Reuben Saunders Gallery

"Special Delivery" - AARON MORGAN BROWN
2024-07-05 10:00 - 2024-07-27 16:00 (America/Chicago)
This solo-exhibition will feature new artworks in our main gallery space by local artist, Aaron Morgan Brown!
We hope you will join us for our opening reception on First Friday, July 5th from 5:30pm – 9:00pm!

R. Todd Slawson
2024-07-05 10:00 - 2024-07-27 16:00
This solo-exhibition will feature photographs in our east alcove gallery space by local artist, R. Todd Slawson!
We hope you will join us for our opening reception on First Friday, July 5th from 5:30pm – 9:00pm!

Summer Shift
2024-08-02 10:00 - 2024-08-31 16:00
Join us for the opening of “Summer Shift”, a sensory journey through a collection of new abstract, landscape, and portrait artworks by local & regional artists.
We hope you will join us for the opening receptions on First Friday, August 2nd from 5:00pm – 8:00pm!
FEATURED ARTISTS:

Charles Baughman
Curt Clonts
Kristin Goering
Sara Grant
Brian Hinkle
Kevin Kelly
Cally Krallman
Jason Needham
Beverly Dodge Radefeld
Kate VanSteenhuyse
Jocelyn Woodson

This exhibition is on display until Saturday, August 31st 2024

"All In A Day's Work" - MICHAEL McCAFFREY
2024-09-06 10:00 - 2024-09-28 16:00
This solo-exhibition will feature artworks by Lawrence artist, Michael McCaffrey!
We hope you will join us for our opening reception on First Friday, September 6th from 5:00pm – 8:00pm!

WICHITA NATIONAL CERAMICS INVITATIONAL
2024-10-04 10:00 - 2024-10-26 16:00
Since the inception of the Craft National in 1946 to the Wichita National, ceramics have played an important role in establishing clay as art. From early visits by iconic clay artist Shoji Hamada, Betty Woodman, and Bernard Leach to later modern master like Peter Voulkos and Jun Kaneko, Wichita has been a central hub in the national clay picture. Reuben Saunders Gallery has been in the heart of the Wichita Art Community since 1978. With the reestablishment of the new Wichita Ceramics National, the tradition will be reborn and clay artists young and old will lift the show to new heights. A portion of all sales will be donated to Empty Bowls Wichita to help fight food insecurity!

Empty Bowls Project, an international, artist-driven, grassroots movement helps combat hunger. Ceramic artists from around the globe enlist communities to make bowls to raise food insecurity awareness and provide funding for food pantries.

JUDGE: Chris Staley
Well respected in his field, Chris Staley taught at WSU from 1985-1989. He then joined Penn State in 1990, earning Penn State’s Distinguished Professor award in 2008 and honored as the 2012-2013 Penn State laureate. He has participated on the school boards of the Archie Bray Foundation, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, and as a past president of NCECA. He is currently working on a book on life and art.
VISTING ARTIST: Lisa Orr
Lisa Orr is a professional potter and has been a student of ceramics for more than 40 years. After completing her MFA in 1993 at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, she received a Fulbright and an MAAA/NEA grant to continue her studies. Her work is shown in numerous public and private collections including the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, and the permanent collection of WOCEF in Korea.

FEATURED CERAMIC ARTISTS:

Ben Ahlvers
Meg Beaudoin
Nolan Baumgartner
Sam Chung
Bede Clarke
Cary Esser
Julia Galloway
Chris Gustin
Kenyon Hansen
Doug Herren
Trey Hill
Randy Johnston
Eva Kwong
Justin Lambert
Eiko Maeda
Kirk Mangus
Janina Myronowa
Sam Scott
Matt Towers

SHOW DATES:
October 3rd, 2024 – VIP Opening/Patron Preview
October 4th, 2024 – Public Opening at RSG
October 26th, 2024 – Last day of Exhibition

ARTIST TALK: Brenda Lichman & Ted Adler
2024-10-17 18:00 - 19:00
Brenda Lichman & Ted Adler will be discussing the various techniques, materials, concepts, and themes represented throughout the Wichita National Ceramics Invitational!

We hope to see you on Thursday, October 17th, 6:00pm – 7:00pm!

