2008 EXHIBITIONS:
November 22, 2008 - January 11, 2009
Opening Reception: Saturday, November 22, 2008, 1-4pm
Helen Lea: Always in Bloom
“To
garden is to paint a picture. That I am a painter as well as a
gardener is not a coincidence. One led to the other.”
Born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Helen Lea earned her
undergraduate degree in art history at Smith College. After
graduation, she studied Italian and Classical painting in
Perugia, Italy. Returning to Kansas City, she spent a year
working as an artist for Hallmark Cards. She then moved to New
York where she worked at the Frick Museum. She returned to
Kansas City in 1961, married and started a family while
continuing to paint and study. She received a degree in Fine
Arts from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1970. Her work has
been shown at numerous exhibitions and her paintings are found
in both individual and corporate collections worldwide. "Giving
form to a flower, garden scene or landscape as I do on canvas
with strokes of paint and color can take one into an interior
realm that is the very soul of creation. It is both exhilarating
and challenging when intellect and knowledge kick in to seek an
approximation; above all, simply, a compelling act that only
wants to create beauty. Often my work is described as
Impressionistic, which means that it is colorful and has a fresh
spontaneity."
Ray Ottinger:
The Boy in the Brown Sweater
“…Benton came in, saw that I was working…, then went to the
administration building and announced that the scholarship would
be awarded to the boy in the brown sweater. I’m not sure if he
knew my name.”
Ray Eldon Ottinger, Jr (1922-1993) was born in St. Joseph
Missouri. He enrolled at the Kansas City Art Institute in 1930
and studied there until 1942 when he was drafted into the Army.
Following his military service, he returned to the Art Institute
in 1945. After graduating in 1946, he and his new bride, Audrey
Kennedy, moved to New York City to study at the Art Students
League. During this time, they lived in a tiny apartment in the
infamous Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City. Returning
to Kansas, Ottinger taught design and the University of Kansas
from 1947 to 1953, and then worked as a a graphic artist and
editor until retiring in 1982. Although Ottinger studied under
Thomas Hart Benton for two years at the Art Institute, his
painting style was greatly influenced by his travels,
experiences, and military service. Thus, many of his artworks
show a dramatic departure from the typical style and
subject matter of Benton or most of his students.
Helen Lea
Mountain Garden
Helen
Lea
Colorful Arrivals
Helen
Lea
Seasonal Beauties
Ray
Ottinger at work
September 13 - November 9, 2008
Opening Reception Friday, September 12, 2008, 4-7pm
A Prairie School:
Robert Sudlow and His Students
Over more than 60 years, Robert Sudlow has become the best
known, most respected and most prolific artist in Kansas. His
nearly impressionistic paintings were made in the Flint Hills or
near his home south of Lawrence. As an art instructor at
the University of Kansas or as a fellow painter, he has inspired
three generations of artists. Some continue in his style.
Others, ever mindful of his influence, have found new
directions in the landscape tradition or elsewhere. Curated by
Don Lambert
"It was ideal. Every semester, there was an eager,
fresh crop of young and not-so-young art students. If they
expected lectures and demonstrations, that is not what they got
from me. A couple of times a week, we went to the prairie and
painted together. They learned from me and I learned from them.
I don't think it will ever happen like this again." Robert
Sudlow
Participating Artists: Zak Barnes, Jim Bass, Donna
Carrington, Louis Copt, Colleen Gregoire, Jim Hamil, David
Hartley, Paul Hotvedt, Keith Jacobshagen, Peggy Johannsen,
Audrey Leamon, Doug Osa, Matthew Richter, Barbara Sudlow, Rodney
Troth
Students Share Memories of Working with Sudlow
A
Golden Day:
Photographs by Judith Lennox Sabatini
Judith Sabatini is a
photographer and artist living in Topeka, Kansas. She formerly
served as an adjunct Assistant Professor of Photography and
Assistant Director of the Mulvane Art Museum at Topeka’s
Washburn University. This exhibition will include striking black
and white images of cowhands and ranch life as well as
large-scale color prints of the Flint Hills region of Kansas.
Sabatini Artist Statement
Robert
Sudlow
Prairie Edge
Barbara Sudlow
Early Spring
Judith
Sabatini
All In A Day's Work
Judith
Sabatini
Prairie Pond
June
14 - September 7, 2008
Opening Reception Friday, June 13, 2008, 4-7pm
Philomene and Lou: A Tribute
Philomene Bennett and Lou Marak have made a great impact on the
Kansas City art scene over the last 50 years. Philomene has taught
painting for many years, and many of her
students have gone on to become successful artists. Together, Philomene and Lou were instrumental in the creating of the
Kansas City Artists Coalition and have been great advocates for
the arts in Kansas City.
