Tag Archives: Textiles

2025 Young Artists Retreat Speakers Confirmed

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Speakers have been confirmed for the 2025 Young Artists Retreat, occurring on Friday, October 25!

For those unable to attend in person, we will have a livestream available as well. Register for the livestream by Tuesday, Oct. 22!

LIVESTREAM AGENDA (times listed in CST):

  • 9:10 AM-10: Session Speakers
    • SunYoung Park or Joy Rhodes
  • 10:10-11 AM: Professional Development Session with Harold Smith
  • 11:10 AM-noon: Session Speakers
    • Christopher Erazo or Matthew Willie Garcia
  • 1 PM: Keynote Speaker, Amy Kligman

All sessions will be recorded and available after the livestream airs.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Brunette woman with shoulder length hair

Amy Kligman

Amy Kligman, artist and organizer of The Salon for Possible Futures, which is on view in the Nerman Museum, will be the Keynote Speaker for the Young Artists Retreat program. The Salon for Possible Futures is an interactive space for community gathering and collective imagining. Themes of fostering humanity and relationships, learning from the past, and building sustainability, hope, and magic are the underpinnings of The Salon’s assembled objects and imagery. Amy Kligman was the Executive Artistic Director at Charlotte Street 2015-2025. Kligman’s career and experience as an exhibiting artist and grassroots curator/arts administrator spans 20 years of studio & exhibition work, independent curating and organizing, and artist-run projects.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SPEAKER

Man with a beard wearing a dark shirt

Harold Smith

Harold Smith is a Kansas City-based visual artist whose internationally exhibited and collected work includes painting, collage, mixed media, performance, video, sound, and assemblage. His work focuses on the complexity of black masculinity in America. He also writes for KC Studio magazine. Smith was an educator in Kansas City for 30 years, teaching computer science and other computer classes, and later coding and game design, at Kansas City’s Manual Career & Technical Center. Before retiring from teaching in 2021, Smith taught art at Lincoln College Preparatory Middle School for two and a half years. He received a Charlotte Street Visual Arts Award and a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant in 2022. He was selected for the Art Omi International Artists Residency Program in 2023. Locally, he’s exhibited at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art and the Lawrence Arts Center.

SESSION SPEAKERS

Brunette man with short hair and mustache

Christopher Erazo

Christopher Erazo is a Chicano/Mexican American photographer and videographer based in Lawrence, Kansas. His creative yet simple style and distinctive use of VHS videography have earned his work exhibitions in Mexico City, multiple regional galleries, and the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. Through his art, Christopher celebrates Chicano culture while highlighting the beauty of all cultures, reimagining traditional works with a modern perspective, and inspiring young creators to embrace their heritage and unique voices.

 

 

Man sitting down on a wooden floor in front of a white wall

Matthew Willie Garcia

Matthew Willie Garcia is a California native now based in Kansas City, MO. Garcia’s work transcends traditional print media working in screen printing, mokuhanga, projection-mapping, animation, and large-scale installations. Inspired by a blend of science, science fiction, and their queer identity, Garcia explores these themes through color abstraction and nonrepresentational forms. Holding a BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute and an MFA from the University of Kansas, Garcia has earned acclaim regionally, notably exhibiting at the Nerman Contemporary Museum of Art, Des Moines Art Center and internationally in Japan and Spain. Garcia recently served as the 2024/2025 Grant Wood Fellow at the University of Iowa.

Woman next to botanical sculpture

SunYoung Park

SunYoung Park is a South Korean interdisciplinary artist exploring hybridity, memory, and cultural identity through ceramics and mixed media. Her sculptures merge clay with fabric, wood, and botanical elements, blurring boundaries between body and object. She is a 2026 Studio Mass MoCA Fellowship recipient, a Wassaic Project Fellowship recipient, and has also held residencies at the Interdisciplinary Ceramic Research Center, University of Kansas; Charlotte Street Foundation; and Clayarch Gimhae Museum. Her work has been exhibited internationally at the Jingdezhen International Ceramic Biennale, the International Contemporary Ceramic Art Triennial in Andenne, Belgium, the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art.

Brunette woman with shoulder length hair

Joy Rhodes

Joy Rhodes is Professor and Department Chair of Fashion Merchandising and Design at JCCC. Prior to her career in higher education, she worked many years in the industry, as a merchandising manager for an apparel licensing company overseeing all aspects of product development from concept through to production and working for technology solution providers that developed software specifically for the fashion industry both on the retail and product development sides of the business. She earned her BA in Apparel Design and Production from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO and her MBA from Baker University in Baldwin City, KS. She also completed an extended semester program at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.

