Cross Stitch, Craft Medium Redefined Embroidery and other crafty practices are still considered pretty girly, in spite of efforts to the contrary (and a few male names on the price list). That's OK. Just because some ladies now bond in locker rooms and others over superficially feminist TV shows such as Sex in the City does not mean that some can't go on enjoying the basic, dual pleasures of needle and thread. The work in this show displays both variety and ingenuity. Highlights include the deep-red, sacred-heart-inspired collage pieces by Lawrence artist Kendra Herring; the unfathomably precise, illustratorly works (it's hard to believe the perfect lines are stitched and not inked) by Maggy Rozycki Hiltner; Stacy Neff's layered paper cutouts with detailing provided not only by actual embroidery but also by the holes left behind when needles puncture paper; and Leigh Ann Lester's disturbing, anatomical portraits of lung cancer, stroke and heart attack. Through Jan. 8 at the Bank, 11th St. and Baltimore, 816-221-5115. (G.K.)
Tide of Chaos, Fervor Within: Chinese Painters of the 17th Century Respond to Dynastic Upheaval We sort of expected the Nelson's Tide of Chaos, Fervor Within: Chinese Painters of the 17th Century Respond to Dynastic Upheaval to be a little more riveting. Don't get us wrong -- the myriad ink on paper/silk/satin landscapes and figural drawings are lovely. But we were hoping for some fire, some grit, something that demonstrated that the era's artists were as pissed off about their political climate as we are now. In short, we were searching for kindred spirits. Instead we found a beautiful (if somewhat repetitive) collection of countrysides and villages by artistic heavyweights of the time, such as Dong Qichang and Gong Xian. Bright spots include Zha Shibiao's "The Peach Blossom Spring" (a cheerful rendering of a 17th-century Shangri-La), Gao Qipei's finger paintings and Zhu Da's ominous ink-on-silk mynah birds. Our favorite, however, was Jin Nong's "Blossoming Plum" -- that is, until we read on the accompanying placard that the bland, unassertive tenor of the painting would have appealed to the fashion-conscious mercantile rich and that plum symbolized the refined, cool, passionless temperament valued by the literary elite. Well, then. We found our kindred spirits after all. Through July 31 at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 4525 Oak, 816-751-1278. (A.F.)
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