Exhibition at the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art
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There’s an immediate sense of vulnerability and intimacy with two new exhibits at the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art.
On the main floor, the space is filled with large paintings of faces and intimate environments, while the lower level features a variety of media and perspectives.
The wide variety of art makes up “Returning | Belonging: Artworks by Benjamin Parks and Kathy Liao” and the 48th Annual Membership Exhibition. Both will open with a reception starting at 4 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 14, at the museum at 2818 Frederick Ave.
“It’s all about family relationships and religion and the complications that arise with that, and separation and love,” he said.
Each painting is the result of a photo shoot he did with his relatives, some of whom have strained relationships with him. From there, he chose the photo that best suits his kinship with them and worked tirelessly on translating it to a large canvas.
“I’ll take 50 to 100 photos ... Then I’ll wait until they have what I feel is like a real expression in their eyes because I really focus on the eyes of each painting, to where they’re not nervous or not smiling. It’s where it’s just kind of like almost like a meditative resignation,” he said.
Some pieces are works in progress, with codes of grids and words able to be seen in the background. Parks said it’s provided him with reflection and grace when it comes to even the most fractured of relationships in his family. He hopes it provides the subjects in his work a similar amount of peace.
“I hope it’s impactful and I hope it’s that helps them to understand, like, how much they mean to me, how much our relationship means. And I hope it’s a way of connecting and reconciling. That’s at best. At worst, I hope they just appreciate being a large painting on a museum wall. I mean, I think that’s kind of cool,” Parks said.
Parks is joined by Liao, an acclaimed Taipei, Taiwan-born artist, who was recently named the Artist iNC Program Specialist with the Mid-America Arts Alliance in Kansas City. An Associate Professor of Art and Director of Painting and Printmaking at Missouri Western State University, her work complements and contrasts with Parks as she captures the complicated feelings and experiences of immigrant families.
On the lower level, hundreds of pieces ranging from sculptures to paintings to photos line the walls as part of the museum’s Membership Exhibition. They provide a variety of glimpses into the lives and experiences of the museum’s members.
“There are so many different backgrounds here. There’s so many different places and people who are part of this community,” said Jill Carlson, the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art’s marketing manager. “When you’re here at the Albrecht-Kemper, you’re part of this family. It’s vibrant. It is diverse. We all belong here on the walls in this museum.”
The exhibition serves not only as a way for its members to showcase what they’ve been working on but also a chance to see the media that others are focused on and how they’ve moved forward in their pursuits.
“We’re getting a few more in slightly different media. Like, in pastel, we have a pastel class that’s been going on. We also have a colored pencil class that’s been going on this whole last year,” Carlson said. “So I think that people have been, especially some of our members, they’ve been inspired by those classes to level up their skills and then to share that in the membership show.”
Containing more than 150 pieces from about 80 artists, the art will be judged in a variety of categories, with awards being given at 6 p.m. on the day of the reception. Both receptions are free and open to the public.
The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For more information about the exhibitions, call 816-233-7003.