This event is free and open to the public!
WNCI Exhibition Opening | First Friday
October 4th from 5:30pm ━ 9:00pm
Exhibitions Run | October 4th ━ 26th, 2024

"Two Old Friends Under the Influence; One For the Road" - MARKO FIELDS & DIEGO VALLES
2024-11-01 10:00 - 2024-11-27 17:30
This exhibition will feature artworks by ceramic artists, Marko Fields & Diego Valles!
We hope you will join us for our opening reception on First Friday, November 1st from 5:00pm – 8:00pm!

NORTH AND EAST
2024-12-06 08:00 - 2025-01-25 16:00
This exhibition will feature new artworks by a group of Lawrence artists!
We hope you will join us for our opening reception on First Friday, December 6th from 5:00pm – 8:00pm!
FEATURED ARTISTS:

Ben Ahlvers
Brian Horsch
Danny Meisinger
Diana Meisinger
Molly Murphy
Javy Ortis
Rachael Sudlow
Kathy Suprenant
Jen Unekis
Shantel Wright

"Lover's Eyes Deux" - Sara Grant
2025-02-07 10:00 - 2025-03-29 16:00
This solo-exhibition will feature miniature “eye” artworks by local artist, Sara Grant!
We hope you will join us for our opening reception on First Friday, February 7th from 5:00pm – 8:00pm!
Exhibition on display: FEBRUARY 7th – MARCH 29th, 2025

"My Home to Yours" - Notable Works from the Estate of Andy Kenyon"
2025-02-07 17:00 - 2025-03-07 16:00
Our main gallery area will be featuring a large collection of ceramic artworks in “My Home to Yours” – Notable Works from the Estate of Andy Kenyon!

Andy Kenyon dedicated his life to the pursuit of ceramics, shaping not only clay but also the lives of those around him. His journey began with traditional academia, but his true calling emerged when he discovered the transformative power of working with his hands. After studying ceramics at community colleges in St. Louis, he was accepted into the Kansas City Art Institute in 1974, where he trained under the renowned Ken Ferguson, earning his BFA in 1976. He continued his studies at Wichita State University under Richard St. John, completing his MFA in 1978.

Andy’s passion for ceramics was deeply personal—an extension of his curiosity, craftsmanship, and quiet resilience. This is reflected in his collection, a testament to his love for the material and the artistry of those who shaped it. Spanning a diverse range of ceramic techniques and styles, the collection includes works by renowned artists such as Cary Esser, Ken Ferguson, John Glick, Clary Illian, Randy Johnston, Jeff Oestreich, Chris Staley, Byron Temple, and many more.

This exhibition is a tribute to Andy’s artistry and spirit. Each piece in this collection holds a part of his story, waiting to find a new home where it will be cherished, used, and loved—just as he would have wanted.

“My Home to Yours” – Notable Works from the Estate of Andy Kenyon | Exhibition runs February 7th through March 1st, 2025

ARTIST TALK: Sara Grant, Ted Adler, & Bruce VanOsdel
2025-02-26 18:00 - 19:00
Join us for a special artist talk featuring Ted Adler and Bruce VanOsdel as they discuss the techniques and artistic significance of works from Andy Kenyon’s estate collection in the exhibition “My Home to Yours”. This event offers a unique opportunity to gain insight into the craftsmanship and legacy of Andy’s curated works.

Additionally, local colored pencil artist Sara Grant will share insights into her creative process and inspirations behind her work in “Lover’s Eyes Deux”.

We hope you’ll join us for these engaging conversations.

This event is free and open to the public!

—“My Home to Yours” – Notable Works from the Estate of Andy Kenyon | Exhibition runs February 7th through March 1st, 2025

—“Lover’s Eyes Deux” – Sara Grant | Exhibition runs February 7th through March 29th, 2025

In collaboration with De Buck Gallery: Devan Shimoyama
2025-02-27 08:00 - 2025-06-16 16:00
In celebration of Devan Shimoyama we are collaborating with De Buck Gallery in New York, and are honored to offer collectors the opportunity to acquire works by Devan Shimoyama, currently on view at the Ulrich Museum of Art on the Wichita State University campus. Shimoyama’s work, inspired by classical mythology and the cultural influences of his youth, blends intricate embellishments with deeply personal narratives. His mixed media canvases celebrate identity, queerness, and transformation, transporting viewers to mesmerizing, dreamlike spaces.
For inquiries or to schedule a consultation, please contact trish@reubensaundersgallery.com.
Don’t forget, the Ulrich Museum will be hosting an artist talk with Devan Shimoyama in conjunction with his Spring 2025 exhibition, Devan Shimoyama: Rituals. An award-winning contemporary multidisciplinary artist, Shimoyama will share insights into his creative process, themes of vulnerability and metamorphosis, and the diverse cultural narratives that shape his work.
This free program will take place on February 27th at 6:00 p.m. in McKnight Art Center, Room 210 (WSU Campus).
(Artist Profile Image by: Zac Riggleman)

