A Review of Local Art Galleries in the Crossroads Art District

Blue Gallery

The antiquated garage space, known as Blue Gallery, was simple to say the least. Artist Rich Bowman’s landscape oil paintings hung on the plain white walls of the gallery, while children sat on a circle of couches playing on their parents’ iPad in the corner of the gallery.  Bowman was just one of the local artists Blue Gallery features.

The placement of the art throughout the gallery was carefully thought out, leaving the art to speak for itself. As I stood in front of Bowman’s landscape oil painting “Back Country Roads,” I felt like I had stepped into the scenic countryside of Kansas. Bowman captured the essence of western Kansas that most people over-look. I could see the crisp cuts of the pallet knife as I looked closer, the neutral greens and blues merging together within the brush strokes.

I would have gladly hung any of his pieces in my house. Bowman’s use of  mute colors in contrast with loud, exuberant colors represented the nature of Kansas well.

The Blue Gallery showcased a clean, crisp exhibit that featured Bowman’s work in a way where viewers could appreciate it for what it was on its own.

Kemper

Standing across the street from Kemper Art Gallery, I’m already anxious to go in.  Bright lights bounce through the large windows of the gallery and I can see an array of colors from the art.

The Kemper Art Gallery, a run-off of the Kemper Art Museum, features different artists’ work every Friday, while students of Kemper run each exhibit.

Entering the gallery, I could see the art covered the space from floor to ceiling; whimsical fabric, flowers sprawled across the floor, paper art hung in frames around the room. It was like stepping into a child-like imaginary world. I also felt a sense of Latin inspiration from the artists work. The fabric used to make the floor piece looked as if it could have been apart of a montage of  “Day of the Dead” decor.

Though the art was zestful, it didn’t have me eager to stay for much longer after looking at a few pieces. There was a lot of  repetition in each piece of work and none really stood out on their own from the rest.

I was entertained by the variety of mediums used in the artwork though, as well as the use of  luminescent spring-like colors.

Art Incubator

The three story brick building that was once a warehouse, sat on West 18th street between Baltimore and Wyandotte as diverse First Friday goers piled in the door.

Everything about this gallery was intriguing: the name, the space, the art.  The actual gallery show doesn’t begin until you make your way up the narrow white staircase to the second floor of the building where you find yourself surrounded by a maze of mini-art studios, wooden floor panels splattered with paint paving the way to each artist.

As observers made their way through the gallery, a local folk duo hummed acoustic melodies, adding an easy going vibe to the atmosphere. Each studio featured a different artist, each artist diverse from the rest. It felt like I was in the artists’ personal studio, and I basically was. Incubator provides a creative environment for many local artists to work straight from the studios that make up the exhibits.

The multitude of art featured in Incubator ranged from handmade jewelry pieces to acrylic on canvas to mixed media. No matter what medium, every piece of art made me stop and think.

Blue Gallery gave me a look into the artists’ personal work space while still putting on a captivating gallery show.