Local Flavor

Every month, we seem to come back around to discussion of Kansas City's outsized influence on the art world. A small media market in many ways, this town has for many years boasted an arts community with deep roots (and benefactors with deep pockets). And it's also true that artists are inspired by their surroundings. The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art has assembled an exhibit at Kemper East (200 East 44th Street, 816-753-5784) called Interchange, a collection of Kansas City-inspired works by prominent artists, culled from the museum's permanent collection.In some works, Kansas City's influence is obvious — Wilbur Niewald's "Trees at Linda Hall Library," for instance, pretty clearly announces itself as a Kansas City painting. By contrast, viewers are left to consider for themselves the city's influence on local artist Peregrine Honig's lithograph "Taylor and Ashley," with its ambiguous figures and pastoral background. Other exhibited artists include Lou Marak, Nate Fors, Rita Blitt, Mike Sinclair and Tom Corbin. Interchange runs through December 4.
April 7-Dec. 4, 2009