Montmarte, mixed media on canvas with paper, acrylic paint, oil pastels, 48" x 60"

Opening Artist Reception

Thursday, February 28th

5-8pm

Ada Koch

The Piazza: Praising Architecture and a Balanced Life

March 1 - April 27, 2013

Main Gallery

Exhibition Statement - Excerpt

This exhibition demonstrates the idealized piazza by pulling famous examples of architecture from three locales where I have been charmed by the balance, pace, and sense of community - Kansas City, Paris, and of course, Italy.  Each element of my idealized square shows a well-known representation of one major aspect of civilized life pulled together for my inclusion in the perfect piazza.  A gathering place in the middle provides the social merger of the diverse elements, a focal point where ideals, issues and controversies from the four aspects can be shared. 

Artist Statement

While in art museums, I have always preferred the artist's sketch rather than the "finished work". A sketch provides the freedom and movement that shows the artist's true style.  This body of work provides numerous layers and media but maintains the freedom, fluidity, and fresh playfulness of the sketch.  Classical three dimensional sculpture and architectural monuments are especially prone to two dimensional representation in an exacting method, so the freedom of my impressions of these striking structures is meant to impart my passion in providing a quick emotional awakening where details are elaborated only fully enough to capture the full, dimensional quality of the moment.  

Artist Bio

Raised in Delaware, Koch won scholarships to the Delaware Art Museum before studying art in Washington, DC and Chicago.  Later studies with David De Rousseau of the KCAI and personal studies in Paris and Rome preceded Koch's exhibitions in US and Italian galleries.  She has been invited regularly to the Biennale Internazionale (a juried show in Florence, Italy), and was just invited to the premier of the Effetto in Merido, Mexico as part of the United Nations Dialogue Among Civilizations.  She teaches at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and Holy Name School.  A board member of the Kansas City Artists Coalition, she was founder of Open Studios in KC.  Her art is in collections both corporate and private throughout the world.

Click image to preview and purchase Ada's book on Blurb.com

 Wondrously Amazed, 2012 Acrylic paint, pigment marker, acrylic resin on panel 36 x 74 diptych

Artist Reception and Talk

Saturday, March 9th

1-3pm

Cheryl Gail Toh

Linger Still

February 1 - March 30, 2013

Back Gallery

Bio

Toh a professional, mixed media artist working primarily in drawing and painting. Originally from Connecticut, she holds a Bachelor of Arts from Elms College in Massachusetts with additional training at Penland School of Craft, Penland, NC; Gage Academy and Pratt Fine Art Center in Seattle, WA. Toh regularly show throughout the U.S. and her work is found in public, corporate and private collections.

Statement

I draw inspiration from various sources - nature and organic forms converge with ideas of community, communication and connectivity. I address these concepts through a reliance on deliberate mark-making and intuitive forms, incorporating a variety of materials within my work.

Subtle gradations of graphite and pen & ink evidence the development of form while serving as markers of time in my drawings, while the sewn elements directly reference interconnectedness. My mixed-media paintings echo these qualities while creating subtle dialogues between the rich hues and drawn compositions.

Within this work, consideration is given to line and form through the use of repetition. This emphasis actuates the communal relationships hinted at by the "dialogues" within the compositions of my paintings and the "time markers" of my drawings.