"Transmutación" - Armando Minjarez
2025-03-07 10:00 - 2025-03-29 16:00
Armando MinjarezB. 1986, Chihuahua, Mexico.
Armando Minjarez is a Mexican interdisciplinary artist, designer, and community organizer. His practice is guided by themes of displacement, collaboration, and empowerment to open spacefor the development of social change strategy, creative expression, and liberation for racialized communities.
Armando has presented work and conducted research on racism, displacement, migration and creative expression in Canada, USA, Mexico, and throughout Europe, and his creative and community work has been featured on major news publications and published in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
—Exhibition Statement:
My fascination with the built environment draws me to the smallest, often overlooked details of everyday objects—the threading on a plastic lid, the mold seams of a spray bottle, the subtle curves of a water bottle spout. This close examination of ubiquitous, machine-made objects designed by humans serves as the foundation for my exploration of form.
The works in this exhibition do not center on a single narrative but rather engage with everything that surrounds us—human-made objects shaped by machine-made processes, ultimately conceived by human hands.
Familiar forms linger at the edge of recognition: a detergent bottle, a pile of clothes, a stack of mail, a Tupperware container. Suspended between the mundane and the abstract, they invitecontemplation and stillness.
—Artist Statement:
“Over the years, I have assembled a vast alphabet of shapes and forms—an ever-growing vocabulary scattered across my studio. Disparate objects gather on shelves and tables, quietlyconversing, forming relationships with one another. Over time, these connections emerge as compositions of familiar forms—fragments of memory, imperfect and mended, stitched together and transmuted. The metal shelf, once a vessel of pure function, becomes something else entirely—a repository where objects meet, a quiet archive of shifting meanings”
—EXHIBITION ON DISPLAY MARCH 7th – MARCH 29th, 2025

ARTIST TALK: Armando Minjarez
2025-03-12 18:00 - 19:00
Join us for a special artist talk featuring Armando Minjarez as he discusses the techniques and artistic significance of works from his solo exhibition, “Transmutación”. This event offers a unique opportunity to gain insight into the creative process, artistic influences, and the meaning embedded in his work.

We hope you’ll join us for this engaging conversation!

This event is free and open to the public!

—-

Armando MinjarezB. 1986, Chihuahua, Mexico.

Armando Minjarez is a Mexican interdisciplinary artist, designer, and community organizer. His practice is guided by themes of displacement, collaboration, and empowerment to open spacefor the development of social change strategy, creative expression, and liberation for racialized communities.
Armando has presented work and conducted research on racism, displacement, migration and creative expression in Canada, USA, Mexico, and throughout Europe, and his creative and community work has been featured on major news publications and published in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

—Exhibition Statement:
My fascination with the built environment draws me to the smallest, often overlooked details of everyday objects—the threading on a plastic lid, the mold seams of a spray bottle, the subtle curves of a water bottle spout. This close examination of ubiquitous, machine-made objects designed by humans serves as the foundation for my exploration of form.
The works in this exhibition do not center on a single narrative but rather engage with everything that surrounds us—human-made objects shaped by machine-made processes, ultimately conceived by human hands.
Familiar forms linger at the edge of recognition: a detergent bottle, a pile of clothes, a stack of mail, a Tupperware container. Suspended between the mundane and the abstract, they invitecontemplation and stillness.

