m. June 2. The surrounding galleries are open, with street entertainment including live music by Arc Flash, High Westhus, Dreamgirl, Reptil and others; skating demonstrations from Escapist Skateboarding; Pop-Up Charlie’s live drawing and “idea hunting”; food and drink for sale; and even free valet parking for the safe care of your bicycle, thanks to Boulevard Brewing Co. and BikeWalkKC. (Then again, maybe the combination of a sold-out Tom Petty show at the Sprint Center and a prime weather forecast for Kansas City PrideFest at Berkeley Riverfront Park will add up to an easy-to-navigate First Friday.)
For 20 years, the Charlotte Street Foundation has been providing unrestricted grants to area artists, part of a web of consistent support that has included Paragraph and la Esquina galleries, studio residencies, guest curator residencies and programming. As part of the organization’s 20th anniversary, KCAI Crossroads Gallery (1819 Grand) presents two new exhibitions in the Every Street Is Charlotte Street program. Opening June 2, with a 6-8 p.m., reception, Revolutionary Awakening includes two series by Sonié Joi Thompson-Ruffin. One is in conversation with poet Glenn North; the other, My Mother’s Club: March on Kansas City, was created during an Art Omni residency and includes a documentary film by Rodney M. Thompson about the history of African-American women’s social clubs here. In the north gallery, two new large-scale paintings by 2005 Charlotte Street Award fellow Max Key are what he likens to “meta-landfills,” inspired by our culture’s excess and gluttony and, he says, “the desire to find beauty and color in that blurry grey area between ‘need’ and ‘want.'” It’s open through August 4.
“The show must go on,” at least once more. Before his death May 16, Late Show Gallery curator and owner Tom Deatherage was already planning for this month’s opening. This will be the final exhibition at 1600 Cherry as we have come to know it: Where From Here, new works by Lorrie Newport Boydston and Laura Nugent. Other art from Deatherage’s collection is also available for sale, including works by Asheer Akram, Travis Pratt and Colby Smith. Longtime Late Show supporter Mauricio Zuniga will be taking calls for appointments to see the show after the June 2 opening, for about two weeks: 816-868-0406. Nugent writes that she and Boydston have been “fellow travelers in the world of painting for many years,” and she’s pleased they are finally showing together as a team. “Tom’s impact on the emerging artists of Kansas City deserves to be recognized and honored,” she writes. “His message to those of us he represented at the Late Show is ‘the show must go on.’ It is in that spirit that we open his doors for one of the last times.”
Also tonight and beyond:
4Square
2016 Main Gallery, 2016 Main
Kansas City Society for Contemporary Photography presents its member show, small-scale prints that draw viewers extra close. Opening reception 6-9 p.m. June 2 and on view through June 27. To schedule gallery time after First Friday, contact angie@2016mainkc.com.
Launch party for ArtsKCGo.com
ArtsKC, 106 Southwest Boulevard
Meet the new ArtsKC President/CEO Dana Knapp, see live mural painting by JT Daniels, hear music by Beau Bledsoe playing for Flamenco dancer Norma O’Neil, and learn about a new online initiative that promises to be a one-stop place for all art events across the region, 6:30-9 p.m. June 2.
Jasper Johns: Prints
Belger Arts Center, 2100 Walnut
Dozens of prints spanning 40 years of the artist’s output are out of storage and on view through September 2.
Ready to Ware
Belger Crane Yard Studios, 2011 Tracy
Through July 8: a curated exhibition of contemporary studio potters whose work focuses on dinnerware sets: Jake Bond, Julie Bond, Brin Baucum, Dale Baucum, Chandra DeBuse, Erica Iman, Meredith Host, Paul Donnelly, Lauren Smith and Alex Watson.
Bridges and Gaps: The Annual Red Star Resident Exhibition
Belger Crane Yard Studios, 2011 Tracy
An exhibition of functional and sculptural ceramic work: Emily Connell, Kelly Lynn Daniels, Christina Erives, Hiromi Iyoda, Wen Dan Lin and Sarah Jewell Olsen display, the gallery says, “the cross-section of processes, techniques and conceptual ideas present in the current ceramic field.”
