These 3 local artists have joined masters with show at Kansas City’s iconic museum
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art has presented exhibitions of Monet, Goya, Van Gogh and Picasso in recent years. Add to that list Aleah Washington, Juan Diego Gaucin and Kevin Demery.
Those three local artists are showing their works as part of the Charlotte Street Visual Artist Awards, adding their names to the list of masters displayed at Kansas City’s world-class art museum.
“It’s a major opportunity for sure,” said Demery, a faculty member at Kansas City Art Institute.
The free exhibition opened Nov. 9 and will run through Aug. 10.
The Visual Artist Awards program annually recognizes three artists, awarding unrestricted grants of $10,000 and an exhibition at a local venue. The Charlotte Street Foundation, an incubator for the region’s contemporary arts community, launched the program in 1997. This is the first time the Nelson-Atkins has played host to the exhibition.
“It was quite a surprise to be chosen as one of the candidates,” said Gaucin, who teaches at Johnson County Community College and Haskell Indian Nations University. “And then the fact that it happened to be at the museum, which was kind of unexpected as well, was a huge surprise.”
The awards jury reviewed more than 100 applicants, who can’t be full-time students and must have lived in the area for at least a year.
Washington graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute in 2022 and was a regular visitor to the Nelson-Atkins while researching art history or doing sketches.
“It’s really full circle,” said Washington, who was named a Charlotte Street studio resident in 2023. “Being a wide-eyed teenager and traveling to the museum, to graduate and establish myself in residency, all leading me to this awesome opportunity.”
Here is a rundown of the three artists.
Aleah Washington
Age: 25
Discipline: Textile art
Roots: Originally from the Dallas area, she attended Booker T. Washington High School for the Visual and Performing Arts there before coming to KCAI. She had a residency at the Oxbow School of Art in Saugatuck, Michigan, and earned the Charlotte Street’s Byron C. Cohen Award.
What she will show at the Nelson-Atkins: “Slowly Drifting” will be a mix of quilted fabric art and drawings, with some collage art. “The main base of the show will be various wall hangings that won’t function as a quilt,” she said. “It’s more decorative art, and you’ll view them traditionally as a painting.”
Something to know: Washington works nine months a year at Worlds of Fun as a seamstress, making costumes for Cedar Fair amusement parks throughout North America. “It’s very different from the work that you make in your studio space, so I think it’s a very healthy work-life balance.”
Learn more about Washington: belgerarts.org/aleah-washington
Juan Diego Gaucin
Age: 39
Discipline: Painting
Roots: A native of Mexico, he’s lived in the United States since he was 3 years old, spending time in Chicago and southwest Missouri before earning a bachelor’s in fine arts at the University of Kansas.
What he will show at the Nelson-Atkins: “Para una vida mejor/For a Better Life” consists of five large paintings, up to 60 by 80 inches, “dealing with immigration in a semi-abstract style, lots of figures, very colorful … I painted all this within the last year, just for the show. So it’s been a very busy year.”
Something to know: Although he had always enjoyed drawing, Gaucin said his passion when he was young was math and science. He began college as an engineering major. “It stacked up all the math and science classes, so I kind of burned out. I took an art class to lighten the load, and I just fell in love with the class. It felt so natural that I immediately changed my major.”
Learn more about Gaucin: kcstudio.org/honors-juan-diego-gaucin
Kevin Demery
Age: 32
Discipline: Multimedia installation art
Roots: He grew up in Oakland, California, and went to the California College of the Arts in San Francisco, then the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He has been teaching at KCAI since 2021. “I had the fortune of being young and having family that totally agreed when I said, ‘This is what I want to do.’”
What he will show at the Nelson-Atkins: In addition to about 15 smaller sculptures, “A Lesson Before Dying” will feature three large sculptures suspended from the ceiling. “We definitely had to figure out what it would mean to suspend something from the ceiling, and they did a fantastic job.”
Something to know: Demery had entries in Art Cologne, billed as the world’s oldest art fair, Nov. 7-10. He previously showed elsewhere in Germany, including Berlin and Frankfort.
Learn more about Demery: sakhileandme.com/artists/kevin-demery.htm
Artists in Conversation
What: The Charlotte Street Visual Artist Award winners will discuss their practices and their relationships with the Kansas City Community.
When and where: The panel discussion will take place 2-3:15 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 7, in the Nelson-Atkins Museum’s Atkins Auditorium, followed by a reception 3:15-4 p.m. in the Bloch Lobby.
What does it cost: $10, $8 for Nelson-Atkins members.
More information and tickets: nelson-atkins.org
