Artist on Display: Kate Gray

Conversation in Color by Kate Gray is currently on view in the Betty & Art Robbins Gallery of CAL Tuesday-Saturday, 12-4 PM.

CAL aims to help artists succeed, whether that's offering skill building classes, the opportunity to exhibit work in our gallery, or sell work in our Gift Gallery. Our Artist on Display series invites you to get to know our artists a little bit better! 

About the Artist

KG: “My name is Kate Gray. I am an artist and a designer. Or more simply - a “creative” who loves a good problem to explore and solve. I create because I have no other choice. It is who I am.”

KG: “With out sharing my age… I have been creating since as long as I can remember. I have always been an artist.”

KG: “It did take me awhile to become comfortable in my "art skin.” That evolution happened after I went back to school and received my MFA in Graphic Design in 2015.” 

Multimedia Transformation

KG: “Before grad school, I was a watercolor purest! That was the only medium I used. Grad school gave me the fabulous gift and opportunity to explore all media.”

KG: “Now, I use any and everything I want to create. Today, it is fun and freeing to play in a limitless creative world.”

KG: “For my piece in The Figure, I wanted to see if I could paint on canvas with acrylic like I did (in my earlier art years) using watercolor on paper. This painting was a blast to create. Since I am a fan of portraits, I used an abstract face as the focal point of the piece.”

Inspirations & Themes

KG: “I like the challenge of translating 3-D art forms, like Tai Chi, into a 2-D form, like a painting. Writing is another important part of my process and, in some cases, I will pair poetry with the final paintings.”

KG: “Overall, the theme of my work is personal growth and evolution.”

KG: “For example, my solo show at the Art League in December is titled: Intersection: the process of finding and re-finding one’s Center. In this show, I created Chinese calligraphy symbols that mean; the way, the path and in the Center. I used one of these symbols in each painting as a starting place for the work. All of the pieces in this show will also have poetry displayed with them.” 

Life & CAL

KG: “My past occupations include: college professor, gallery director, art and creative director, stylist and graphic designer. Currently, I am a graphic designer at Independent Stave Company.”

KG: “CAL is my art home and family.”

KG: “The first two people I met when I moved to town 20 years ago, I met at the League. Those individuals and the organization changed my life. I would not be the “creative” I am today without them.”

To purchase Conversation in Color by Gray click here—The Figure

Artist on Display: Shayna Buckridge

CAL aims to help artists succeed, whether that's offering skill building classes, the opportunity to exhibit work in our gallery, or sell work in our Gift Gallery. Our Artist on Display series invites you to get to know our artists a little bit better! 

About the Artist

SB: I choose to create because it’s the best form of therapy. I choose to create because there don’t seem to be enough words in the world to explain the things I hold most dear.

SB: I’ve been creating since I was about 13. Once I discovered I had a natural ability, my focus turned toward art almost exclusively.

SB: I definitely have a hard time focusing on one medium, part of the fun of art for me is exploring and learning new crafts but charcoal is certainly my favorite.

SB: While I may be dabbling in a lot of different kinds of work, I’m almost always working on a charcoal piece. I love the versatility of charcoal and challenging myself to take a medium that is so loose and messy and really refine it, getting as many details into a drawing as possible. 

Inspirations & Execution

SB: Both of my pieces in The Figure focus on the duality of human emotion and how humans often feel many different things at once.

SB: I’m interested in how we experience conflicting emotions simultaneously and how those emotions show themselves in small ways on our bodies. There tends to be an emotion on the surface that I think the subject is choosing to show to the outside world but if you look closer you may notice the way they are holding their hands or tension in their neck and it hints at something more. 

SB: The main theme I’m focused on right now is human emotions. My aim is to capture the complexity of emotions. I am very detail oriented and texture plays a big role in most of my work. For me, creating tedious texture becomes a sort of meditation. 

Roots

Growing up in Columbia, it’s easy to feel the effects CAL has on our community and it’s an honor to be a part of that. I have been hesitant to show my art but when I challenged myself to make it happen I knew I wanted to stay close to home and CAL would be a great place to start.

To purchase a piece by Buckridge click here—The Figure

Awful // Cute

Photographs by Anastasia Pottinger

The idea for this project came about when I peeked into the backseat of a friend's car to see their 4 year old in a tiny mask.  It was the cutest thing I had seen and I could not stop thinking about it.  That night on social media, I mentioned seeing him and that I should think about doing a project with kids in masks.  I was flooded with responses of people offering their little ones to be photographed.  I got to work and photographed as many as I could in 4 days and this is the representation of that work. 

