The Ashby-Hodge Gallery of American Art, on the campus of Central Methodist University, will open its fall show on Sunday, August 31, with a reception celebrating “The World According to Tom & Larry.” The fall exhibit featuring works by Larry Kantner, Thomas Hart Benton, and Benton’s students will run until November 20.
Featured in the Geist Gallery will be recent works by former University of Missouri art department chair Larry Kantner. Kantner’s work has been exhibited internationally and in numerous regional and local exhibits across the United States, including a previous show at the Ashby-Hodge Gallery in 1997.
Kantner’s style has changed quite a bit since the ’97 show. Where his earlier work focused on painting singular figures “expressed in a very painterly style,” his newer art incorporates a variety of media, usually in a small space.
“I now work on a smaller scale and focus on an array of media,” said Kantner in his artist statement. “Although the artwork is smaller, it does not diminish my passion or need for creating.”
The work included in the fall show exhibits Kantner’s passion through his collages, drawings, paintings, and mixed media. It also showcases his interest in the phenomenon of pareidolia, or finding patterns in chaos.
“I am fascinated with the pareidolia effect,” he said. “It is like re-imagining something visually from what initially appears to be one thing and using that stimulus to turn this image into the image seen and, hopefully, link to the viewer’s own experiences and memories, creating personal connections and stories.”
In addition to Kantner, the show will feature one of Missouri’s most famous artists, Thomas Hart Benton, in the Bingham Gallery. A painter and muralist known for being a leader of the Regionalist movement, Benton’s work is strongly tied to the American Midwest. His commissioned mural for the Missouri State Capitol, titled A Social History of Missouri, is considered one of his greatest works.
The community will have a chance to learn more about Benton and his work at this year’s Geist-Yancey Lecture in November, featuring Benton expert Henry Adams. Adams will speak on November 6 as part of the CMU Academic Lectures series.
Alongside Benton’s own work, the show will feature a room full of his students’ work in the Yancey Gallery. Nine artists who studied under Benton will have works on display, including Roger Medearis, Robert MacDonald Graham Jr., Jackson Lee Nesbitt, Charles Pollock, Earl Bennett, William Kautzman, Duard Marshall, Daniel Celentano, and William McKim. The show will be the first of its kind at the Ashby-Hodge Gallery since 1999, when Benton and his students were last featured together.
The exhibits will open on Sunday, August 31 with a reception starting at 1:30 p.m., on the first floor of Classic Hall on the CMU Fayette campus. The show will be open from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. every Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday until November 20. Special tours and groups are also welcome by appointment. Contact curator Tyler Pierson at tpierson@centralmethodist.edu or 660-248-6304 to schedule a time.