Hot Hands returns to the Drugstore this weekend
As avid Kansas City art observers well know, this weekend marks the third annual Hot Hands live-drawing fundraiser event for the artist-run gallery Front/Space. What that means is 22 emerging and established visual artists will gather at the Drugstore, crank out a bunch of art, throw it up on the wall, and sell each piece for the flat price of $30. Each year, the front room of the Drugstore is packed with art spotters and buyers. And each year, the collectors at the event seem to get younger, with a wilder taste for experimental art not yet recognized by gallery and museum institutions. These people are just as essential to a healthy art economy as artists and galleries, and this shift in age and taste in the art-collecting community is a good first indication of what the future of art in Kansas City will look like. And wouldn’t it be nice to own some of these wonderful local artists’ work (for just $30!) just before their career reaches a tipping point and the values skyrocket?
In addition to being a chance to pick up good, cheap art, the event allows Front/Space — now the longest-running artist-operated gallery in the Crossroads — to continue bringing outside artists into town, helping elevate our status as a welcoming and functional art metro.
As for the work you can expect at the fundraiser: Many of the artists in the lineup (technically, it’s a circle of tables) are nationally recognized and internationally savvy. Above, see “Millions Now Living Will Never Die,” by Martin Meyer. He was probably thinking about parasites when he drew it, but how can we really be sure? The sentient tapeworms live out their narratives in the confines of their petri dish, falling in love and converting to Catholicism as though they have all the time in the world.
Stephen Proski’s graphic style borrows elements of design from Tetris stacks and 1980s windbreakers. I cannot personally say Proski looks anything like his self portrait, or, for that matter, if he will be under the influence of ecstasy at the event.
Kit Landwehr’s ochre “Woman in Yellow” simplifies an art deco style with rich colors, flat foliage, and the vignette of a contemplative woman. Subdued!
Celina Curry warps her subjects by tipping the planes of every surface just enough to enlarge hands, feet, dogs, and beer cans. In recent years, Curry has taken portrait requests from her patrons, allowing guests at Hot Hands a front-row seat to her process.
Rodolfo Marron’s “Wes’ Side (27th Block)” on soft rosy paper represents part of Kansas City’s Westside history. Gangs and glitter unite to produce personal contemplations on heritage, gentrification, and healing.
Other participating artists at Hot Hands: Alex Savage, Amy Kligman, Andrew Ordonez, Andy Ozier, Baldemar Rivas, Caleb Taylor, Charlie Mylie, Corey Antis, Daiana Oneto, Dylan Mortimer, Hannah Carr, Jonah Criswell, Jose Faus, Kelsey Borch, Madeline Gallucci, Muriel Fogarty, Olivia Gibb, Peyton Pitts, and Shawn Bitters.
Hot Hands 2018
January 27, 6-10pm
The Drugstore, 3948 Main, KCMO 64111