Since then, I have thought and thought about what I want to say about the images.  I photographed each child quickly, just showing up, standing outside and composing the image with no instructions.  I wanted to show the boldness or unease naturally represented in children this age.  Parents were told to allow the child to wear whatever they wanted and to select their favorite mask.  I explained I didn't want this to be a statement about masks in particular, but a representation of the moment. 

Here we are.  2020 in America during a global pandemic.  Our children are wearing masks.  It is at once awful and cute.

AWFUL/CUTE will be on display through October 31, 2020.

Gallery hours: Noon-4PM, Tuesday-Saturday

Artist on Display: Jane Mudd

Hell by Jane Mudd is currently on view in the Betty Art Robbins Gallery of CAL Tuesday-Saturday, 12-4 PM.

CAL aims to help artists succeed, whether that's offering skill building classes, the opportunity to exhibit work in our gallery, or sell work in our Gift Gallery. Our Artist on Display series invites you to get to know our artists a little bit better! 

About the artist

JM: I live on a farm East if Fulton. When I moved here from StL in ‘77, I continued to make art while raising a family and working various social work jobs. In 1994, I received an MFA from MU.  I recently retired from William Woods as Assistant Professor of Art. 

A Life in the Arts

JM: I’ve worked in all the traditional media, but for the most part, oils. I’ve explored numerous themes, approaches and art processes; from alla prima, to exploring grisaille and glazing.

JM: Main subjects are landscapes, portraits and still life’s, as well as storytelling and re-storytelling.

JM: I have been an advocate for the arts for a long time and have organized and hung hundreds of exhibits for other artists -at WWU, Orr Street Studios and the Art House in Fulton. 

Exhibiting work

JM: The drawing for The Figure show was from a model who was willing to get into the fetal position for me. It’s a universal pose everyone can relate to -especially this year. 

JM: I have been involved with the Columbia Art League for a long time (since the 80’s I think). It has been a wonderful venue for showing work, and learning from and getting to know other artists. The theme shows are challenging and fun -The best part is seeing everyone else’s work. 

Artist on Display: Jacob Lopez

CAL aims to help artists succeed, whether that's offering skill building classes, the opportunity to exhibit work in our gallery, or sell work in our Gift Gallery. Our Artist on Display series invites you to get to know our artists a little bit better! 

About the artist

JL: I'm Jacob Lopez, born in Temecula, CA and raised here in Columbia. I’m 20 years old and create as an outlet for struggles I've come across (Mental illness, my sexuality and general day to day findings.) Art in any form, I think, is the best way to express things words can't sometimes. 

JL: I've been creating ever since I could remember. I started with just drawing and making crafts with my grandma, but found some talent in there and kept going with it.

JL: My inspirations in general are the pop artists like, Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Robert Rauschenberg, Roy Lichtenstein and various other artists that use color and silkscreening as a medium. Also inspired by the 80s for color and aesthetic.

JL: I am currently a tire technician, my other "hobby" and enjoyment is cars. 

Developing a Rhythm

JL: I've frequently switched mediums, but recently have been practicing spray paint & photo emulsion silkscreen. My practice has evolved in creating more meaningful pieces and using more color. 

JL: I generally explore color and imagery. With thought-provoking meanings. Not necessarily "edgy" maybe, but I try adding more to the question of "What is art"?

JL: Anything can be art, Warhol was that artist. I enjoy having meaning and thoughts, alongside color and imagery that may not be accepted into a "normal" world. 

internal reflection

JL: "Media" came out of an idea, thought or "reason" why I'm gay. Somehow it’s different, based on how I, specifically, noticed more males in advertising and media than women.

JL: "Thoughts" is similarly based on the idea of male form, and that reasoning behind me being the way I am. Also, it includes an aspect of self harm, and how I view differences.

JL: Normality for me is seeing scars on different pieces of the body.

The Figure

The tradition of the human figure in art continues to inspire and challenge artists today. Whether abstracted or realistic, we experience the figure in art both visually and physically.

There is something joyous and celebratory about seeing this show, being surrounded by the human figure when we’ve been cloistered for so long. People, other human figures, sit, stand, kneel, curl, and contort while we walk amongst them. Our masked face is still a reminder that we need to be safe and think about those around us, but for a quiet moment, this show allows us to feel the freedom of being with others.

Our award winners

First Place: James Brown, Sisyphus 2020

Second Place: Shannon Soldner, Repose

Third Place: Deb Roberts, Front & Back

Honorable Mentions: Matt Ballou, Shayna Buckridge, Shane Epping, Jane Mudd.

To see ALL of the work featured in The Figure show, visit the gallery in person, or click the button below.

