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.

In Memoriam | Lou Marak (1930-2020): A Remembrance

Tall and rangy, Lou Marak was a man of few words, which inevitably hit their mark. “He could really shoot the zingers,” his longtime friend, artist Jane Booth, said in a recent interview. Marak’s superb line drawings of people, landscapes and animals were equally spare and to the point.

“Improvising: Julie Blackmon,” Haw Contemporary

“Improvising: Julie Blackmon,” Haw Contemporary

Julie Blackmon’s photographs, typically replete with the antics of a motley crew of kids, take place in familiar-looking living rooms, back yards, and neighborhood play areas. Her photographs are gorgeous, and at first glance seem deceptively simple. But multiple viewings reveal that Blackmon’s pictures are, on a profound level, subtly organized orchestrations of the psychological, […]

Revisiting ‘The King of Kings County’

Now, with the historic decision to rename the J.C. Nichols fountain and other Nichols memorials in response to these protests, it seemed a good time to revisit Whitney Terrell’s groundbreaking 2005 novel, “The King of Kings County,” inspired by the racist real estate covenants that formed many of the residential neighborhoods in Kansas City.

Arts News: Saving a Kansas City Treasure

Talented, sometimes troubled and often ill, Arthur M. Kraft (1922 – 1977) forged a major art career in his native Kansas City, while exhibiting throughout the United States and Europe. Now the fate of one of his foremost contributions to the city — a mosaic mural of a joyful, playful circus panorama, is uncertain. The […]

“Hung Liu: Seedlings,” “Anne Austin Pearce: Path” and “Mary Ann Strandell: The Conversation,” Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art

“Hung Liu: Seedlings,” “Anne Austin Pearce: Path” and “Mary Ann Strandell: The Conversation,” Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art

Given the miseries of the current summer, Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art gallery’s exhibit of new work by Hung Liu, Anne Austin Pearce, and Mary Ann Strandell is a welcome tonic. Installed separately, each show is a knockout. These three artists couldn’t be more different stylistically; they have very distinctive, confident voices in their choice of […]