August 22, 2023
Story by Joe Vinduska
Courtesy photos submitted
The Shafer Art Gallery will unveil a sculpture to add to its permanent collection by world-renowned artist Kris Kuksi as well as its next exhibit “Posters: A Shafer Gallery Retrospective” at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 1 in the Shafer Gallery and will feature light refreshments and comments from retiring Gallery Director Dave Barnes.
Barnes said adding a piece from Kuksi to the gallery’s collection is the perfect way to cap off his time as the director.
“In the words of world renown filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, Kris Kuksi is ‘a post-industrial Rococo master, (who) obsessively arranges characters and architecture with an exquisite sense of drama,’” he said. “Over the span of Kuksi’s career, his works have been featured in many magazine publications such as Hi Fructose, Juxtapoz, Wild, and many others. Kuksi’s art has attracted many public and private collectors in the United States, Europe, The Middle East, and Australia. Kuksi received an Emmy for his work on the main title sequence for the series ‘Black Sails.’"
Barnes said he is excited because this is a one-of-a-kind piece of art in every way.
“Kuksi has made a piece of art dedicated to, inspired by, and designed expressly for the Shafer Art Gallery,” he said. “The piece is called ‘Where the Old West Meets the Future’ and will be unveiled for the first time at the ribbon cutting. I am very excited to have this piece enter our permeant collection. I can’t think of a finer, more meaningful way to end my time at the Gallery. Like the Gus Shafer bronzes, this work is a defining benchmark in the Gallery's public evolution and growing prestige.”
Barnes said the “Posters” exhibit will showcase selected posters that were designed to advertise some of the exhibits the gallery has had during his 13-year tenure.
“A poster can also document the journey and progress of an institution,” he said. “A really good poster makes us curious and stimulates our critical thinking, but it also moves us on an unconscious emotional level. You see, a poster is also a work of work.”
The Shafer Gallery is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is always free. For more information, contact the new Shafer Gallery Director Alyssa Bliven at blivena@bartonccc.edu or (620) 792-9342.