Juror’s Statement

The Figure  | Juror’s Statement | Valerie Wedel

Every time I come into the Columbia Art League, I am struck by the quality and variety of work produced by our local art community, and this time was no exception. I felt privileged to be able to spend time with these pieces to make selections. In doing so, I not only considered qualities such as craftsmanship and use of the elements and principles of art, but also asked myself whether the artist brings a unique voice to the overall exhibition. Risk-taking is also an important aspect of artistic growth, which I attempted to recognize as well, for with continued practice, these efforts can lay the groundwork for future mastery. 

The best works hit the mark in all the above categories. The moment I saw Jim Brown’s Sisyphus 2020 bronze, I thought “that’s how we all feel right now,” and it has been occupying my mind for days. Exceptional artwork offers something new every time one looks at it and I experienced that with Shannon Solder’s Repose and her deft brushstrokes of rich colors in subtle combinations. I had a similar experience when engaging with Front & Back, by Deb Roberts. It was like reading a mystery story about negotiating with one’s own body. 

Depictions of the human form have been with us since prehistoric people began making marks on cave walls. The fact that there are still new things to say through the figure is evidenced by this magnificent show.

Bio

Valerie Wedel is a 2007 graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia in Sculpture (MFA) with a focus on performance and video installation. In 2002, she earned a BFA in Painting and Drawing from Columbia College and in 1991, a BA in French and Peace Studies from Washington University in St. Louis. She has taught at Stephens College, Columbia College, and Missouri Valley College. She currently teaches studio art at William Woods University and is co-editing a new edition of the textbook Drawing the Human Form, by William A. Berry. Her work is exhibited regularly in galleries throughout the Midwest.

Rural Reflections by Marilyn Cummins

Three barns, prior framing, for the series: Rural Reflections. These works alongside additional barns and landscapes are currently exhibiting at Central Bank off 8th & Broadway.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Rural reflections

This collection of reflections on the landscapes, barns and images of Missouri and beyond contains several new paintings that mark my return to my creating art after a pause that was much longer than I had intended. It’s good to be back. My latest works are a series of barn portraits, based on photos I shoot on any and every road trip as I hunt barns along the way. Converting them to the pen & ink and watercolor paintings here has been cathartic in the time of COVID-19 self-quarantine, which included moving back to my home studio from more than a decade at Orr Street Studios. Paintings based on friends’ photos as reference, with permission, are noted as such in the titles. 

I feel a deep connection to land and sky, tree lines and rural structures. Growing up on a farm on what was once unending prairie in Northwest Missouri, my memories are of sitting in a feed bunk after chores and watching the sun set behind a windbreak of trees; riding my horse or walking along dirt and gravel roads lined by hedge trees, pastures and grain fields; flying over the land with my dad in his small plane and seeing our farm and fields from a whole new perspective. Both he and the farm are gone; more barns disappear with storms and the passage of time; fields become developments. I hope my reflections bring a flicker of memory, spark a desire to preserve both nature and our rural heritage, or bring a bit of solace and peace in dark times.

CONNECT WITH THE ARTIST

Email: mlcummins@cumminsconsult.com

Website: https://invinciblesummerstudios.com/

Artist on Display: Pamela Gainor

Gainor seated with her grandkids.

CAL aims to help artists succeed, whether that's offering skill building classes, the opportunity to exhibit work in our gallery, or sell work in our Gift Gallery. Our Artist on Display series invites you to get to know our artists a little bit better! 

ABOUT THE ARTIST

PG: Who am I? I am a retired oncology nurse but have had many jobs over the years from hospital administration and vocational rehabilitation to teaching sewing and quilting.  I’m a wife, mom, and grandmother and sometime community volunteer.  This is my sixth year serving on the CAL board.  I volunteered at my children’s school library for many years.

PG: Other than being in my studio, which is half of our family room, my favorite place is a library or a bookstore.

PG: I don’t really think I choose to create, it is just something I have always done and feel compelled to do.  

PG: My first memory of the joy and mystery of painting was when I was very small and visited my grandfather’s garage studio. I have never forgotten the smell of oil paint, linseed oil and Camel cigarettes.  

PG: My first art show was a CAL show at Central Bank (Boone County Bank then) in the 80’s where I won first place in fiber.  My first entry in a CAL show was an art quilt.  I think I was responsible for the addition of size limitations on art submissions!  I still sew a lot of my clothes but gave up on quilts quite a while ago.  They took way too long when I was working and had kids at home. Storage became an issue as well.  

Turning to paint

PG: I started playing with oil paints, ruined many brushes and finally took Shannon Soldner’s class at CAL to learn how to work with them.  I love that oil paints don’t dry out quickly.  I love that you can mix them on the canvas and it turns out I can just use my fingers.