Philomene Bennett
Biography
Lou Marak Biography
Teresa and
David Harris: Vessels, Constructions, and Related Objects
Teresa Harris
creates intricate mixed media sculptures and teaches at MWSU.
Teresa
Harris Artist Statement
David Harris creates delicate and stunning ceramics that are
technical masterpieces.
David Harris
Artist Statement
April 12 - June
8, 2008
Opening Reception, Friday April 11, 4-7pm.
At the Foot of the
Rockies: The Colorado Artists
The
Albrecht-Kemper will once again borrow selections from the
Moffett Family Collection, this time focusing on artists from
the Colorado area.
Images of the
West: Catlin/Curtis/Shafer
The Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art
brings out selections from its collection of
George Catlin’s Native American portfolio, Edward Curtis
photographs, and Gus Shafer’s bronzes to comprise this exhibition
celebrating Native American and Western life.
George Catlin's North American Indian Portfolio
contains twenty-five hand-colored lithographs depicting
portraits and activities of several Great Plains Indian
tribes. Catlin (1796-1872) was the first white artist to
travel among and record the customs of native peoples. The
portfolio is a rich history of the dress, ceremony, and life
of both the people and the time they lived.
Edward Curtis (1868-1954), a self-taught photographer
and ethnographer, recorded in words and pictures the living
traditions of American Indian tribes. His monumental,
20-volume encyclopedic work, The North American Indian
(1907-30), contains informative text, portraits, landscapes,
and scenes of everyday life that continue to inspire and exert
influence on American culture. The Albrecht-Kemper collection
includes photogravure reprints from the portfolios that
accompanied the encyclopedia volumes. The viewer will note that
it is typical in Curtis' portraits for the subject to be
presented in a tightly cropped view and with a shallow depth
of field that blurs the surroundings, concentrating attention
on the individual's face.
Gus Shafer's bronzes typically depict
the lives of Native Americans, Cowboys, and Ranchers. He was
born in 1907 near Hoisington, Kansas. In 1930 he and his wife
moved to Kansas City, where he worked for nearly 40 years as a
commercial artist. At the age of 59, he sculpted his first
model for a bronze casting. Falling in love with the process,
he closed his commercial art studio within the next two years
to concentrate on sculpting full-time. He was able to achieve
international acclaim for his bronzes before he passed away in
1985.
Kindergarten - Eighth Grade Art Exhibition
From the Saint Joseph School District
April 13
- May 18, 2008
Opening Reception: Sunday April 13, 2-4pm.
Closing Reception: Family Museum Day, Sunday May 18, 1-4pm
The Albrecht-Kemper
is pleased to host this exhibition of artworks made by local
students. The Saint Joseph School District is made up of
eighteen elementary schools and four middle schools. We thank
the students and teachers for their participation in this
wonderful exhibition. We hope that you enjoy viewing the variety
of artworks that the students have created this past academic
year.
January 19 - April 6, 2008
Opening Reception Friday, January 18, 2008,
4-7pm
Still
Lifes from the AKMA Collection
With over 2400 objects, the Albrecht-Kemper
must keep many artworks in long-term storage. For this
exhibition, we have pulled together many of our drawings,
paintings, and prints from the museum's permanent collection. We
hope to broaden the viewer's concept of the still life as
subject matter for the artist. Be sure to visit these artworks
that you may have never seen before!
The Little White Lies of Johnny Naugahyde
Located in the Esson Tower Gallery, this
small - but very special - exhibition of Kansas City artist
Johnny Naugahyde will delight and surprise visitors.
February 24 - April 6,
2008
Opening Sunday, February 24, 2008, 1-4pm. Awards Presentation at
2pm.
Regional
High School Art Exhibition
The
mission of the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art is to bring the
excitement of American visual arts to the region through
education, temporary exhibitions, the permanent collection, and
the nurturing of regional artists. What better way to nurture
young local talent than through exposure in a museum-sponsored
juried art competition? The Regional High School Art Exhibition
is an invitational exhibition, with over 75 schools from
Northwest Missouri and Northeast Kansas asked to participate.
Artworks are divided into nine categories based on
media and/or technique. After a panel jury selection, First,
Second, and Third Place, plus Honorable Mentions, are awarded in
each category. Make sure you don't miss this opportunity to see
the incredible and innovative work of our future artists.
