Evocations · Celebrating the Museum's Collection

See dozens of “new to view” works in three of our first floor exhibition galleries. Evocations addresses the museum's long commitment to diversity, with numerous major works by African-American, Latinx, Native American, LGBTQ, and women artists highlighted. The exhibit also emphasizes a great range of mediums and expressions.

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Originally slated to open in the spring of 2020, Evocations was postponed due to the pandemic of the past year. During the college's and museum's ensuing Covid 19-related closure, founding Executive Director and Chief Curator Bruce Hartman pursued a number of acquisitions for the collection. Of the 39 artists featured in the exhibition, 28 are represented by new, never-before-exhibited works. Additionally, four works directly pertain to the pandemic.

Evocations addresses the museum's long commitment to diversity, with numerous major works by African-American, Latinx, Native American, LGBTQ, and women artists highlighted. The exhibit also emphasizes a great range of mediums and expressions. Paintings, sculptures, ceramics, photographs, works on paper, and textiles are on view. Each work elicits a feeling, a memory, a narrative, or a conscious image.

Evocations also represents one of the parting exhibits organized by Bruce Hartman, prior to his retirement on December 31, 2020. Over the course of more than 30 years, Hartman curated over 200 exhibitions for the college's former Gallery of Art, and later, the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art. During this period, he also grew the art collection from approximately 50 works to almost 2,000 amazing pieces. The museum's renowned collection now enjoys international recognition and routinely loans works to museums nationally and abroad.

Finally, Evocations is a tribute to the patrons, donors, and foundations who have so generously made the acquisitions possible. The H Tony and Marti Oppenheimer Foundation, the Barton P. and Mary D. Cohen Charitable Trust and Art Acquisition Endowment of the JCCC Foundation, the Jedel Family Foundation, Beyond Bounds Fundraisers, Lewis and Sue Nerman, Richard and Gloria Anderson, Dr. Mary Davidson, and Alex Schmelzer and Lisa Rotmil donated artworks or provided the funds to acquire many of the works on view in the exhibition, the museum, and throughout campus. In doing so, they helped create an extraordinary collection for Johnson County, Kansas, the region, and the nation. The museum is indebted to them.

Ceramics

Roberto Lugo was born in 1981 in Kensington, Pennsylvania, to Puerto Rican parents, and he earned a BFA in 2012 from the Kansas City Art Institute. He graduated in 2014 with an MFA from Penn State University and is currently pursuing a doctorate in Art Education. He lives in Vermont where he is a tenure track professor of ceramics at Marlboro College.

Painting

Osage artist Norman Akers was born in 1958 in Fairfax, Oklahoma. He earned a BFA in painting from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1982 and a Certificate of Museum Training from the Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1984. He received an MFA in painting from the University of Illinois, UrbanaChampaign, in 1991 and currently is an Associate Professor, Department of Visual Art, at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas.

Now based in Chicago, Jarvis Boyland was born in 1995 in Memphis, TN, and he graduated in 2017 with a BFA from the University of Memphis.

Based in Philadelphia, where he was born in 1989, Jonathan Lyndon Chase graduated with an MFA in 2016 from Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and earned a BFA in 2013 from the University of the Arts, Philadelphia. He completed his AA in 2010 at the Community College of Philadelphia.

Born in Florida in 1973 and based in New York, Michael Cline graduated with an MFA in 2003 from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and in 2001 he received his BFA from the University of North Florida.

Currently living and working in Athens, Georgia, Canadian artist Holly Coulis was born in 1968. She received an MFA in 1998 from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and a BFA in 1995 from the Ontario College of Art and Design, Toronto.

Northern Cheyenne artist Jordan Ann Craig was born in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1992 and graduated in 2015 with a BA from Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire.

Born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1969, Angela Dufresne was raised in Olathe, Kansas, and graduated with a BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1991 and an MFA from the Tyler School of Art, Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1998.

Bart Exposito was born in Amarillo, Texas, in 1970. He earned an MFA in 2000 from the California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, and a BFA in 1998 from the University of Texas, Austin.

Los Angeles artist Jay Lynn Gomez was born in San Bernardino, California, in 1986, and she attended the California Institute for the Arts.

Born in 1975 and raised in Kansas City, Kwanza Humphrey graduated in 1998 with a BS from Missouri Western State University, majoring in Commercial Art with an emphasis in painting and illustration.

Born of Native American ancestry in Tucson, Arizona, in 1956, Brad Kahlhamer earned a BFA in 1982 from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. He is now based in New York.

Now based in Los Angeles, Hayv Kahraman was born in 1981 and was raised in Baghdad. She studied art at the Academy of Art and Design in Florence, Italy, in 2005, and University of Umeå, Sweden, in 2006.

