LINDSBORG — New exhibitions will be opening at the Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery on Nov. 3, located at 401 North First Street in Lindsborg. They include a show of works former Kansas City artist Ross Braught (1898-1983); collage and assemblage pieces by Cal Mahin and ceramics by Sheldon Ganstrom, both of Hays; and the Gallery’s annual Holiday Gift Show. The reception will be from 2-4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 3, with gallery talks beginning at 2:30 p.m. The shows will be on display through Jan. 5, 2020.
Ross Eugene Braught’s early career was similar to many of his peers. He studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and lived in the artist havens of Bucks County, Penn. and Woodstock, N.Y. He spent time in New York City and traveled abroad to see the best that Europe had to offer. He was initially a part of the Tonalist movement, but over time his aesthetic shifted to a style that he called “Sane Modernism.” During the Depression, Braught turned to teaching to make a living and landed at the Kansas City Art Institute, where he headed the painting department and encouraged lithographic printmaking for four years. The Braught family spent almost a decade in the Caribbean, where Ross pursued his art muse in isolation while exploring the British Virgin Islands, Suriname, and the coast of South America. Braught returned to KCAI in 1947 to finish his career, retiring in 1962. During his lifetime, Braught received national attention and exhibited at galleries and museums throughout the East and Midwest. While Braught is best known as a printmaker, he worked in other medias as well and this exhibition will feature a variety of his efforts. All works in the show are from the collection of Dr. Roland and Marcia Sabates of Kansas City.
Cal Mahin is a collage and assemblage artist who holds a BA degree in education from the University of Nebraska in Kearney and a MS in collage and montage from Fort Hays State University. He is a retired art instructor from Colby middle and high schools and, from 1971 to 1973, he taught secondary art for the Department of Defense in Nuremberg, Germany. Additionally, he held adult art workshops for the Creative Arts Festival at Ghost Ranch in N.M., and after retirement from the Colby public school system he continued as a part-time art instructor at Colby Community College for 11 years. For his exhibition, Moments in Time, he will include works that deal with social and political issues, along with philosophical subjects. His unique use of hand-formed papers, found objects and other papers make the works truly one of a kind.
Sheldon Ganstrom began his artistic education as a painter and print-maker before discovering the expressive, sculptural potential of ceramics. By focusing on electric kiln fired glazes smoked in post firing reduction, he has developed an extensive and unique glaze palette. Carefully designing and executing his glazing over days, even weeks; each work is submitted to the demanding test of fire. Intense focus and technical expertise is required as Ganstrom pulls his glazed piece from the kiln while the glaze is still molten and the clay hot enough to accept the effects of the smoke. For his exhibition, Razor Dance, Ganstrom will be showcasing a variety of pedestal pieces as well as a number of works that mount on the wall.
A graduate of Kansas State University, Ganstrom has work in public and private collections across the United States, China, Japan, Europe and Russia. He is featured in numerous books and publications; and his work is included in the collections of the American Museum of Ceramic Art in Pomona, Calif., and the Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute, Jingdezhen, China.
The Gallery’s popular Holiday Gift Show completes the selection of new exhibitions. The work of over 50 invited artists are represented in the show, along with ceramic pieces from the artists of Clayworks at Disability Supports in McPherson. Art includes paintings, prints, ceramics, jewelry, sculpture, Swedish-inspired folk art, woodcarvings, mixed media pieces, and more.
The Sandzén Gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday. The Gallery is closed on Mondays. Admission is free, with donations appreciated. Docent tours for groups are available by two-week advance appointment. For more information about Birger Sandzén and the Sandzén Gallery visit the website www.sandzen.org or call (785) 227-2220.