PG: I very rarely use brushes with oil paint.  It was almost a phobia that a brush would mean that an image would actually have to look like something specific.  That has always been difficult for me.  I don’t draw well and have never had the patience to put in the practice time needed.  

PG: There is nothing I like more than just starting a blank canvas and smearing on the first color, then adding another and then another, working and reworking until it becomes done.

Themes and inspirations

PG: I work intuitively and although I don’t normally try to paint something real, my paintings usually wind up as abstract landscapes.

PG: The theme that I am especially interested in is the power of nature and how small and often misguided we humans are.  We think we know so much until nature shows her power.  

PG: The contrasting theme is the resilience of man, how we will rebuild and rebuild, how tenacious we are.  

PG: I also paint just for the joy of seeing color.  Encaustic (hot wax mixed with oil pigments) has become another medium for its strong, luminous color and that, like oil paint, is tactile and moveable. 

Exhibiting work

PG: The monochrome show was a challenge.  I decided to do tiny monochrome pictures of the primary colors.  I tried to show just how many variations of those colors I could make in a tiny space.  That piece really represents the opposite of monochrome.  

PG: I love the Art League community.  It is a very welcoming place for all levels of artists.  It’s easy to enter shows and I’ve found that the other artists are mostly just like me: somewhat nervous to put out their work for all to see, fearful of being judged, generally introverted but brave in the end and very friendly.  

Artist on Display: Cynthia Richards

Richards received first place for her photo “Lapse of Memory,” currently on display in the Monochrome exhibition.

CAL aims to help artists succeed, whether that's offering skill building classes, the opportunity to exhibit work in our gallery, or sell work in our Gift Gallery. Our Artist on Display series invites you to get to know our artists a little bit better! 

ABOUT THE ARTIST

CR: I have an M.A. in philosophy, and a Ph.D. in comparative literature with an emphasis on drama.  Aside from creating art, I have been heavily involved in political activism over the years.

CR: I don't remember ever actually choosing to create. It has been central to my life for as long as I can remember; it's always been a big part of who I am.

Developing curiosity

CR: Years ago, writing short stories, poetry and plays took up a great deal of my time.  Then I went to graduate school and found that when I was writing papers there was an imaginary but very tough critic always leaning over my shoulder, making me spend hours revising paragraphs. This carried over to my creative writing efforts, and caused me eventually to lose interest in pursuing writing of any kind. 

CR: Several years after grad school I had the opportunity to spend some time in Spain. Suddenly I was seeing all kinds of striking light, lines, shapes, and shadows. I realized I wanted to capture them, and that even though I knew next to nothing about photography, I could at least give it a try.

CR: I also realized I could try with the camera on the phone I had right there in my purse!  Those first shots were exciting for me, and I've been obsessed with making photos ever since.  I definitely didn't pick this medium. It worked its magic on me, and it got me hooked.

CApturing a process

CR: At first I was mainly taking shots of what I just happened to see: a geometric shape, for example, made by sunlight hitting a wall at a particular slant. Soon, though, I began to experiment with building my own scenes at home, and that practice continues today. 

CR: I love collecting random objects (often from flea markets), making temporary constructions with them, and seeing how the sun interacts with them. 

CR: My favorite "prop" is a multi-colored set of rectangular plexiglass frame samples from an art framer.  I've gotten hours and hours of photo time with those samples! 

CR: Currently I've been doing a lot of shots with copper flashing. It's great because it bends, and has a shiny side as well as a dull side. 

CR: In short, I've moved from trying to capture what I happened to find interesting, to trying to create the possibility for something interesting to be captured.  

Themes & inspirations

CR: The often unseen visual power of ordinary objects is a main theme that I keep returning to. Also, when making photos, for me it's like doing a meditation that takes me out of myself and connects me to something much greater.  That's what I enjoy pursuing, and I hope that others who view my photos have a similar experience.

CR: When shooting the winning piece, "Lapse of Memory", I was working with a sushi mat and a cloudy vase on a table on a gray day with little sunlight coming in. When I saw the photos from that session, I immediately thought of the difficult cognitive struggles that a close relative was then experiencing, and made edits with that in mind.

CR: The other photo in the show, "Daybreak," was inspired by morning light shining on architectural details near the ceiling.  This is an example of my former practice of finding a subject and shooting rather than building a subject and shooting, but sometimes it's just there and you've got to take it!  (And with the sun, you've got to be quick!)    

Artist on Display: Richard Hoeppner

Hoeppner in his studio practicing wood working.