FLOWER invitational exhibition
Blue Gallery, 118 Southwest Boulevard
It’s a famous subject, to be explored in infinite ways and can even get political. Curated by Kelly Kuhn of Blue Gallery and open 6-9 p.m. June 2, FLOWER includes art by Stanley Bielen, Stephen Dinsmore, Joe Ramiro Garcia, Anna Harney, Anna Kincaide, Lisa Lala, Lisa Noonis, Kelly Porter, Carlos Ramirez, William Rainey, Anke Schofield, Ruth Shively, Teresa Stanley, and Heinrich Toh. On view through July 31.
Art of War: Gifts of Peace
The Box Gallery, 1000 Walnut
The U.S. Army Command and General Staff College was established in 1881 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and happens to have more than 3,800 items in its art collection. This annual show presents a selection of works reflecting commerce and the school’s dedication to building international relations. Opening June 2 (11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.), the show has an evening reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, June 8, and a poetry reading at 5:30 p.m. July 13. The gallery is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and the show is on view through July 28.
Homage to Josef Albers & the Square
Cerbera Gallery, 2011 Baltimore
This intimate showcase of select items (giclees, editions and unique works) by one of the most well-known abstract expressionists draws from his Homage series, more than 1,000 related works made from 1949 until his death in 1976. Opening reception: 5-8 p.m. June 2, amid Cerbera’s ceramics salon. You can also RSVP for a collector’s reception from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 3.
New work by Martin Cail and Json Meyers
Crema, 1815 Central
On view June 2, 6-9 p.m., with Bluebird Wellness on site offering massage therapy.
Flora & Fauna
Fraction Print Studio, 130 West 18th Street
This three-person drawing show — Alessandra Dzuba, Avery Fowles, Ash Miyagawa — is based on the simple act of illustrating the natural world; open 6-9 p.m. June 2, then through June 30 (inside Oracle).
Select Username and Password
Front Space Gallery, 217 West 18th Street
Curated by BOIBOY and Blair Schulman, this one-time exploration of cruise culture includes art by Kevin Heckart and Matthew Johnson. Opening reception is 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, June 2. Show materials say the art addresses hidden and overt protocols, “epicted without nudity or pornographic imagery, these ideas illuminate the dynamics and systems of this queer conundrum: a private activity conducted in public spaces.”
Procrastination
Gallery 504-Crossroads KC, 504 East 18th Street
Jesus Vasquez’s paintings are part of a night of art and entertainment: 5:30-9:30 p.m., music by John Keck and Tracer Heights.
First Friday at Garcia Squared
Garcia Squared Contemporary,115 West 18th Street
A series of watercolors by Chico Sierra and photographs by Israel Alejandro Garcia Garcia offer commentary on today’s political climate and the Latinex community’s cultural identity amid a hostile environment. Visit with the artists June 2, 6-9 p.m.
Structured Entropy
Hilliard Gallery, 1820 McGee
New art by Aaron Coleman opens from 6 to 9 p.m. June 2. Through July 29.
LIST WORX
Hilliard Gallery, 1820 McGee
Guinotte Wise’s metal sculptures come together in surprising ways from his personal junkyard of scraps. Runs through June 30.
Under the Same Sky
Jones Gallery, 1717 Walnut
Artist Kwanza Humphrey paints the human form to get past people’s masks and façades to show the connections we all share. Open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. June 2
Going Beyond the Surface: The Works of John Lamberton
Our Changing Landscape
Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, 2012 Baltimore
Two new exhibitions open June 2 (6-9 p.m. reception): Studio Art Quilts Associates presents contemporary fiber art, featuring 32 pieces by 21 artists in Our Changing Landscape (through July 29). And John Lamberton’s photographs are on view through July 1. Continuing through July 1 are: Illuminating Craft: Chase Ford; and Hopscotch: Rebecca Gemeinhardt.
Jeff Foster, photography and digital art
Main Street Gallery, 1610 Main
Opens 5-8 p.m. June 2 and runs through July 28
Chicano Voice: Heroes, Communidad and Agents of Change
Mattie Rhodes Art Gallery, 919 West 17th Street
The second annual themed exhibition focused on local heroes continues through June 24 with works by artists Dan Dakotas, Luis Garcia, Joselyn Lisbeth Garcia, Rodoldo Marron III, Adolfo Gustavo Martinez, Ricardo Paez, Juan Carlos Perez, Eulalia Pulido, Sharon Maria Rodriguez, Baldemar Rivas, Chico Sierra, Vania Soto and Maria Vazquez-Boyd. Second opening (6-9 p.m. June 2) includes all-ages, hand-on art-making activities like block printing.
