Wichita artist creates temporary art gallery for October show of large-scale works
Since November, Wichita artist Kirsten Shannon has been preparing her signature large-scale works for a pop-up art show she’s presenting in a historic industrial space in October.
In between creating new pieces, she also worked on a two-piece commissioned work for the new business school building, Woolsey Hall, on the Wichita State campus. That work — which she described as “flamboyant” and “splashy” — is being unveiled Friday, Sept. 30. Called “The State of Being Connected,” the diptych measures 70-by-180 inches.
Shannon’s upcoming October solo show, being presented in the Ice House just east of Union Station in downtown Wichita, is called “Be.”
With the space having big pillars and cement floors, Shannon hopes visitors will get the sense they’re in a hip Chelsea Arts District gallery in New York City. The Ice House was originally constructed in 1901 as a hardware warehouse and was used to store large blocks of ice coming off the rail lines in 1909. It’s since been renovated.
‘It has an industrial, but clean and edgy vibe,” Shannon said. “It’ll be an opportunity for people to come and experience a new gallery space,” albeit a temporary one since she signed a short-term lease for just her October show.
The show opens with a preview opportunity from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Oct. 6, and will be part of the First Friday art event from 6 to 10 p.m. on Oct. 7. The closing reception will be on the Final Friday, 6-10 p.m. on Oct. 28. The pop-up gallery will be open 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesdays, Oct. 4, 11, 18 and 25 or by appointment.
Shannon will display 26 pieces of all new works in the show; even with more than 4,300 square feet in the Ice House, she didn’t have room for one final piece.
Her works are included in several private and public collections across the country and she’s done multiple solo shows, with her last being a 2019 exhibition at Mark Arts. That show was a near sell-out of her works, she said.
Since that 2019 show, most of her work has been commissioned art, she said, which she put on hold in November — except for the work for Woolsey Hall — to focus on creating the pieces and readying the Ice House space for her upcoming show.
Pop-up gallery show: ‘Be’ by Kirsten Shannon
When: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6, and Tuesdays, Oct. 4, 11, 18 & 25; 6-10 p.m. Fridays, Oct. 7 & 28; or by appointment
Where: 165 S. Rock Island
Admission: Free
More information: kirstenshannon.com, 316-841-7888