“All Seeming Things Shine With the Light of Pure Knowledge.” Courtesy of @reedgallery Instagram.
Whether in-person, virtual, or scheduled, this season's exhibitions and gallery shows are in full swing. From immersive experiences to intricate crafts, there's plenty to see this month at the city's many galleries. Here are a few must-see shows to catch in May.
Salutary Sculpture – Through May 15
Laumeier Sculpture Park is spending 2022 focused on the role that art and nature play in health and wellness, both for individuals and for the community. The theme is explored in the spring exhibition Salutary Sculpture, in which the work of eight artists across several mediums has been brought together to show "art’s capacity as a therapeutic tool for adaptation, recovery, and rehabilitation."
Rick Battram, Wildwood, MO. “Grandma’s Gratitude.” 2020. Oil on Canvas, 25”x33”
Parenthood – Through May 15
Visit Art St. Louis to take in this exhibition celebrating the many forms that parenthood takes. Collage, digital media, painting, plaster, sculpture, and more are all on display in this juried exhibition featuring 49 artists from across the region. “Admittedly the theme of ‘Parenthood’ could be described in numerous ways,” writes David Dolak in his juror statement. “I urge the audience, as well as the artists, to take time and consider the sum of the responses within this exhibition.”
Michael Velliquette: The Song I Came to Sing – May 20 through June 18
Fans of Discovery's Meet Your Makers Showdown may remember prolific American artist Michael Velliquette's intricate paper art. Now get the chance to see Velliquette's intricate, imagined worlds up close at Duane Reed Gallery. Cut and assembled by hand, these paper masterpieces can take hundreds of hours to construct.
Courtesy of Craft Alliance
Other Ways of Knowing – Through May 21
This solo exhibition from Kansas City ceramist Casey Whittier, on view in the Staenberg Gallery at Craft Alliance, examines the ways our relationships with objects and our homes changed during the pandemic. Explore a home's interior recreated in ceramics and glass, with items such as towels and brooms that appear "fossilized" when recreated by Whittier's hand. Don't miss the artist in person during the May 20 exhibition reception and a chain workshop taught by Whittier on May 21. Advanced registration is required.
Re-Play – Through May 29
In this new exhibition at Angad Arts Hotel, artists David Ruggeri and Brandon Chavis use their individual art practices to together reflect on the media and cultural objects that shaped their childhoods. Catch iconic images such as the Kool-Aid man and the original Nintendo controller evoked in a graffiti style by Ruggeri, while Chavis turns to deconstructed sneakers to meditate on the popular objects that still hold influence today.
Mind, Art, Experience: Celebrating 10 Years of Chess & Culture in Saint Louis – Through July 17
This first-ever museum-wise exhibition at the World Chess Hall of Fame takes a look back at 10 years and 50 exhibitions at the Maryland Avenue museum. The show features more than 120 artworks and artifacts spread across three floors, with highlights including including works by artists M.C. Escher, Tom Friedman, Barbara Kruger and Yoko Ono; artifacts from World Champions Bobby Fischer, Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov, and Boris Spassky; and, of course, many incredible chess sets.
HIT MOVIE, Vol. 1 – Through July 24
For this new exhibition at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, artist, musician, writer, and performer Martine Gutierrez has created a site-specific multimedia experience for visitors. Catch a trailer of her video collage on CAM's facade as part of "Street Views," then head inside to see the full cast of femme fatales performed, costumed, and directed by the artist.
Martine Gutierrez, HIT MOVIE: Vol. 1, 2022. Video, 5 minutes. © Martine Gutierrez. Courtesy the artist and RYAN LEE Gallery, New York.
Nicole Miller: A Sound, A Signal, The Circus – Through July 25
California-based artist and filmmaker Nicole Miller's new commissioned project at the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, A Sound, a Signal, the Circus, is an immersive installation that explores the Black experience in the United States through a blend of sound, moving image, and laser-light animations. Miller’s 24-channel includes excerpts from interviews with poets, dancers, educators, and teenagers of color the artist conducted in St. Louis in 2021.
Nine Ways from Sunday: 2022 MFA in Visual Art Thesis Exhibition – Through July 25
Works by Karina Arreola-Gutierrez, Quinn Antonio Briceño, Joseph Canizales, Noah Greene-Lowe, Erin Johnston, Martin Lammert, Sam Modder, Carlos Salazar-Lermont, and Livia Xandersmith will be on display in the Barney A. Ebsworth Gallery at Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum as the MFA in Visual Art candidates from the Sam Fox School share their thesis exhibition. Get to know a new class of artists as they explore themes such as the Black Imaginary, desire and commodity fetishism, and spatial politics.
Currents 121: Oscar Murillo – Through August 28
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Colombian artist Oscar Murillo has resided in his hometown of La Paila, focusing his energy on the physicality of painting. The works he created there are part of an ongoing series of large works characterized by bold swaths of color and an unmistakable physical presence. The series, manifestation (2018–), examines not only the individual use of one's body to create art, but to demonstrate dissent. See Murillo's colorful, powerful works on view at the Saint Louis Art Museum through the end of summer.