—Artist Statement:
“Over the years, I have assembled a vast alphabet of shapes and forms—an ever-growing vocabulary scattered across my studio. Disparate objects gather on shelves and tables, quietlyconversing, forming relationships with one another. Over time, these connections emerge as compositions of familiar forms—fragments of memory, imperfect and mended, stitched together and transmuted. The metal shelf, once a vessel of pure function, becomes something else entirely—a repository where objects meet, a quiet archive of shifting meanings”

—EXHIBITION ON DISPLAY MARCH 7th – MARCH 29th, 2025

—
Photo By: Hugo Zelada Romero

"Tangled Roots"- Christina Rodriguez, Michael Pointer, Scott Randol
2025-04-04 10:00 - 2025-04-26 16:00
This group exhibition will feature new artworks by local & regional artists, Christina Renee Rodriguez, Michael Pointer, Scott Randol

We hope you will join us for our opening reception on First Friday, April 4th from 5:00pm – 8:00pm

CHRISTINA RENEE RODRIGUEZ:
(b.1968 Newton, Kansas) Rodriguez is an intuitive, contemplative photographer. Autodidactic by nature, with a voracious appetite for learning, Rodriguez is wholly un-indoctrinated. “Photography brings me joy and fulfillment. There is a certain kind of awareness that is gained through looking longer, closer and deeper at the world. Intuition sharpens, creativity sparks and imagination is set free to explore infinite possibilities.” Rodriguez pushes the limits of her art through exploration of materials, concepts, visual boundaries and process (both analog and digital). She endeavors to make quality, innovative, unique and thought-provoking imagery. “I ask the viewer to join me on a creative journey— to step with me into the secret, magical, strangeness that lingers beneath the world of appearance.”
Rodriguez has received many awards including Critical Mass Top 200, 2024. She has exhibited nationally in galleries and museums across the country and is held in private collections nationally and internationally.

MICHAEL POINTER:
Michael Pointer is a fourth-generation artist. He received his first camera at age nine and began working in the darkroom when he was twelve. He has won numerous awards for photography and drawing, as well as exhibiting extensively in the United States, Taiwan, and Europe. After a solo exhibit in Wichita, Kansas he was invited to teach Photography at Wichita State University, he taught there for three years. He is best known for his large scale semi-abstract analog photography work. In 2009 Pointer lived in Afghanistan supporting a free dental clinic in Kabul and working with the Center for Contemporary Arts Afghanistan. Until recently he served CCAA as an advisory board member.

“My work is generally about the relationship between painting to photography. The images in this exhibit are explorations of organic forms and other miscellany played against the wooden grid of a large vintage paper cutter. They provide interesting visual textures. Each piece works to expand photographic language through the combined influence of abstract composition played against real photography. I have titled the pieces with familiar song titles so that the viewer, if they are familiar with the music, will hear the song in their head which will facilitate a connection between my mind and theirs. I have always been involved with the surface of my paper, often showing swathes of gelatin silver paper torn at either end. I want the viewer to experience my paper in the way I do. Using encaustic to finish these images lets me work that surface further and enhance metaphorical possibilities.”

SCOTT RANDOL:
Scott Randol is a sculptor from Kansas City, MO. Before he identified as a sculptor, Randol spent his working career in union jobs to support his family but began exploring his artistic questions independently in sculpture classes and through internships with working artists. Instead of attending college, Randol spent his early artistic career in the studio with other sculptors, such as John Beasley, Kwan Wu, Elden and Kim Tefft, and Robin Richerson. He learned casting methods and foundry work a little over time with the help of books from the local library, mentors, and lessons from constructing his own blast furnace in 1987. His sculptures start conversations about nature, history, and the human ability to create art from any available tools. Today, Randol’s work has appeared throughout the area in galleries, Union Station, private residences, business lobbies and offices. Scott Randol lives in the KC area with his wife and experiments with new sculptural methods in his fire-proof garage.

“Working mostly in bronze, Scott makes sculptures in his own facility. Inspired by nature, history and archeology, valuing inspiration by the imagination above all. His sculptures exist as physical representations of a deeply contemplative practice.”

"Into the Garden" - Denita Benyshek
2025-04-04 10:00 - 2025-04-26 16:00
This solo-exhibition will feature nature themed artworks by local artist, Denita Benyshek.
We hope you will join us for our opening reception on First Friday, April 4th from 5:00pm – 8:00pm!

