Works by Johsua Rizer and Harlan Bonar

Joshua Rizer, a new realist painter, exhibits new work at the Late Show Gallery (1600 Cherry Street, 816-474-1300) at a 6 p.m. First Friday opening reception. He’s a longtime Late Show favorite whose paintings vividly render figures in incongruous settings, usually from dramatic angles. “He has quite a background,” gallery owner Tom Deatherage says. “His great grandparents were vaudevillian performers. His grandfather was a jazz musician in Kansas City in the ’40s and ’50s. His grandmother is a successful sketch artist and an interior designer. His dad’s a jazz performer.” Of the paintings, Deatherage says, “They’re unusual goings-on, human subjects in unusual settings. There’s one of a magician pulling someone through a fire hoop.” The opening reception also features work by Knob Knoster painter Harlan Bonar. “He’s a visionary artist,” Deatherage says. “He’s showing a group of paintings featuring his take on history — everything from the Battle of the Bulge up through Midway.”

Fri., March 5, 6-10 p.m., 2010