CAL aims to help artists succeed, whether that's offering skill building classes, the opportunity to exhibit work in our gallery, or sell work in our Gift Gallery. Our Artist on Display series invites you to get to know our artists a little bit better! 

ABOUT THE ARTIST

RH: I have always been making things...model RC  airplanes, baskets, and home repairs. After making some miniature furniture for Christmas presents, I determined I could make furniture full sized.  I have made coffee tables, blanket chest, green wood and Windsor chairs as well as several dulcimers.  After seeing a woodturning demonstration, my focus changed totally.

Why woodworking?

RH: The ability to create shapes from a block of wood in a couple hours or less as compared to several months for a project worked well with my limited time available while working in the medical field.  Many times when time was limited, I just turned beads and coves or a sphere  for relaxation.

RH: Wood has always been my medium.  Any time I hear or see a chainsaw cutting, I’m looking for beautiful wood.  Wood is a material that most people enjoy seeing and touching.  When I started,  wood was used to make “craft” projects.  Combine the beauty of wood with pleasing shapes and it’s art.

Artistic Career

Beginning in 2005, Hoeppner began showing his work at Columbia Art League, and shows associated with the gallery, like the Boone County Bank showcase.

RH: When I had early success, I continued to challenge myself using the show themes.  New techniques, and sometimes even making new tools to complete my idea always present new challenges.  Sometimes I make the item with focus on selling and sometimes just to make an artistic statement.  I like the idea of creating a family of similar items.

RH: For the Monochrome show, the grouping came to mind as I had been coring sets of bowls from one piece of wood.  The wood was consistent color, but by coring the grain pattern, while slightly different showed the singular relationship carried through the progressive bowls.

RH: A majority of the pieces in the BCB Art show (now Central Bank) over the years have been segmented.  Segmented pieces require precision cutting, gluing, and manipulation to get the pattern and shape.  Rather than a few hours, a segmented work may take several months.  I usually start planning for that show in early Spring.

Bank Purchase Award, 2006

“My favorite piece, because with it I felt like an artist”—Hoeppner

Artist on Display: Julie Bonifay

Bonifay teaching her daughter how to warp a frame loom.

CAL aims to help artists succeed, whether that's offering skill building classes, the opportunity to exhibit work in our gallery, or sell work in our Gift Gallery. Our Artist on Display series invites you to get to know our artists a little bit better! 

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Julie Bonifay is a self-taught weaver from California, but weaving wasn’t always her medium of choice.

JB: I weave because it helps to calm my mind. I've always been an over-thinker who has a hard time relaxing - weaving provides me with a sense of ease in my life.

JB: I started weaving in 2012 shortly after my daughter was born. Prior to that I would create hard-edge geometric paintings. After I had my daughter I was finding it hard to make time and space to paint in our tiny one bedroom apartment in Los Angeles. I started thinking of ways that I could maintain my creativity with a different medium and I ended up watching a ton of videos on lap loom weaving. I loved weaving right away even though it took several years for me to be happy with the outcome of my weavings. 

PROCESS EVOLUTION

JB: My practice has changed over time due to finding the right materials to match the simplistic designs I like to create. I work with cotton crochet thread which is much finer than the synthetic fibers that I started out working with.

JB: Also, my husband now designs and makes my looms which double as frames for my work. I had been trying to figure out a way to frame my work instead of taking it off the loom and mounting it with a dowel or rod.

JB: Once my husband designed the double-sided loom I started working with only one color, which had been a goal of mine for a long time. I wasn't sure how to make a monochrome weaving on a single-sided loom interesting and adding that second layer seemed to create a dimension that made it possible.

ARTIST HISTORY

JB: I have a degree in Hospitality Management. I've held positions in hotel sales departments doing accounting for large convention hotels and boutique hotels. This left no room for creativity and I needed something to fill that side of my identity.

JB: I'm a big fan of the mid-century modern era and I feel my work reflects that. I tend to prefer simplicity and minimalism.

Bloom by Aron Fischer

On view in the South Gallery in September

Artist on Display: Hope Martin

Martin creating “One for Sadness,” which is currently showing as part of our Monochrome exhibition. Want to watch a time lapse of Martin’s process? Click this link—https://youtu.be/vSEWziuY8zonow

CAL aims to help artists succeed, whether that's offering skill building classes, the opportunity to exhibit work in our gallery, or sell work in our Gift Gallery. Our Artist on Display series invites you to get to know our artists a little bit better! 

ABOUT THE PROCESS

Hope’s process involves three stages: play, pursuit, and performance. She claims these stages create the foundation of “a process that can reliably take me from inspiration to art.”