INTO THE GARDEN:
After living in the Cascade Mountains for 25 years, Denita Benyshek returned to Wichita in 2022, with her son.
OpenStudios selected Benyshek as the artist-in-residence for Botanica. Benyshek’s son has difficulty walking,
with constant pain. Anticipating multiple surgeries, her son asked her to plant a garden around their home, so
that he could sit in the garden and enjoy nature. So, Benyshek began designing and planting a new garden
around their 1930s home in Crown Heights.
While Benyshek’s son recovered from surgery, she went into the garden with a cup of coffee, for a moment of
respite from caregiving. Inspired by the beauty of flowers, plants, and trees, Benyshek brought her
watercolors, inks, and gouache paints outside. With her two poodles nearby, she painted, representing
morning and evening light, conveying the magic of growth, and celebrating life, through transparent veils of
overlapping color. Her dance training is evident in graceful lines and gestures, her musicianship in the rhythm
of colors and brush strokes. When completing a painting indoors, at night, she is usually singing.
Vibrating and glowing, the plants, trees, and rocks are depicted in the act of taking form, in an emergent,
transformational stage of “that which is coming into being.” In these small scale, intimate paintings, the viewer
may enter a world that is dynamic yet peaceful, ecstatic and calm, pausing for a still moment in the fleeting,
sweep of time.
ARTIST BIO:
In early childhood, Dr. Benyshek lived in a farmhouse, amidst a Czech immigrant community in Kansas. She
earned a BFA (Wichita State University), an MFA (University of Washington), and a graduate certificate in the
psychology of creativity, MA and PhD in humanistic and transpersonal psychology (Saybrook University).
Benyshek attended the Pilchuck Glass School on a full scholarship and was an artist-in-resident at the Ucross
Foundation, Wyoming. For 15 years, she taught visual art and dance in the bush villages of Alaska. Her
research focuses on contemporary artists as shamans, with publications in the USA, UK, Poland, Hungary,
and China.
Her artworks were included in group exhibits in west coast museums (Bellevue Museum of Art, Whatcom
Museum of History and Art, Yakima Valley Museum, Coos Bay Museum, Corvallis Art Center, Museum of NW
Art), with solo exhibits in Seattle, WA, Portland, OR, Sun Valley, ID, Wichita, KS, and Santa Fe, NM. Dr.
Benyshek’s work is in the public art collections of the University of Washington Medical Center, Harborview
Medical Center, King County Ethnic Heritage Collection, Glasmuseet (Glass Museum) of Ebeltoft, Denmark,
and Snoqualmie Point Park. In 2022, OpenStudios selected Benyshek as the Botanica gardens artist-in
residence, in 2024, she was awarded a Koch Cultural Trust enabling grant, and, in 2025, Benyshek received
an artist access grant from Wichita Arts Council.
Friday, April 11, 2025, 6:00pm, Dr. Benyshek will present a lecture on “Contemporary Artists as Shamans:
Near and Far,” at Harvester Arts, 120 E First St N, Wichita. The presentation includes the story of the garden
paintings and the creation of the book of poetry, Into the Garden.
Her work will be featured at the Clio Art Fair, New York City, May 8-11, with a solo exhibit in the main gallery of
the University of Michigan medical center, September 8 – December 5, 2025. Coreopsis: A Journal of Myth
and Theater will feature an interview with Dr. Benyshek in the spring 2025 issue.

ARTIST TALK: Christina Rodriguez, Michael Pointer, Scott Randol, Denita Benyshek
2025-04-16 18:00 - 19:00
Join us for a special artist talk featuring Christina Rodriguez, Michael Pointer, Scott Randol, Denita Benyshek as they discuss the techniques and artistic significance of works from their exhibitions, “Tangled Roots” & “Into the Garden”. This event offers a unique opportunity to gain insight into the creative process, artistic influences, and the meaning embedded in these artworks.

We hope you’ll join us for this engaging conversations!

This event is free and open to the public!

"I Am Poppy" - Curt Clonts
2025-05-02 10:00 - 2025-05-31 16:00
This solo-exhibition will feature new artworks by local artist, Curt Clonts!
We hope you will join us for our opening reception on First Friday, May 2nd from 5:00pm – 8:00pm!

ARTIST TALK: Curt Clonts
2025-05-06 08:00 - 17:00
Join us for a special artist talk featuring Curt Clonts as he discusses the techniques and artistic significance of works from his solo-exhibition, “I Am Poppy”!
This event offers a unique opportunity to gain insight into the creative process, artistic influences, and the meaning embedded in these artworks.
We hope you’ll join us for this engaging conversation!
This event is free and open to the public!
—-
“I Am Poppy” by Curt Clonts will be on Display May 2nd – May 31st, 2025

"Strange Places" - Nick Gadbois & Jonathan Fitz
2025-06-06 10:00 - 2025-06-28 16:00
“Strange Places” will feature new artworks by painter Nick Gadbois & ceramicist Jonathan Fitz! We hope you will join us for our opening reception on First Friday, June 6th from 5:00pm – 8:00pm!

