Elisabeth Kirsch

Elisabeth Kirsch

Elisabeth Kirsch is an art historian, curator and writer who has curated over 100 exhibitions of contemporary art, American Indian art and photography, locally and across the country. She writes frequently for national and local arts publications.

With a little help from his friends…

With a little help from his friends…

All I’ve ever wanted to do is paint,” Mike Hartung said in a recent interview, “but I’ve never had any desire for self-glorification.” Which explains why, at age 72, the artist from Lindsborg, Kansas, is only now exhibiting his artworks for the first time to the public. In August the Birger Sandzen Memorial Gallery, the Salina Art Center and the Moss-Thorns Gallery at Fort Hays State University will simultaneously exhibit over 60 of Hartung’s works spanning more than four decades.

Artist to Watch: Fernando Achucarro

Artist to Watch: Fernando Achucarro

When Fernando Achucarro was six and attending school in Asuncion, Paraguay, he and his fellow students were given a book describing the fabulistic mythological creatures responsible for his country’s creation stories. Paraguay’s indigenous people are the Guaranis. Their centuries-old myths, which many still believe, revolve around the god Tupa, who created the earth, the people and all the animals.

21 Artists You Should Know

21 Artists You Should Know

Paintings, sculpture and installations by some of the greatest artists you’ve never heard of are now on view at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. “Magnetic Fields: Expanding American Abstraction, 1960s to Today” is the first exhibit in the U.S. to show abstract artwork made exclusively by women artists of color. It’s sensational, showcasing a wild range of experimentation, unabashed color, and buoyant, confident rhythms in artworks by 21 women from three generations.

“The Vortex Trinity,” Todd Weiner Gallery

“The Vortex Trinity,” Todd Weiner Gallery

Rarely does a group exhibition showcase an individual artist’s work to advantage. “The vortex trinity” is an exception. By installing new work by Hugh Merrill, Miguel Rivera and Jim Sajovic in one room, curator and gallery owner Todd Weiner highlights certain aesthetic themes these artists share, as well as underscoring their different sensibilities. A juicy […]

“Unapologetic: Hyeyoung Shin,” The Studios Inc

“Unapologetic: Hyeyoung Shin,” The Studios Inc

In “Unapologetic,” Hyeyoung Shin suspends nine, life-size, nude self-portraits, drawn with graphite on 16-foot-long Mylar sheets, from a 25-foot ceiling. Clustered in one corner of The Studios Inc’s gallery space and lit from behind by slivers of LED tubes, the drawings hang like glowing sheets of skin. The faces are mostly obscured by ribbons of […]

Arts News: Kemper Scores a Coup with Rashid Johnson Exhibit

Arts News: Kemper Scores a Coup with Rashid Johnson Exhibit

Rashid Johnson is one of the most sought-after artists of his generation. In 2013 “Flash Art” magazine christened him a “post-black flower child” whose work coaxes viewers to come to grips with “complex historical reckoning.” “Hail We Now Sing Joy,” an exhibit of Johnson’s work now at the Kemper Museum, stands to be one of […]