"Picasso Remembers His Blue Period" Acrylic by Jessie McCormick

"First Feelings" Etching by Jane Kleindl

"Irish Girl" Acrylic by Annabelle Sedye Fuht

"Corset Form #2" Clay & ribbon by Katherine Chandler

Jo Mueller hangs Andy Warhol prints that were donated to the exhibit by A. G. Edward & Son art collections. Globe/Noppadol Paothong

"Community Rhythm" Acrylic, pastel and charcoal by Laura Blankenship

Five local artists are being featured in the Regional Focus Gallery upstairs at Spiva now through Sunday, February 22.

As with the exhibit in the main gallery, Jo Mueller, director of Spiva said that “Go Figure” will also be a “loosely-based figural show.”

Area artists Lara Blankenship, Katherine Chandler, Annabelle Seelye Fuhr, Jane Kleindl and Jesse McCormick have works featured in the show.

More about the main gallery exhibit:

While Andy Warhol may be one of the most recognizable names in the new exhibit at the George A. Spiva Center for the Arts, it’s interpretations of the human figure that take center stage.

“Figuratively Speaking: Perceptions of the Human Form” opened on Friday, Jan. 16 with a reception for Spiva members and will be open to the public through Sunday, Feb. 22.

“The human figure is really just a starting point (for the exhibit),” said Mueller. “It’s a very loose interpretation.”

Featured prominently among the 36 pieces in the exhibit are four screenprints by Andy Warhol. The prints were loaned to Spiva by the A. G. Edwards & Sons corporate art collection.

The four prints include Uncle Sam, a clothing ad featuring a young Ronald Reagan and Franz Kafka.

“They’re limited-edition prints that (Warhol) did in the ‘70s and ‘80s,” Mueller said. “The original screen prints were made in numbered editions.”


Also featured in the exhibit are ceramic works by internationally-known ceramics artist Marie E. v. B. Gibbons.stet Her works include “swimmer balls,” which are women in swimsuits, curled into a rounded form. Gibbons also has a number of open vessel works featured.

The late Henry Moore, who Mueller said was one of the foremost sculptors of the 20th century, created “Reclining Figure, Open Pose 1981,” a bronze work that is on loan from the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum in Kansas City.

“(Moore) would make these tiny models, then make an enormous version that would often fit in outdoor sculpture gardens,” Mueller said. “He was very much tied into nature and organic form.”

Also highlighted are paintings by Sharon Bond Brown, another Denver artist who uses old snapshots as the basis for her works, and Pierce City artist Lavetta Rinehart. Rinehart uses a mix of oils and 22-karat gold leaf in her paintings, Mueller said.

Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday.


George A. Spiva Center for the Arts
222 W. 3rd Street
Joplin, Mo 64801
Tel: 417-623-0183
Fax: 417-623-3805
www.spivaarts.org

Jo Mueller, Director