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ARTichokes Gallery Hosts Nation’s Top Oil & Acrylic Painters |
Kansas City’s reputation continues to change as more and more people make the metropolitan community a destination to see art, hear jazz and blues or eat a barbecue dinner. The idea that Kansas City is more than part of the flyover continues this November as the Signature Artists Guild of the National Oil and Acrylic Painters’ Society brings their annual show to the Kansas City area. This group has the highest standard of excellence for oil and acrylic painters in the United States. The society has certified only 90 members with “Signature Artist” stature since forming 18 years ago. There will be 83 original works of art representing 53 of the top artists from 38 states, with 11 local and regional artists being chosen for inclusion. The Signature Artist Invitational in Kansas City will be from Nov. 15 to Feb. 7 at the ARTichokes Gallery in Leawood, Kan. Jackie Warren, ARTichokes co-owner and art director, could not be more excited for the November opening. “ARTichokes is probably unique in its various functions within the community. We are not just a gallery and not just a place for classroom instruction. We are also a place for companies to work on team building. We just have a lot of projects going on. That is really what Becky Pashia, (founder and permanent artist of ARTichokes) wanted. She envisioned community art space.” Local artist Joe Ray Kelley, Parkville, Mo., serves as the Signature Artists Guild chairman. “It is my hope that folks seeing the show will appreciate the talent, diversity of styles, sizes and subject matter, by some of the best oil and acrylic artists in the nation. I feel confident many will want to view the collection multiple times. Every once in a great while, an event comes along that advances the culture, sophistication and enthusiasm of a community.” Warren says artwork is different in Florida or Minnesota. “You may get landscapes from western artists in earth tones, but someone from Florida may paint in blues and sand colors. It should be interesting to see where the artist is from and how that relates to palette and subject matter. Like Joe says, we hope to see lots of enthusiasm. It will be fun to see the artistically curious come in. We hope their interest will be sparked. The gallery is comfortable and we hope this is the place to find art accessible.” |