HM: That process I mention has settled into 3 defined parts: Play (loose sketching in my sketchbook), Pursuit (taking a sketch I liked and developing it further in black/white, then in color) & Perform (taking the things I learned along the way and applying them to a bigger piece).

HM: Having these steps/stages gives me time and space to think about what I’m doing and how I’m doing it. It gives me time to find inspiration along the way.

HM: Not every sketchbook sketch goes on to the next stage. Not every Pursuit piece becomes the final. Even in the Performance stage I learn and modify things.

HM: Rather than being caught up in the final piece, my focus has become the process itself. I enjoy that with such intensity that the final product has become an added benefit.

FINDING INSPIRATION

HM: I’ve done a few landscapes but I want to see what’s crawling up that tree or hiding under that bush or flying over that mountain.

HM: I want to paint life up close! To entice people to really look at the incredible details I see in animals and plants when I get REALLY close. Even “pests” like starlings have a beauty to them and I find that some people have never taken the time to really notice. 

HM: “One for Sadness”... Started with the idea of focusing on ravens this year. Sort of pursuing a theme or series. I love most birds and have always admired ravens so why not? But other than the subject, I had no direction to begin with.

EXPLORING NEW THEMES

HM: At some point along the way, I stumbled across this magpie nursery rhyme and the idea for the series was born: Counting Corvids. (I have a thing for alliteration) I’m working on “Two for Mirth” now. I think I’m nearly done with it. Sometimes it is hard to tell. It focuses more on the energetic texture of happiness where “One for Sadness” focuses on the stark details of intense sadness.

HM: The third in this series is still a nebulous idea dealing with death and the number three. I hope to start sketching it out soon.

JOINING THE COMMUNITY

HM: Through CAL’s CEP, I’ve met people that I would not have otherwise: 

·  a retired bus-driver who bought my horse painting for his daughter who loves horses

·  a nurse who bought my tabby cat painting that uncannily resembled her recently deceased and beloved pet

·  a professor who bought my tree frog painting that reminded her of pleasant memories of times spent on the deck where these critters were often found.

· And students who have become friends.

HM: Through CAL, I’ve found connection to the community I live in. 

If you are an artist interested in getting involved with CEP OR if you are a business who would like to have our CEP artists fill your business with art, contact us here: CEP@columbiaartleague.org

Mother Material by Madeleine LeMieux

On view in the South Gallery throughout August

Ana Prismatic

Mommy Pile

Pink Undies

Inflatable Hammock

Artist Statement

Mother Material consists of multi-media art objects and images that explore the poetic intersubjectivity of the mother-child relationship while pushing against notions of essentialist motherhood and embracing nostalgia as a feminist tool for meaning-making.

To create this work I use cell phone photographs of my life and a myriad of alteration processes including sewing, painting, and printmaking and the incorporation of found objects. The resulting image objects suggest comfort, protection, and domestic space in contemporary culture while reaching for reconciliation between the lived and constructed experiences of motherhood.

Artist Bio

Madeleine Marie LeMieux is an artist and arts administrator in Columbia, MO.  She received her BFA with an emphasis in Art History, Theory and Criticism from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2007 and her MA in Visual Arts Administration from New York University in 2011. She has been exhibiting her artwork and using art as a tool for community organizing nationally since 2004.

Highlights of her career include: serving on NYC’s Department of Cultural Affairs’ Non-Performing Arts Selection Panel of experts in 2012 and 2013, developing Groundswell’s Youth Media Council, a program which teaches teens communication tools and empowers them to create youth driven marketing content, and helping to establish Brooklyn’s first art-jewelry maker space, Brooklyn Metal Works. In 2014, LeMieux founded Resident Arts, a professional development organization for artists in Mid-Missouri. In 2016, LeMieux was honored as one of the Columbia Business Times’ 20 Under 40 successful business people. She is currently attending the University of Missouri to receive her MFA.

Paintings by Wendy Yelton

New paintings from Wendy Yelton at Central Bank of Boone County on E. Broadway.

Artist Statement

My first personal experiences in creating two dimensional art were in fiber.  That attraction to textures and the natural qualities of wool, linen, cotton, etc. has stayed with me. My paintings are heavily influenced by the quality of light and color that surrounds our home.  We live in a heavily wooded area and every view outside consists of dappled, shifting sunlight and shade along with vivid natural colors, depending on the season.  My work intends to capture that shifting movement of light and echo the intense colors and natural textures.

As I blend and layer colors, I play with their biases and the rules of 3 dimensional perspective, working to create “surprises” in the layers.  Dark areas end up light and light areas end up dark.  I start with a loose idea, but eventually allow the spontaneous layers of color and texture to take over.  

