Image: John Steuart Curry (1897 – 1946), Sunrise (Sunrise over Kansas) detail, 1935, mixed-media on canvas, Friends of the Beach Museum of Art purchase, 1996.18
Sunrise over Kansas: John Steuart Curry June 29, 2021 – February 28, 2022
Dramatic weather plays a significant role in Regionalist John Steuart Curry’s art, especially as a symbol of menace. Less recognized is the importance of another event in nature—the sunrise—in Curry’s oeuvre. The celestial motif is explored in this exhibition of the artist’s paintings, prints and drawings. The exhibition pays tribute to the museum’s 1935 painting, Sunrise over Kansas, which suffered discoloration of its sun as a result of the artist’s experiments with materials and now has been conserved.
Image: John Steuart Curry (1897 – 1946), Sunrise (Sunrise over Kansas), 1935, mixed-media on canvas, Friends of the Beach Museum of Art purchase, 1996.18
Gordon Parks: “Homeward to the Prairie I Come” September 7, 2021 – May 28, 2022
This exhibition features photographs donated by Parks to Kansas State University (K-State) in Manhattan, Kansas, in 1973. It was the first time that the artist personally curated a set of photographs to donate to a public institution, a kind of self-portrait directed towards the home crowd. The exhibition title includes the first line of a poem written by Parks in 1984, commissioned by and published in the Manhattan Mercury. K-State’s New Prairie Press will publish an accompanying open-access digital catalogue with new research on Parks and Kansas.
Image: Gordon Parks, Pool Hall (Fort Scott, Kansas), 1950, printed in 2017, gelatin silver print, gift of Gordon Parks and the Gordon Parks Foundation, 2017.445
Doug Barrett: Find Your Voice September 7, 2021 – May 28, 2022
Jason holding a sign as he and his siblings and family march in Junction City KS in Heritage Park.
Barrett is a photographer and videographer based in Manhattan, Kansas. His work demonstrates how Gordon Parks continues to inspire contemporary artists. Barrett’s projects include interviewing, photographing, and telling the stories of homeless veterans, creating a collective portrait of the Yuma Street community of Manhattan, Kansas, and documenting the Black Lives Matter movement in Kansas.
Image: Will the hate end? from the series George Floyd Protest, 2020, digital print, 32 x 22 in., 2020.20
Upcoming programs
Please check beach.k-state.edu/calendar for the most updated information on programs and events.
Sept. 16, 2021:Gallery Talk with artist Doug Barrett
Sept. 30, 2021:Let’s Talk Art with Kirk Sharp
Beach Film Club virtual discussions, Wednesdays 7:30 p.m. Central Time US and Canada.
Two by Two: Animal Pairs Virtual exhibition launch: March 30, 2021 Gallery exhibition: June 15 – December 18, 2021
The American Library Association Summer Reading theme for 2021 is “Tales and Tails,” with a focus on animal stories. This exhibition will offer the viewers some surprising pairings of artworks by regional and international artists.
Animals have long been the subject of myths, legends and histories. Noah loads his ark with creatures, “two by two,” before the great Biblical flood. Aurochs and Wooly Mammoths in the caves of Lascaux hint
at the beliefs of early peoples. Animalistic deities populate an ancient world from the Egyptian god Horus with the head of a falcon to the Greek god Zeus who visits earth as a swan. In Native American legends animals personify spirits such as the turtle who represents mother earth. Artworks in the exhibition picture such storied animals as well as farm animals,
pets and circus performers. All of the works provide a chance to learn more about world cultures, literature, and science.
Two by Two: Animal Pairs will be the inspiration for summer ARTSmart classes and spring and fall 2021 school programming.
Gold Sponsors: Dan and Beth Bird | Bronze Sponsors: Mary Cottom and Jo Lyle
John Frederick Helm, Jr., Mallard, ca. 1939, aquatint with drypoint
on paper, gift of Mary Brownell Helm, 1985.115
Rose Chino Garcia, Duck effigy bowl, early 20th century, earthenware
with pigment, gift of Mel and Mary Cottom, 2012.186
Waylande Gregory (1905-1971), a native of Baxter Springs, Kansas, was one of the most innovative and prolific Art Deco ceramic sculptors of the early 20th century. His groundbreaking techniques enabled him to create monumental ceramic sculptures that had not previously been possible, including his Fountain of the Atom for the 1939 New York World’s Fair—a tribute to atomic energy that earned the attention of Albert Einstein. Gregory also developed revolutionary glazing and processing methods and was an important figure in the studio glass movement.
Related upcoming virtual event
“Waylande Gregory and Cowan Pottery Studio”
Livestream lecture by Greg Hatch, curator/historian, Cowan Pottery Museum
Thursday, February 18, 2021, 5:30 p.m.
Waylande Gregory (1905-1971), a native of Baxter Springs, Kansas, was one of the most innovative and prolific Art Deco ceramic sculptors of the early 20th century. His groundbreaking techniques enabled him to create monumental ceramic sculptures that had not previously been possible, including his Fountain of the Atom for the 1939 New York World’s Fair—a tribute to atomic energy that earned the attention of Albert Einstein. Gregory also developed revolutionary glazing and processing methods and was an important figure in the studio glass movement.
“Waylande Gregory and the New York World’s Fair”
Livestream lecture by Robert W. Rydell, professor of American Studies, Montana State University
Thursday, November 12, 5:30 p.m.
“Waylande Gregory and Cowan Pottery Studio”
Livestream lecture by Greg Hatch, curator/historian, Cowan Pottery Museum
Thursday, February 18, 2021, 5:30 p.m.
Upcoming programs
