FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Kansas City, MO – Belger Crane Yard Gallery

presents Time is a Circle: Generational Craft Practices opening Friday,

October 6, 2023, at 2011 Tracy Avenue, Kansas City, MO 64108. The public is

invited to the exhibition’s opening reception from 6 to 8 pm. The exhibition includes work by Mona Cliff, Wansoo Kim, Hùng Lê, Jada Patterson, Jason Wang, and Aleah Washington, and runs through February 3, 2024.

For centuries craft practices have been passed from generation to generation

keeping traditions alive and preserving history, while building communities through the making process. These shared practices are a testament to the resilience and perseverance of many cultures throughout the world.

The six artists in the exhibition use craft traditions to carry on generational practices while unearthing aspects of their own histories within a broader historical and artistic context.

Mona Cliff is an Aniiih, Nakota, and Eastern European artist whose beadwork and fabric applique are the foundation of her practice and heavily based in generational knowledge. Hung Le combines textile traditions with photography to examine his family history in the backdrop of the Việt Nam War and their immigration to the United States. Material culture and personal histories are at the center of Jada Patterson’s work. Using braided sweetgrass, Patterson references ritualistic healing and imparts power onto the mundane object. Wansoo Kim uses traditional ceramic Korean vessel forms and unorthodox ornamentation, to invite viewers to consider the revealed and the hidden, the internal versus the external. By embellishing the inside of his vessels, he reminds us to examine what is beyond outward appearances. Jason Wang draws on his Chinese heritage to create functional ceramic vessels

that revolve around experiencing community. His textured teapots, cups and

saucers, are intended to create a sensory experience that invokes a strong

emotional response to further dialogue about identity, mental health, and

mindfulness. Aleah Washington explores identity, environment, and community

through her abstract wall hangings and functional ceramic work. She shares

personal memories and reflects on shared histories using bold color on her quilted wall hangings and stitched pattern designs on her ceramics.

The artists in the exhibition demonstrate a command of craft and a deep

understanding of their role in safeguarding craft traditions and histories.

For high-resolution images of the artists’ work and a pdf of this press release, click here.