Monochrome

On view in the Betty & Art Robins Group Gallery

July 28th - September 10th, 2020

Monochrome is defined as the exploration of one color, working through variations in shade, tone, and tint of a single hue. As you explore, consider the history and symbolism of colors. Across all cultures, words for colors appear in stages; blue usually arrives last to a language. Red often symbolizes power, warning, passion. Green has long been associated with verdant growth and environment. Artists who work with monochrome include Ellsworth Kelly, Yves Klein, Josef Albers, and Frank Stella.

Pam Gainor, What is Color?

Cynthia Richards, Lapse of Memory

1st Place Award

Sage, Julie Bonifay

2nd Place Award

Jacob Lopez, Calamari

3rd Place Award

Katelyn Smith, A Product of the Environment

Kate Gray, Midnight Harmony

Sarah Seat, Cool

Phil Peters, Curtis Hendricks, Martha Daniels

Kurt Caddy, A Moment with Azure

Gennie Pfannenstiel, Verde

Phil Peters, Reflections in Green

Dennis Murphy, Succulent Greens

Hope Martin, One for Sadness

Jean Griffith, Beige and Some Black

Ernest Hilderbrand, Nature's Neutrals

Katelyn Smith, Crimson Diadem

Barry Gainor, detail of White Hawthorn Blossom

Barry Gainor, White Hawthorn Blossom

Deny Cari Phillips, Nickel Coke

Hope Martin, Apple Study

Lisa Varley, I Touched the Sun

John Fennell, Meditation

Karalee Tearney, Four2020

Ray Almeida, Necktie

Angela Shaffer, Stretched

Tootie Burns, Linda Hays, Ken Logsdon

Ira Papick, Intersecting Shades

About the juror and some remarks about the show

As you walk through the gallery you see the subtle color in each artwork as it begins to relate to its neighboring companions. Appearing to change slightly – what once looked to be cobalt suddenly seems deeper when next a deep blue which in turn has shifted towards deep purple when paired with the cobalt. These constant shifts give even more life to an already colorful and energetic gallery show. 

Congratulations to our award winners:

1st – Cynthia Richards for Lapsed Memory; 2nd – Julie Bonifay for Sage; 3rd – Jacob Lopez for Calamari. Two Honorable Mentions were awarded to Ray Almeida for Necktie Parting and Angela Shaffer for Tapped Out, respectively.

Hannah Reeves is an MFA fiber artist, Director of Sager Braudis Gallery in Columbia, Missouri, and previous Gallery Director and Assistant Professor in the Department of Art at the University of Missouri. In jurying Monochrome, Reeves sought diversity of media and approach, with an emphasis on craftsmanship. An added layer to the curation of the exhibit was the consideration of how the hue of each mostly-monochromatic piece fell into the spectrum of the overall exhibit. Reeves joked, "If you thought I wasn't going to arrange every entry in this room in spectral order, you thought wrong." She ROY-G-BIV-ed the gallery as she made selections that shaped the ultimate exhibit. 

Emerging Artists Mentorship Show

On view in the South Gallery through July 2020

In January, 2020, a group of young artists, aged 11-17, were selected to participate in our Emerging Artist Mentorship Program. Each artist was paired with a professional artist mentor according to their own artistic interests and goals. The pairs then set to work, outlining their plans for a collaborative project.

When the Coronavirus pandemic took the nation and the world by storm, many people's lives and plans were thrown off course. Our artist community was no exception, but the work you see here is an inspiring example of the commitment these young artists and their tutors have to the creative process. They continued to correspond and create together by any means necessary, because even in times of crisis, artists create to survive and thrive. This work is a reflection of their resilience and drive.

Thank you to all of our Mentors and Mentees!

Members' Summer Show

As the time for the Members’ Summer Show drew near, we decided to open the gallery and have a physical show. We will not hold a virtual gallery show in the same way that we did for the shows that were NOT in person, but we will make a concerted effort to post all of the artwork between the website and social media posts if you are not up to visiting the gallery.

Please note: we are requiring that people observe social distancing recommendations and that you wear a mask while in the gallery.

If you see an artwork that you can’t live without, let us know! We also have a Take Art Home program where you pay 1/3 of the price up front and pay the rest over 6 months to make owning the art you love a little bit easier. Contact Kelsey here for more details!

Juror’s Statement

In a world that is contending with social distancing, turmoil, injustice, and reckoning, art making and art spaces like the Columbia Art League are proving to be increasingly essential. It’s important to create, to process and make sense of the world, to share our manifestations, and to entangle that with the conceptions of others. This exhibition truly demonstrates that and shows what the CAL has always been invested in: education, creation, and community.