Diedrick Brackens coming soon to the permanent collection galleries!

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We are excited to have a weaving by Diedrick Brackens coming to our galleries soon!

Diedrick Brackens, shadows spell my name , 2024, cotton and acrylic yarn, 102 x 134 in. Collection Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, KS, Gift of Sue and Lewis Nerman, Leawood, KS.

This amazing work will be installed this fall, likely in September, and several other works will be moved around in the galleries (more info on that TBA).

Also, drumroll……. Diedrick Brackens will be our next Jerome Nerman Visiting Lecturer on Saturday, Oct 25! Save the date!

In the meantime, you can learn more about Brackens’s work: In the Studio: Diedrick Brackens — Art21 Interview with the artist

NY Times Diedrick Brackens

Art Review review of Deidrick Brackens exhibition with Shadows Spell My Name

Craft in America – Video of Diedrick Brackens discussing his process

Positive Obsession: Drawings by Basil Kincaid

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We are so excited to have Basil Kincaid’s exhibition on view at the museum!

Positive Obsession: Drawings by Basil Kincaid | Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art

In addition to drawings and textile works, Basil has designed games. Check out his website for more information about these other projects: Basil Kincaid’s website

 

A Match Made in Heaven!

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Attendance is up, people are spreading the word about the exhibition and bringing their friends!  As we welcome more people to the museum, we are adding more resources and options for engagement.

Just this last 2 weeks we’ve hosted groups from local middle and high schools, homeschoolers, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, numerous JCCC classes and the JCCC student sustainability committee to name only the folks who attended guided tours (and in spite of the snow days!)

Middle school student fashion design, inspired by tour

We’re looking forward to announcing more activities and resources soon.

As was announced at the talk on Feb 6, there was a review in Vogue magazine here

And mark your calendar, if you are a fan of fashion and wish to support JCCC Fashion students, there is the annual student fashion show coming up Friday, April 18

 

We’re gearing up for a BIG exhibition!

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It’s been a hive of activity at the museum since we re-opened Jan 2. There have been hundreds of pedestals being built, floating shelves installed, giant paintings hung, mannequins assembled and dressed, and so much more (including a wall being moved from inside the gallery to out in the lobby). It is impossible to express in words just how packed with creativity this show is going to be! On our exhibition page

Don’t forget to mark your calendar for the opening talk Feb 6th: Katherine Bernhardt x Jeremy Scott Artists Talk | Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art

Perhaps, like me, you hadn’t heard of Jeremy Scott or Katherine Bernhardt before. Here is a brief bio page for them both to get started:

1-pager JS+KB

A documentary about Jeremy: Jeremy Scott: The People’s Designer – Wikipedia Jeremy Scott and Katie Perry at MET Gala (NY Times)

About the chandelier dress: Katie Perry Chandelier Dress (Vogue)

A recap (with images) of some of the most exciting designs Jeremy made during his tenure at Moschino: Jeremy Scott’s designs 2013-2023 (Business Insider)

Katherine’s gallery:

Katherine Bernhardt at David Zwirner Gallery

An interesting article about her home: Katherine Bernhardt’s amazing home (T-magazine)

A video of her discussing her work and process: Katherine Bernhardt (Apartmento Magazine)

Interview with Katherine in St. Louis Magazine: Both written and audio interview

More info and images to come!

 

Eric-Paul Riege Weaving Dance Durational Performance

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Eric-Paul Riege
Diné + American, b. 1994
blanket 4 epr [2] draped upon Shádi’ááh to keep him warm

Shádi’ááh, 2022
Mixed fibers
Private collection
Courtesy of the artist and STARS, Los Angeles

epr blanket [2], 2012–present
Fiber
Courtesy of the artist

Label’s extended identification text:

Eric-Paul Riege makes fiber artworks that draw upon his Diné upbringing and the worldview of hózhó, which conveys a web of physical, mental, and spiritual life. In this work, organic materials and mass-produced, store-bought products seamlessly interact to create animated works of contemporary vitality that are a testament to the aliveness of tradition. The handmade sheep is a potent symbol for the artist, as the U.S. government’s policies have long decimated the sheep population which had acted as a source of livelihood, a weaving resource, and held ceremonial significance for Diné (meaning “the people” in the Navajo language). In his work, Riege grapples with the complex interactions between personal and political discourse, while keeping his familial practices of weaving and jewelry-making strong in the emblematic textile piece.