ARTIST TALK: Nick Gadbois
2025-06-17 18:00 - 19:00
Join us for a special artist talk featuring Nick Gadbois as he discusses the techniques and artistic significance of works from June’s exhibition, “Strange Places”!
This event offers a unique opportunity to gain insight into the creative process, artistic influences, and the meaning embedded in these artworks.
We hope you’ll join us for this engaging conversation.
This event is free and open to the public.
See you there!

WICHITA CERAMIC REGIONAL EXHIBITION: Pots with Purpose - Call for Entry!
2025-06-19 08:00 - 2025-09-05 17:00
🎉 CALL FOR ENTRY: Wichita Ceramic Regional 2025 🎉We’re thrilled to announce the Call for Entry for the Wichita Ceramic Regional Exhibition! This juried show will run October 3 – November 1, 2025, and we’re inviting ceramic artists from across the Central Plains Region to apply!
🟠 Eligibility:Open to artists 18+ living in Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and Colorado
🟠 Juror: Ben Ahlvers🟠 Cash Awards: $5,000 total🟠 Entry Deadline: September 5, 2025
Submit your work through CaFÉTM (🔗 CLICK LINK HERE TO APPLY!)
Let’s celebrate the diverse voices and visions shaping contemporary ceramics in our region!📍Hosted by Reuben Saunders Gallery, Wichita, KS

"Art In Life" - James Borger & Chris Alveshere
2025-07-11 17:00 - 2025-07-26 16:00
We’re excited to announce our upcoming show, “Art In Life,” featuring the bold stillscape paintings of James Borger and the whimsical, playful ceramics of Chris Alveshere.
Borger’s work highlights his transition from depicting everyday objects in outdoor stillscapes to interior scenes with abstract backgrounds. Alveshere’s colorful pottery infuses humor and charm into functional forms.
PLEASE NOTE: we won’t be open on First Friday due to the July 4th holiday—but we invite you to join us for our Second Friday opening reception on July 11th, from 5:00pm to 8:00pm!
We look forward to sharing this lively, imaginative exhibition with you!

"ECHOES" - Jane Booth
2025-08-01 10:00 - 2025-08-30 16:00
“ECHOES” will feature new paintings by Kansas City artist, Jane Booth! We hope you will join us for our opening reception on First Friday, August 1st from 5:00pm – 8:00pm!
Booth will be giving a special set of remarks starting at 6:00pm — stop by early to hear more about her process, inspiration, and the powerful work in this new series.

“There are two polarities that I gravitate towards in my work: one is primordial and atmospheric whereas the other is earthier and teems with form and story.
In the first modality, paint is used in thin veils that allude to vast universal space, an act of listening rather than speaking. Thinned pigments are pushed and poured into raw canvas in various stages of wet-to-dry.
The second modality has a more personal, defined locus, made of thicker paint that is detailed and charged, a discourse about the physicality and experience of the carnal. Images emerge in a steady stream, immediate and raw, recorded with stick, brush, palms of hands, spray paint, pencil, screwdriver crammed with an array of sensory and intellectual experiences.
The swing between the two forms of self-expression keeps me in a state of discovery: fresh; uncomfortable and alert. Comfort zones are cemeteries for paintings, whereas discovery is awkward and exhilarating, with no place to hide.” – Jane Booth

"WONDERLAND" - Susan Tinker & William Tinker
2025-09-05 10:00 - 2025-09-27 16:00
“WONDERLAND” will feature new nature-inspired paintings by Overland Park artists, Susan & William Tinker! We hope you will join us for our opening reception on First Friday, September 5th from 5:00pm – 8:00pm!

“We are living in wonderland: Ice storms, prairie winds, blazing heat, verdant fields of plants under a giant sun, flowers, birds, bugs and butterflies. All the varied and sanguine visions in the vast midwestern setting.
The artworks in this exhibition focus on improvisations of the typical Midwest landscape.
As artists, we create personal compilations from the intricate microcosm so often overlooked in our technological world.”
– William Tinker & Susan Lawrence Tinker

WICHITA CERAMIC REGIONAL EXHIBITION: Pots with Purpose
2025-10-03 17:00 - 2025-11-01 16:00
“WICHITA CERAMICS REGIONAL EXHIBITION: Pots with Purpose” will feature stunning ceramic artworks from around the region.

