UMKC Gallery of Art

UMKC Gallery of Art The UMKC Gallery of Art is dedicated to enhancing the cultural environment of its campus and communi

Now Showing:

Real Black: A spectrum of the black present

Open: Thursday, October 1, -December 11, 2020

Join us for our upcoming exhibition featuring artist Leo Esquivel!Spirit in the Fire by Leo EsquivelSept. 4th – Oct. 13t...
08/26/2025

Join us for our upcoming exhibition featuring artist Leo Esquivel!

Spirit in the Fire by Leo Esquivel
Sept. 4th – Oct. 13th

Opening Reception: Thursday, September 4th, 5-7 PM at the UMKC Gallery of Art.

The UMKC Gallery of Art is proud to present Spirit in the Fire, a dynamic exhibition of recent works by Leo Esquivel. Showcasing his latest explorations in sculpture, digital art, and Mardi Gras ephemera, this exhibition invites viewers into a vibrant, multifaceted world of cultural symbolism and material experimentation.

Esquivel’s most recent sculptural works “The Existential Icebergs” push the boundaries of common construction materials. Those materials that compose the eggshell surface of our gallery walls, drywall mud and primer. He transforms these common materials into dreamlike, fantastical entities that blur the line between the natural and the imagined.

The exhibition also celebrates Esquivel’s deep connection to Kansas City’s Mardi Gras traditions, featuring an array of Krewe artifacts: ornate masks, elaborate hats, and three-dimensional banners, each brimming with color, pageantry, and cultural resonance. Complementing these physical works are a series of digitally rendered characters—born from his mask-making practice—that evoke themes of cultural assimilation, transformation, and the forging of new mythologies.

Leo Esquivel was born and raised in Houston, Texas. He earned his BFA in Printmaking from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1995 and was a co-curator of the Dirt Gallery in the late 1990s. In 2003, he received the prestigious Charlotte Street Foundation Award. For the past two decades, Esquivel has built a career as a professional decorative painter based in Kansas City, all the while continuing to expand his artistic vision.

Join us for our new 2025 Annual Student Art Exhibition!Open from April 24th – May 9th, 2025(from left to right, works by...
04/15/2025

Join us for our new 2025 Annual Student Art Exhibition!

Open from April 24th – May 9th, 2025

(from left to right, works by: Isabel Harryman, Dallas Hall, Harryson Salcedo, and Maria Bisby)

Join us on Thursday April 24th from 5—7PM for UMKC's Annual Student Art Exhibition! Awards will be presented at 6pm. F...
04/15/2025

Join us on Thursday April 24th from 5—7PM for UMKC's Annual Student Art Exhibition! Awards will be presented at 6pm. Free parking provided at the Cherry St. Garage only on the 6th level.

Neither Men nor Gods but Something Closer to the FormerSierra Faust and Benjamin HaveyFebruary 6th – March 14thThe UMKC ...
02/13/2025

Neither Men nor Gods but Something Closer to the Former
Sierra Faust and Benjamin Havey
February 6th – March 14th

The UMKC Gallery of Art is please to present Neither Men nor Gods but Something Closer to the Former, an interdisciplinary & collaborative performance and exhibition by artist Sierra Faust and pianist Benjamin Havey. This exhibition is part of the NEXUS Integrated Arts Series. Both will produce work from a common source text, Hesiod’s Works and Days, which serves as a conceptual guide for the form and content of the exhibition. The exhibition addresses the idea of repetitive commitment to labor through the two artistic practices and processes, drawing and piano playing.

Faust’s work focuses on language, observation, and drawing as a record of meticulous day-in day-out work. The work explores the laborious practice of hand copying texts and the exacting process of collecting, observing, and archiving found objects. Havey’s work as a pianist focuses on the intertextuality between common practice classical music, post-war classical music, and living composers. His programming creates narrative and sonic dialectics through deep and methodical engagement with extended works of classical music, revealing hidden connections between disparate styles. As a collaborative team, they aim to address issues of interdisciplinary conceptual exploration and explore new sets of constraints shared across mediums as a generative starting point for process-based exploration.

Sierra Faust is a Kansas City based artist. She received her bachelor’s degree in Sculpture from the Kansas City Art Institute in 2018. Sierra works in program administration at Literacy KC. Her work has been shown at Beco Gallery, NARS Foundation Gallery, and Vulpes Bastille.