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The video below showcases a Weaving Dance Durational Performance by Riege for the the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, which was part of his Hólǫ́—it xistz exhibition in 2019.

Riege’s work is featured in Actions for the Earth: Art, Care & Ecology.

 

 

Caroline Monnet work now on view!

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Sometimes it seems like here at the museum if you blink an artwork will change! We have had several works get swapped out in the museum’s permanent collection galleries recently, and most recently the giant painting by Dustin Pevey was taken down and replaced with a large work by Caroline Monnet.

The label copy:

Caroline Monnet (b. 1985)
Lungs, 2023
Polyethylene, fiberglass insulation, and thread
Collection Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, 2024.025, Gift of the Jedel Family Foundation

Lungs, with geometric designs in hot pink and red hues winding throughout a ground of soft pink, evokes organs filamented with veins and arteries. The format, a decoratively stitched textile, recalls handcrafted domestic objects such as quilts. Yet the materials, fiberglass insulation sandwiched between plastic sheeting, have associations with home construction. Fiberglass is also a material that can be harmful to respiratory health if handled without protective equipment. In juxtaposing these contrasting elements and associations, Monnet subtly references issues around the enduring impacts of colonialism on many facets of life, from health to housing security, for Indigenous communities in North America today.

Monnet has B.A in communications and sociology from the University of Ottawa and has studied at the University of Granada in Spain.

The work is located in the Lieberman Gallery just across from the sculpture works by vanessa german, and adjacent to the sculpture by Jeffrey Gibson.

About the artist:

Caroline Monnet (Anishinaabe-French, born in 1985, Ottawa, Canada) is a multidisciplinary artist from Outaouais, Canada. She studied sociology and communication at the University of Ottawa and the University of Granada before working in visual arts and film.

Caroline’s work has been viewed at the Palais de Tokyo, Paris; Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin; the Toronto International Film Festival, Toronto; Cannes Film Festival, Cannes; the Whitney Biennial, New York; and the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. She is a recipient of the 2021 Hopper Prize; the 2020 Pierre-Ayot Award; the 2020 Sobey Art Award; and the 2017 Hnatyshyn Foundation REVEAL Indigenous Art Awards.

At the heart of her practice is the communication of complex ideas about Aboriginal identity and bicultural life through the examination of cultural histories. Her work is often minimalist, yet emotionally charged, and speaks to the complex realities of Aboriginal peoples today. Her works combine the vocabulary of popular and traditional visual cultures with the tropes of modernist abstraction to create unique hybrid forms.

The artist also makes works in clothing, sculpture, film and photography.

JoAnne Northrup, Executive Director of the Nerman Museum said, “Lungs, is exceptionally large and has a powerful presence. It will be a fantastic addition to the Nerman Museum’s existing collection of works by contemporary Indigenous artists, including Raven Half Moon and Teresa Baker.”

An interesting article about Monnet’s series of works: Caroline Monnet’s Indigenous Worldbuilding (hyperallergic.com)

A quote from the above article: “The structures she makes help Monnet reclaim space and agency. “[The installation structures] were a way for me to speak about the housing crisis that a lot of Indigenous communities across North America are facing,” she told me. The geometric repetition of the works gives way to visual readings that recall maps, digital codes, and precise mark-making — situating the work both within long-running cultural practices and future realities.”

New Installation of Artworks in Museum

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Hallway installation 2024 May (PDF of Labels)

Just outside of the museum’s studio classroom and administrative offices there is an installation of works on paper and a small weaving from the museum’s permanent collection now on view! These works take the place of the Prairie Printmaker works that had been installed in that space since last fall. Stop by and take a look sometime soon, as these works will likely only be on view through summer, getting swapped out in early fall (TBD).

There is also a new work on view in the adult classroom space, a work on paper by Dylan Mortimer (this takes the place of the Emmi Whitehorse). If you missed it back in 2017, we have video of Dylan speaking at the Dazzling Decade exhibition opening (he speaks second, starting at about minute 23).

 

Fun fact: the hallway is one of the best places to install these smaller scale light-sensitive works in the museum because it has almost no natural light exposure. It is also an area that gets a lot of foot traffic.