We hope you will join us for our opening reception on First Friday, October 3rd from 5:00pm – 8:00pm!

This event is in conjunction with Empty Bowls – Wichita.

FEATURED ARTISTS:
Allison Achtenhagen
Betsy Alwin
Stuart Asprey
Troy Becker
Morgana Bee
Ben Bernard
Angel Brame
Kim Brook
Susan Brownlee
Teresa Calvert
Emily Chamberlain
Spencer Cheek
Trisha Coates
Nicole Copel
Kaitlyn Cushing
Brenden Dreiling
Stephen Durham
Bambi Freeman
Rain Harris
Amy Henson
Benjie Heu
Eric Hoefer
Brian Horsch
Brenda Jones
Qwist Joseph
Phyll Klima
David Mai
Monette Mark
Marshall Maude
Andrew McIntyre
Cara McKinley
William McKinney
Edel Miller
Elisabeth Owens
Tyler Quintin
Marilyn Smith
Kyla Strid
Tina Thomas
Andrew Tran
Von Vanhuizen
Jason Wang

ARTIST TALK: Brenda Lichman & Ted Adler
2025-10-21 18:00 - 19:00
Join us for an Artist Talk with Brenda Lichman & Ted Adler on Tuesday, October 21st from 6:00pm – 7:00pm!

—-Brenda Lichman, Curator of Education at Ulrich Museum of Art, & Ted Adler, Professor of Ceramic Media at Wichita State University will be discussing the various techniques, materials, concepts, and themes represented throughout the WICHITA CERAMIC REGIONAL EXHIBITION: Pots with Purpose!
This event is free and open to the public!

This event is in conjunction with Empty Bowls Wichita!

—-The Wichita National Ceramics Invitational has partnered with Empty Bowls Project, an international, artist-driven, grassroots movement that helps combat hunger. Ceramic artists from around the globe enlist communities to make bowls to raise food insecurity awareness and provide funding for food pantries.
A portion of all sales will be donated to Empty Bowls Wichita to help fight food insecurity!

—-FEATURED ARTISTS:
Allison Achtenhagen
Betsy Alwin
Stuart Asprey
Troy Becker
Morgana Bee
Ben Bernard
Angel Brame
Kim Brook
Susan Brownlee
Teresa Calvert
Emily Chamberlain
Spencer Cheek
Trisha Coates
Nicole Copel
Kaitlyn Cushing
Brenden Dreiling
Stephen Durham
Bambi Freeman
Rain Harris
Amy Henson
Benjie Heu
Eric Hoefer
Brian Horsch
Brenda Jones
Qwist Joseph
Phyll Klima
David Mai
Monette Mark
Marshall Maude
Andrew McIntyre
Cara McKinley
William McKinney
Edel Miller
Elisabeth Owens
Tyler Quintin
Marilyn Smith
Kyla Strid
Tina Thomas
Andrew Tran
Von Vanhuizen
Jason Wang

—-“WICHITA CERAMIC REGIONAL EXHIBITION: Pots with Purpose” | Exhibition runs October 3rd – November 1st, 2025

"As Above, So Below" - Philip Heying
2025-11-07 17:00 - 2025-11-29 17:00
This exhibition will feature stunning photographs by Matfield Green artist, Philip Heying! We hope you will join us for our opening reception on First Friday, November 7th from 5:00pm – 8:00pm!

—Photographer Philip Heying, born in 1959 in Kansas City, Missouri, developed a passion for photography during middle school, mastering black and white film and print development. After earning a BFA in painting in 1983 from the University of Kansas, he transitioned uniquely to photography after having seen the work of Lewis Baltz and Robert Frank during his senior year.

In Lawrence, Kansas, he formed a significant friendship with writer William S. Burroughs, influencing his shift to photography. In 1985, Philip travelled to Paris and ended up residing there, on and off until 1997, for a total of ten years. The experience of being a foreigner fundamentally informed his photographic practice.Back in Kansas City for a year in 1986, he began a career in commercial photography, joining the Kansas City Society for Contemporary Photography.

Collaborating with Burroughs on a series of collaged paintings in 1987, he exhibited his own work in Paris in 1988 with a solo show at Galerie Agathe Gaillard, leading to a residency at the Cartier Foundation and sales in France. Since that show he has consistently exhibited his work internationally.