Benjamin Havey is a classical pianist based in Kansas City. He has worked with many composers to prepare their works for concert, including Zhou Long, Martin Bresnick, Jake Runestad and Chaya Czernowin. His solo programs often integrate premieres, common practice repertoire, and recent classics. As a collaborative pianist, he frequently works as a vocal coach and has premiered dozens of chamber works by young composers. He is currently a doctoral candidate at University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) where he studies with Thomas Rosenkranz and Robert Weirich.

Student Special Projects Exhibitions: A Reality and Ready to TransmitDec. 5th – Dec. 13thOpening Reception, Thursday Dec...
11/21/2024

Student Special Projects Exhibitions:

A Reality and Ready to Transmit

Dec. 5th – Dec. 13th

Opening Reception, Thursday Dec. 5th 5-7pm

The UMKC Gallery of Art is proud to present A Reality and Ready to Transmit, an exhibition of new work by our talented artists in the Media, Art, and Design Department for the upcoming Student Special Projects Exhibition. This showcase features the creative achievements of UMKC Studio Art students under the guidance of Barry Anderson and Elijah Gowin. This exhibition highlights a diverse range of artistic practices from digital renderings to handmade books. Each artwork is a unique expression, reflecting the individuality, creativity, and personal perspectives of each artist as they interpret the world around them and explore their personal voice.

A Reality:
This exhibition explores the multifaceted concept of “the real.” Some artists draw inspiration from the natural world and its inhabitants, while others look inward using deep emotions to reflect internal truths. Still others venture into alternate realms, imagining entirely new worlds. The exhibition brings together diverse artistic perspectives, with works in painting, sculpture, assemblage, video, and augmented reality that examines, questions, and challenges our understanding of existence. Each piece offers a unique interpretation, reflecting each artist's distinct worldview and their ongoing search for meaning in an ever-changing world.

Ready to Transmit:
As we near the end of 2024, feelings of flux and instability permeate daily life, making the search for personal grounding and the expression of one's voice a crucial act of choice and control, with the hope for connection. This collection of hand-made books created by students features individual explorations of change, personal identity, and the search for one's voice. These handmade creations stand alone as intimate statements surrounding choice, control, and hope. The works on display showcase a variety of materials, binding techniques, and printing methods ranging from handmade to machine-printed technologies. Many of the books invite the viewer into tactile, visual experiences, offering opportunities for interaction and engagement.

a Midwest Zine Archive, the ExhibitionFebruary 15 - March 21Closing reception on March 21, 5pm-7pmThe UMKC Gallery of Ar...
02/13/2024

a Midwest Zine Archive, the Exhibition
February 15 - March 21
Closing reception on March 21, 5pm-7pm

The UMKC Gallery of Art is pleased to present a Midwest Zine Archive (MZA), the Exhibition, celebrating zines and their middle-American makers. The interstate collection curated by
Zach Frazier (they/he) of Astringent Press and UMKC Department of Media, Art and Design, will be on display for public viewing beginning, February 15, until the show’s closing reception on March 21, 2024.

In conjunction with the display of the inaugural batch of zines to MZA, community programming, generative workshops, and periodic installations featuring the works of various co-curators, and more, will take place in the UMKC Gallery of Art — all in dedication to the Midwestern zine.

At the close of this exhibition, twelve identical archival boxes will be packed for delivery to their respective homes across the Midwest. The archive will also be accessible to a broader public in digital video at the close of the exhibition. Special thanks to the founding steward institutions of this MZA, including — Charlotte Street Foundation (MO), the Emily Taylor Center for Women
and Gender Equity (KS), Public Space One (IA), Late Night Copies (MN), and The Bindery (WI).
For more information please contact the UMKC Gallery of Art

The UMKC Gallery of Art invites you to participate in Michelle Hartney's project, "Unplanned Parenthood." Thursday, Nove...
11/09/2023

The UMKC Gallery of Art invites you to participate in Michelle Hartney's project, "Unplanned Parenthood."

Thursday, November 16th from noon until 2pm at the gallery.

We will embroider letters published in Margaret Sanger's 1928 book, *Motherhood in Bo***ge* in which struggling mothers asked her for help in preventing further pregnancies.

This project is beginner friendly, no prior sewing knowledge needed.

Artwork courtesy of the artist, Michelle Hartney.

Address

UMKC, 5015 Holmes, FA203
Kansas City, MO
64110

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 10am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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(816) 235-1502

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