Susan Knight’s Water Bank Boogie IV
Mid-America Arts Alliance, 2018 Baltimore
Susan Knight’s site-specific arrangement of hand-cut paper is modeled after Victorian techniques and mimics the porousness of groundwater deposits. It’s on view through June 9. Also June 2 (6-8 p.m.): KCAI fiber artists E.K. Harrison and Natalie Spicker present Behind the Facade, Beneath the Surface in M-AAA’s upstairs Culture Lab.
Confetti
Night Blooms Darkroom, Bookstore and Coffee, 529 Southwest Blvd.
Opening reception (6-9 p.m. June 2) for a solo exhibition by Emma Penrose. In a series of 35mm photographs, Penrose presents the First Arrondissement of Paris
All Together
Plenum Space, 405 East 18th Street, second floor
Twelve thematically and visually connected drawings by Thayer NG Bray depict a single heterosexual couple, edited and arranged in a kind of “comic strip” formation to create an open-ended short story about intimacy and closeness. June 2 (6-10 p.m.) and by appointment through the end of the month.
First Friday Art Music Experience
Pop Up Gallery, 918 Baltimore
The fifth anniversary of this party happens from 6 to 11 p.m. June 2, with the usual raffles, live music and artwork. Featured are: Karla Aron, Jessica Blevins, Tony Butler, Tim Cott, Gina Fedon, Merlyn Lazorow, Kelly Murtaugh, Laura Rendlen, Blake Rudis, Albane Ruiz, Elie Solomon, Brit Wayne, and Romana Yaroshchak.
Flannery Grace, Good Jewelry
Oracle Fine Curiosities, 130 West 18th Street
Trunk show features new handmade work by Grace: 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 3.
At Home, Out of Place by Beth Lo
Summer Invitational
Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art, 2004 Baltimore
The 2017 Summer Invitational includes work by Ky Anderson, Jane Booth, Marcus Cain, Patty Carroll, Laura Fayer, Damon Freed, Rain Harris, Molly Herman, Curt Hoard, Michiko Itatani, Jun Kaneko, Mike Lyon, Ethan Meyer and Carol Stewart. Beth Lo’s ceramics and mixed-media collages are about family, identity and fitting in or being perpetually uncomfortable straddling cultures as an Asian-American. Opening reception for both shows is June 2 (7-9 p.m.), and they are on view through August 19.
Art Thrives on First Friday, featuring new work by Molly Garrett
Thrive Pilates & Movement Studio, 920 Baltimore
Charlotte Street Foundation studio resident artist Molly Garrett shows 12 drawings from her latest animated film, “Steps to Balance 1-5.” Catered reception 6-8 p.m. June 2.
Connotations and Manipulations
Todd Weiner Gallery, 115 West 18th Street
The gallery is overtaken by Patrick Schmidt: paintings on the walls reflect the shapes in sculptures viewers will weave around as tape installations run floor to ceiling and out the windows — a metaphor for exploring identity in the digital age. Opens June 2 (5-9 p.m.) and runs through July 29.
Shark Girl by Betsy Barratt opens June 2, too (back gallery): a series of small-scale gouache works tell the story of carefree summer gone bloody.
Open Market
Vulpes Bastille, 1737 Locust
Affordable originals, prints, cards, clothing, installations jewelry by studio artists: 6-9 p.m. June 2, and noon to 5 p.m. June 3.
Point of Reference: Stephen T. Johnson, Debbie Barrett-Jones and Travis Pratt
Weinberger Fine Art, 114 Southwest Boulevard
Members’ reception: 5-8 p.m. June 2; open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, and noon-5 p.m. Saturday.
First Friday Performance Collective
WyCo Vintage, 3829 Main
Gage Bunting, Maggie Schmiegelow and Andrea Simon — a ceramist, a printmaker and a painter — are students at the University of Central Missouri and have found overlapping practices; 5-9 p.m. June 2.