Kansas City artist Don Kottmann was born in 1946 and was raised in St. Louis. He earned a BFA in 1968 from the University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, and an MFA in 1970 from the University of Washington, Seattle, WA. He teaches at the Alberta College of Art & Design in Calgary, Canada.

Born in 1980 in Pasadena, California, Patrick Martinez studied art at Pasadena City College and received a BFA from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.

Based in Pomona, California, Jaime Munoz was born in 1987 in Los Angeles and he graduated in 2016 with a BFA from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Born in 1974 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and now based in Kansas City, Emily Sall received her BFA in painting from the Kansas City Art Institute in 2005.

Born in 1978 in San Diego, Allison Schulnik earned a BFA from the California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, in 2000.

Now based in Los Angeles, Christian Schumann was born in 1970 in Rhode Island and grew up in Texas. He received a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1992.

Born in 1939 in Seattle, Roger Shimomura received his BA degree from the University of Washington in 1961 and his MFA degree from Syracuse University. Shimomura currently lives and works in Lawrence, Kansas.

Kansas City artist Harold Smith was born in 1962 and received an AA from Kansas City Kansas Community College, a BS from Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska, and an MAT from Webster University in St. Louis.

Photography

Currently based in Mission, Kansas, Art Miller was born in 1961, and he earned a BFA from the University of Kansas in 1983.

Based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Chemehuevi artist Cara Romero was born in 1977 in Inglewood, California. She studied photography at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, and at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater.

Choctaw/Chitimacha artist Sarah Sense was born in 1980 and currently lives in Bristol, England. In 2003 she earned a BFA from California State University, Chico; and in 2005 she graduated with an MFA from Parsons the New School for Design, New York.

Sculpture

Navajo artist Monty Claw was born in 1977 in Gallup, New Mexico. He studied at The Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico, majoring in Fine Arts and Museum Studies.

Willie Cole was born in Somerville, New Jersey, in 1955 and graduated in 1976 with a BFA from the School of Visual Arts, New York; from 1976-1979 he studied at the Art Students League, New York.

Now based in Oklahoma City, Cheyenne/Arapaho artist Edgar Heap of Birds was born in 1954 in Wichita, Kansas, and graduated in 1976 with a BFA from the University of Kansas. In 1979 he earned an MFA from Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Philadelphia. He also completed graduate work at the Royal College of Art, London.

Now based in Brooklyn, Matthew Day Jackson was born in Panorama City, California, in 1974 and graduated in 1997 with a BFA from the University of Washington, Seattle. He earned an MFA in 2001 from Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, and also studied at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine.

Based in British Columbia, Canada, Canadian First Nations, Oneida/Hopi artist Leith Mahkewa was born in 1978. She is a master beadworker carrying on the tradition of raised beadwork taught to her by many mentors including Gail Albany Montour.

Canadian First Nations, Metis artist Lisa Shepherd was born in 1970 and earned a degree in Apparel Design, University College of the Fraser Valley.

Based in Oklahoma, Delaware Nation/Cherokee artist Holly Wilson was born in 1968. She received a BFA from Kansas City Art Institute in 1992, and an MFA in Ceramics in 1994 and an MFA in Sculpture in 2001, both from Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas.

Textiles

Based in Chinle, Arizona, Navajo artist Calvin Toney was born in 1987 and attended community college and studied art history and architecture. He continues a family weaving tradition honoring his grandmother, the master weaver Beth Bitsuie, who trained her daughter and daughter-in-law.

Works on Paper

San Ildefonso Pueblo artist Jarrod Da was born in 1973 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and he graduated in 1998 with an AFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe. In 2007 he earned a BA from Evergreen State College, Olympia, Washington. He currently lives and works in Seattle.

Born in Bogota, Colombia, in 1961, Nancy Friedmann-Sanchez graduated in 1997 with an MFA from New York University; in 1986 she earned a BFA from Otis Art Institute, California, and in 1985 she completed her BFA from La Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá. She currently lives and works in Brooklyn.

Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1938, Robert Hudson was raised in rural Washington State and graduated in 1961 with a BFA from San Francisco Art Institute, where he also earned an MFA in 1963. He currently lives and works in Sonoma County, California.

Canadian artist Zachari Logan was born in 1980 in Saskatoon, SK. He received a BFA in 2004 and an MFA in 2008 from the University of Saskatchewan.

Fritz Scholder was a Luiseño artist born in Breckenridge, Minnesota, in 1937, and he died in 2005. In 1964, he received his MFA from the University of Arizona in Tucson. He earned a BA in 1960 from Sacramento State College.

Born in El Paso, Texas, in 1980, Chico Sierra is currently living and working in Kansas City.

Based in Santa Fe, Navajo artist Emmi Whitehorse was born in 1957 in Crownpoint, New Mexico. She earned her BA in painting in 1980 from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. She graduated with her MA in 1982, also from UNM, majoring in printmaking and minoring in art history.