Members' Summer Show

Linda Hays

Linda Hays painting with Ernest Hildebrand bowl

1st place - Linda Hays

Honorable Mention - Ray Almeida

Pam Gainor

Honorable Mention - Karalee Tearney

Colette Brumbaugh

Terri Rickerson

Dennis Murphy

Linda Hoffman

3rd Place - Richard Hoeppner

2nd place - Reneé Brochu Monroe

Ira Papick

Martha Daniels above Sam Goodfellow below

West wall

Jane Mudd

Deb Roberts

Addison Spiller

Barry Gainor

Detail of Barry Gainor's banjo

Gerri Camerer

John Fennell

Catherine Parke above Dola Haessig below

Paul Meyer

Kate Verna

Penny Brown painting

Jennifer Slouha

Ruth Wright

Marsha Taylor

Honorable Mention - Brooke Cameron

L to R Gladys Swan, Edward Collings, Cynthia Richards

Honorable Mention - Jan Hager

L to R Ariel Schatchman, Mike Seat, Deb Roberts

Joanne Zucco Berneche

I appreciate art that inspires and resonates and confronts; art that is beautiful and ugly and skilled and reckless. I am drawn to art that invites me to sit and contemplate. My award selections for this show demonstrate my appreciation for work in multiple media areas, work I am in awe of, and work that I feel compelled to sit with for a little while longer.

Craftsmanship and meaning are two main areas that I look to when considering and evaluating works of art. It is important to me as an artist, as an educator, and as a curator that work demonstrates intent and knowledge of materials and techniques. It is also imperative that work has meaning and invites the viewer to finish its story or carry on its questions and solutions out into the world. I ask where the work may fit in with current culture and how it may be informing and connecting us. The works that have placed in this exhibition were especially compelling to me in this regard.

1st place: Linda Hays’ “Valley Rise” is all at once strategic and warm, isolating and nostalgic. I found it especially prevalent given the past few months spent in quarantine. The stacked structures house us and keep us safe as we gain a newfound closeness with those who share our space and as the world outside has slowed to an abrupt halt.

2nd place: Renee Monroe’s work has great significance, especially given our current moment in history. While most of us have been socially distancing, we also recognize the importance of coming together for justice and equality. This image shows the power of community, the danger of silence, and the importance of showing up.

3rd place: The craftsmanship of Rich Koeppner’s piece is astonishing. Every component was conscientiously and meticulously cared for. This work demonstrates the embrace of still moments, which we all have had to learn to recalibrate ourselves to as of late.

I applaud all the artists in this show. Thank you for extending the invitation to sit with your work and for sharing it with the community.

-Bethanie Irons, Assistant Professor, William Woods University

You can read more about Bethanie on her website.

Jean Howard at Central Bank of Boone County

Art Quilts

Artist Statement

I started sewing and hand-quilting as part of a family tradition of quilt-making. I enjoy sewing and working with color to create something of beauty. However, I found that I craved a way to make something beautiful that was more interesting to me than sewing together the same triangles and rectangles that everyone used in traditional quilt-making. I transitioned to using colorful fabrics in original and unusual designs to construct something unique, beautiful, and compelling to me.

I love the exquisite colors, curves, and shapes found in nature, and use these in many of my quilts. I enjoy using accents of unusual colors to invite the viewer to pay attention.

I find I have always been driven to use my talent and creativity for production. I have a sense that I am on earth to accomplish something that I have not yet achieved.  

Renee Brochu-Monroe at Central Bank of Boone County

em*BOLD*en

By Renee Brochu-Monroe

Renee Brochu's incredible India Ink drawings currently hang in the Central Bank of Boone County. They are enormous and pack a powerful combination of strength from the subjects and delicate details from Brochu's brush. We encourage you to stay home and stay safe and imagine being in front of these 3'x4' artworks. 

Statement:

Eight women offer an unapologetic demonstration of identity and sexuality. Their body language and gestures contradict the passive reclining female pose through their active occupation of space. The collaboration between artist and sitter invites the viewer into a powerful dialogue, limned in black and red ink.

Verdant

Verdant

India ink applied with brush on paper, 3x4’

$3500

Biography:

Columbia Missouri resident Renee Brochu-Monroe describes herself as a multi-disciplinary artist. She has been nationally exhibited and continues her endeavors in painting, photography, and drawing to immerse herself in the creative process. Her work follows patterns of still moments, examining how illumination can change the aesthetic force of a subject with the attention to line, color, and form. In 2018 she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts with a minor in education from Columbia College. By day, she is the Assistant Director at Windsor Street Montessori School. By night, she pursues her professional artist endeavors outside of the classroom and in her home studio.