Returning to the U.S. in 1997, he worked as an assistant for Irving Penn for four years, eventually undertaking his own freelance editorial photography career based in Brooklyn by 2001. He maintained friendship with Penn until his passing in 2009. During these years, he also worked closely with Joel Meyerowitz making guide prints for Meyerowitz’s book “Tuscany: Inside the Light” in 2003.

In 2010, he completed the book project “CODE” and a series titled Unimproved Land Northeast Kansas. From 2010 to 2019, Philip taught at Johnson County Community College and had examples of his work acquired by the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art’s permanent collection.

In 2019, he finished “A Visual Archaeology of the Anthropocene,” addressing human influence on the environment. He then moved to Matfield Green, Kansas. In 2021, he received a Guggenheim Fellowship, focusing on his photography of the tallgrass prairie. His current project, “A Survey of Elemental Gratitude,” explores grassland ecology’s enduring vitality and the hope it might imply for the future.

—EXHIBITION STATEMENT:

Without the space of the Great Plains, our imaginations would be deprived of a potent metaphor for possibility, abundance, and resilience. To spend time living in a grassland is to become subliminally connected to the central alchemical idea: As above, so below. The intermingling of forms, the echoes and symmetries of processes that determine and permeate these forms, are constantly apparent. Citizens of the prairie become intimate with otherwise unfathomable temporal and spatial scales.

Over this infinitely complex and interdependent tapestry of life, modern human industry has imposed a Cartesian grid, defined by capital. Borders and property lines only serve to constrain certain economic and cultural activities. Ownership is entirely a cultural construct. Its enforcement requires the constant threat of violence. The modern era of the Great Plains is, in some ways, characterized by barbed wire. As Teju Cole has pointed out, “There is no such thing as an innocent photograph of the American landscape.” Ownership implies, in part, a history of genocide and dispossession, death and life.

Walking this land leads me to feel a visceral connection to the lives that faced this dreadful history. I am now living in the place where this happened. At the same time I feel this connection, it also represents an impenetrable chasm between my life and the lost knowledge that led to its creation. What does it take to live in a place, as an integral part of the life of that place, without depleting it? I find myself trying to imagine what such a life would be like and trying to create photographs that feed such imaginings.

We need new stories about our place in the world and how we act in it. These new stories need to shift our values to be inclusive of all the things we currently only consider as “externalities.” I intend my pictures of the prairie to symbolically evoke the fundamental ground from which we evolved, as a basis for reimagining our interactions with the world and each other, at a time when humanity is critically stressing planetary boundaries in ways that pose severe risks. I believe this is a matter of utmost urgency. We are inundated with news of catastrophe and with dystopian cinematic visions of the future, yet images of a future that is vibrant, resilient, and beautiful are far less common. While exploring the region around my home, I’ve come to understand it as containing visual evidence for the irrefutable reality of great promise, — if only we are willing to expand our imaginations and recognize our connection to its vitality.

ARTIST TALK: Philip Heying
2025-11-12 06:00 - 19:00
Join us for a special artist talk featuring Philip Heying as he discusses the techniques and artistic significance of works from November’s exhibition, “As Above, So Below”!
This event offers a unique opportunity to gain insight into the creative process, artistic influences, and the meaning embedded in these artworks.
We hope you’ll join us for this engaging conversation.
This event is free and open to the public.

"FUNSIZE" - RSG Group Exhibition
2025-12-05 17:00 - 2026-01-31 16:00
This exhibition will feature small “fun sized” themed artworks by over 20 different local & regional artists! We hope you will join us for the opening reception on First Friday, December 5th from 5:00pm – 8:00pm!

FEATURED ARTISTS:
Ted Adler
Charles Baughman
Pam Bjork
James Borger
Aaron Morgan Brown
John Gary Brown
Anne Burkholder
Connie Connally
Dallas Dodge
Tracy Fiegl
Nick Gadbois
Kristin Goering
Shannon Hansen
Scott Hartley
Annie Helmericks-Louder
Brian Hinkle
David Holland
Rebecca Hoyer
Cally Krallman
Brenda Lichman
John Louder
Michael McCaffrey
Doug Osa
Michael Pointer
Beverly Dodge Radefeld
Tammy Smith
Kathy Suprenant
Katrina Swanson
Bruce VanOsdel
David Vollbracht
Derek Wilkinson
Jocelyn Woodson
John Simkins (Jack Zeus)
