Sanam Emami
Trivets, 2009
Dark stoneware, silk-screened transfers
6" width each
Sarah Gross
The Street Where You Live 2, 2011
Recycled clay
Photo by Aaron Paden
Click images for detailed view.
Belger Arts Center Opens New Exhibit in April l
March 21, 2011
KANSAS CITY, MO – On First Friday, April 1, the Belger Arts Center will
partner with Red Star Studios to present a look at two artists inspired by
Islamic decoration. “Arabesques” will feature Sanam Emami and Sarah
Gross. Emami was born in Iran and Gross was raised in New York City,
but in recent years they both have been producing artwork while living in
America's Heartland. Gross is as a resident artist at the Lawrence Arts
Center and Emami has been an assistant professor of art at Colorado
State University in Fort Collins since 2007. “Arabesques” opens with a
reception from 6-9 pm on April 1 and runs through Saturday, June 4.
Belger's current show, “Wendell Castle in the 21st Century”, runs through
June 3.
Of her pottery and wall pieces, Emami says: “The primary sources of
inspiration in my pots and tiles are patterns in Iranian and Islamic art
and architecture. These patterns are based on elaborate geometric
interpretations of nature that, when broken down and taken apart,
are often comprised of simple shapes, such as the square, the circle
and the triangle. Floral imagery and architectural drawings appear
alongside Islamic patterns, complicating assumed distinctions between
representation and abstraction.”
Sarah Gross holds an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design
and will begin teaching at Berea College in Kentucky this fall. Gross
says of her work: “I seek to activate space by building screens. They act
as architecture, as psychological separation, as filter, and distiller. My
exploration is rooted in the institution of veiling in Islamic society.”
Belger Arts Center Statement.
The Belger Arts Center is located at 2100 Walnut Street (one block east of Main) in the Belger Cartage Service building. The gallery is open Wednesday through Friday from 10 am – 4 pm, Saturday from noon – 4 pm, non-holiday First Fridays from 10 am – 9 pm, and by appointment.
The office for the Belger Arts Center is open Monday through Friday from 8 am – 4:30 pm. For more information please visit www.belgerartscenter.org or contact Gallery Assistant Mo Dickens at
(816) 474-3250 or Email at mdickens@belgerartscenter.org.
Since March of 2000 the Belger Arts Center has hosted more than 40 exhibitions featuring a variety of media including fiber, ceramics, painting, sculpture, digital projections, and innovative design. More than 60,000 visitors from six continents have attended exhibits and other events at the Belger Arts Center. |
