Happening Outside the Studio(s Inc)
Armin Mühsam
Armin Mühsam is featured in a three-person show, Utopias of Nature, at Galerie Fenna Wehlau, in Munich, Germany, May 15 - July 31, 2026, together with Roger Rigorth (sculpture) and Eberhard Ross (painting). An excerpt of the curatorial statement reads: "Armin Mühsam builds the analytical horizon [for this exhibit]. His representational painting shows landscape as the place of encounter between utopian architecture and organic nature. He visualizes points of friction — the 'plastic interdependency' of people and their environment — and critically interrogates our understanding of the systems and constructions of humanity's visions of nature.
Rigorth, Ross, and Mühsam create a fabric of visions made of longing and analysis. The show itself becomes one of [Rigorth's] "scurrilous vehicles" that invites viewers to open themselves up to the artists' utopias."
Armin Mühsam Multiformal Indicant 2026 Oil on Canvas 51” x 40"
Birdies, In View
by Nyonu Branch-Watkins
“A helicopter carrying the Birdies sign through downtown Kansas City feels almost too on-the-nose. The mechanics of relocation briefly slipped into performance.
Though better known for lingerie than spectacle, the distance between the two has never been especially wide.
Then, one May evening, the storefront became a frame. It felt almost inevitable: glitter, smoke, and garters.
Seven figures, held in glass. The audience recorded, giggled, returned with friends. Inside, documentation unfolded in reverse—camera pointed back toward the act of looking itself.
The gesture arrived alongside Birdies’ recent relocation within the Crossroads. At its new address, 1800 Baltimore Avenue, the store staged a live activation that placed models within the window and collapsed the distance between observer and subject. The result was less a display than a condition: visibility becoming mutual, unstable, and continuous.
The window, typically a site of presentation, shifted into something more porous. The boundary held, but only loosely. Viewers became part of the image they were attempting to consume.
Birdies has long operated at the intersection of retail and cultural space. Its relocation marks another quiet shift within the Crossroads, one where storefronts function less as points of sale and more as sites of cultural staging.
Once again, the store held attention. In doing so, it made visible the mechanics of looking itself.”
Kate Clements
Kate Clements artwork (pictured) “Acanthus” was recently aquired by the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art for their permanent collection. Clements is a featured artist in “Personal Best”, an exhibition focused on Kansas City artist-athletes leading up to the 2026 World Cup. “Personal Best” is currently temporarily closed for the Bloch Building rennovation and will re-open later this year.
Kate Clements was awarded 3rd place for the Virginia A. Groot Grant in April. Read more about the Virginia A. Groot Foundation Grant at https://www.virginiaagrootfoundation.org/grants/ . Application submissions open June 1st, and will remain open until January 10th, 2027.
Emily Blair Quinn
Emily Blair Quinn will be featured in "Anthology of Light", a group exhibition curated by Babs O'Halloran for HOK Architecture in the Curation Services Program of the Kansas City Artist Coalition.
In "Anthology of Light", illumination becomes a shared language spoken across sculpture, painting, photography, and print. Some works emit their own glow; others hold light softly within color, surface, or shadow. The exhibition invites viewers to experience light not only as something seen, but as something felt—an element that activates form, sets mood, and quietly guides the eye. Each artist contributes their voice to this collective study of luminosity.
If you are interested in viewing the works on display at HOK Architecture until October 2026, please email Emily Blair Quinn directly (emilyblairquinn@gmail.com) for available times.
Emily Blair Quinn will be a participating artist at the Elsewhere Art Fair with 5-50 Gallery in Philadelphia from June 4 - 6.
Taking place at the YOWIE hotel, Elsewhere is a boutique, room-based art fair organized by Blah Blah Gallery that that brings together a focused group of galleries and independent curators that prioritize scale, hospitality, and curatorial intention. If you are interested in viewing available works or attending the event, you can contact 5-50 Gallery director, Bailey Coleman (bailey@5-50gallery.com).
Emily Blair Quinn, Gold Portrait 2, 2026, digital inkjet print, 15.5” x 15.5”