Elisabeth Kirsch

August 4, 2016

“2016 Kansas City Flatfile,” H&R Block Artspace

There are 225 regional artists in the current Flatfile show at Block Artspace. That translates to more than 1,000 works on paper in more than..

July 8, 2016

John Sandbach: The Making of a Polymath

If you’re the type who never wants your peas to touch the mashed potatoes on your plate, you might find the various art practices of John Sandbach somewhat disconcerting. The native Kansas Citian’s professional expertise ranges from the most earthbound — shiatsu massage — to the sublime: haiku poetry.

March 14, 2016

Cary Esser: A Ceramist for the 21st Century

At 19 Cary Esser flew alone from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to Kansas City, a place she’d never been. “When I got off the plane,” Esser recalled in a recent interview, “I just walked up to somebody and asked, ‘Can you tell me how to get to the Kansas City Art Institute?’ ”

January 29, 2016

“Dylan Mortimer: Cure,” Leedy-Voulkos Art Center

If one quality of a great artist is fearlessness—and it is—Dylan Mortimer has it in spades. He’s demonstrated it from the start of his career,..

November 30, 2015

“Andrzej Zielinski: Open Sourced,” Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art

In his latest book, Lights Out, newsman and journalist Ted Koppel writes of the looming dangers of our increased reliance on power grids and other..

November 11, 2015

“Christopher Kurtz: Orchards,” Belger Crane Yard Studios

The art world has seldom been comfortable acknowledging makers who function both as designers and as artists. As Andy Warhol discovered, no matter how successful..

October 29, 2015

Jack’s Journey

In 2016, at age 95, long-time KC resident Jack Jonathan hopes to return to Egypt, 64 years after he left that country. It seems fitting that a photography show, which enabled him to leave an Egypt in turmoil all those years ago, is the very thing impelling his return.

September 1, 2015

Nordic Hoard

The shapes are minimalist but sensuous; the glazes are astonishing, ranging from the most austere white to rich wine-colored reds and cobalt blues. Some pieces have surfaces that are noticeably smooth and flat, while others are densely patterned, even nubby in texture.

August 19, 2015

“The Propellor Group: A Universe of Collisions” at Grand Arts

Founded 20 years ago, the nonprofit artspace, Grand Arts, has never shied from controversy. Its final exhibition,” A Universe of Collisions” by the three-man international..

Author: Elisabeth Kirsch