For good Measure

Those of us who have “hung a show,” as installing an exhibit generally is termed, know that the process is an art unto itself. From determining how to balance the works with the room’s dynamics and with one another to choosing the hardware and lighting that will make the images look their best without crashing to the floor is a time-consuming and stressful process. And those of us who have hung a show generally notice installation quirks — as with a copy editor who tries to read for pleasure but instead ends up bound in irritation because of a rash of spelling errors and grammatical faux pas, the trained eye can do more harm than good.

Hence my instant love for Christopher Leitch’s installation of the Measure for Measure textile show at Artspace. Composed entirely of hardware pipes, joints, screws, and clamps, it is the result of a clear interest in experimentation and revelry in the process of exhibition hanging. The art of Leitch’s approach, however, is in its subtlety: The cloth’s support does not compete with the works but rather highlights and presents a dichotomy against which the fabric flows and folds in its truest state of textile presence. Perhaps Leitch can spearhead a meta-artistic movement in Kansas City, one that would appeal to those of us entrenched enough to get excited about the nuts and bolts of it all.

Measure for Measure
through July 8

H&R Block Artspace at the Kansas City Art Institute

16 E. 43rd Street

816-561-5563