Best Art Exhibit

In the 1830s, American landscape artist Thomas Cole created a series he called The Course of Empire, five paintings detailing the story of a civilization's rise and its eventual demise because of pride and corruption. Inspired by Cole, Jean Lowe paints landscapes following the development of land into housing tracts and strip malls. Although the mountainous, palm-tree-dotted backdrops are unmistakably Californian, the Wal-Mart and Target complexes she depicts are well-known everywhere. Lowe accompanies her grand canvases with papier-mâché, Empire-style furniture; the unique, handmade pieces contrast the homogenous items for sale in the strip malls depicted in the paintings. With its massive suburban sprawl, Kansas City is an especially appropriate venue for Jean Lowe: The Course of the Empire, which runs through November 30 at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art.