For more
information, or If your school is interested in participating in
this annual exhibition, please contact Jennifer Zeller, Curator
of Education, at
jzeller@albrecht-kemper.org or 816-233-7003.
Official Rules and Entry Form
2008
Participating Students
2008 Participating Schools and Teachers
2008
Award Winners
January 19 -
February 17, 2008
Opening Friday, January 18, 2008, 4-7pm. Awards Presentation at
6pm.
Annual Membership Exhibition
The
Membership Exhibition showcases the talents of museum members.
It is open to current members of the Museum. Each member may
submit two original works not previously exhibited at the
museum. Artworks are divided into seven categories. The
exhibition is then judged and awards presented in each category.
Official Rules and Entry Form
2008 Award Winners
November 17, 2007 - January 13,
2008
Opening Reception Friday, November 16, 2007, 4-7pm
Jim Cantrell:
A Painter’s Odyssey
Jim
Cantrell paints primarily with oils and watercolors. He
describes his technique as abstracted realism. His forte is the
human figure encompassing masterful composition, & technique.
Henry Adams, Professor of Art at Case Western
Reserve University and
biographer of Thomas Hart Benton, describes him as “an artist
who transforms raw tubes of paint into designs and images,
filled with pattern, meaning, illusion, and pictorial depth. His
nuances of color, texture, or shape take on a fascinating life
of their own, similar to, and yet recognizably separate from,
the world of actual things.”
A native of Oklahoma and raised in eastern Nebraska, Cantrell
earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of
Nebraska at Lincoln in 1958 and his Master of Arts degree from
the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley in 1965 with a
double emphasis in ceramics & painting. He began his
distinguished career as a teacher. In 1971 he established
himself as an independent studio artist in Bardstown, Kentucky
where he continues to work.
Richard
Brown Lethem:
The Compass of
Desire
Artist’s Statement: People are my starting point. Characters in
a landscape of the mind dictated by their relatedness, their
community, loving or otherwise. I try to look hard and with some
degree of humor, at what we fear and desire most: intimacy,
alienation and our violent streak, the real stuff of our lives.
My work is content driven. I feel a compelling inner narrative
which responds to the individual in the context of social
change, paradox, exuberance and vulnerability. Increasingly I am
concerned with our shared environment with animals.
Formally it is expressing movement and energy in transition. The
state of change. With intensified color and a dancing line
against shape and pattern I hope to record a free equivalence to
the movement that defines the spirit.
I see the defining social issues of my generation to be racism and
a pervasive acceptance of violence. The Civil Rights Movement of
the 50’s and 60’s and the Vietnam War brought both these issues
into clear focus. Since then these issues remain just as
relevant. In my work the subconscious mind has played a major
role but consciously it has been expanding dialog with these two
issues.
Since moving to Maine in 1994 I have been heavily involved in
teaching at the University of Southern Maine, particularly the
discipline of drawing. The act of drawing defines my ideas and
is inseparable from the process of my painting.
The commitment to teaching along with my own painting have been
urgent, important and ongoing in recent years. The human figure
interacting with the environment and animals of the northern
social landscape has been my dominant theme. I have also
produced a body of work related to recent travel in Egypt and
Mexico.
September 14 - November 3,
2007
Vincent Campanella:
Classical
Abstractionist
Vincent Campanella (1915-2001) was born in New York City and
began his life as an artistic prodigy, encouraged by his family
in classic art school training. In the 1930s, as an artist with
the Depression Era WPA, he moved to Wyoming and there,
surrounded by wide-open vistas, his style began to evolve.
Returning to New York, Vincent became affiliated with the Rehn
Gallery, and then in 1949, moved west again, this time to Kansas
City, for a teaching position at the Art Institute, and later at
nearby Park University where he stayed until his retirement.
Through the 1950s Campanella was a rising star in the world of art,
alongside Milton Avery, Marsden Hartley, and Karl Knauths, whose
method of painting also came from a close study of nature. But
taste shifted away from naturalistic painting to the Abstract
Expressionism of Jackson Pollock, Franz Kline, and Willem
DeKoonig, and Vincent became disenchanted with the American art
scene of the period. This exhibition takes a re-look at the art
of Vincent Campanella and his place in the development of art in
mid-twentieth century America.
The accompanying exhibition catalog with essays by art historians Henry Adams and Burton Dunbar is available for purchase in the Museum Shop. Call 816-233-7003, ext. 10 or email frontdesk@albrecht-kemper.org to order.
Additional Biographical Information on Vincent Campanella
Vincent
Campanella Timeline
Exhibition Press Release