The Olive Gallery is pushing the limits of artwork in Lawrence
By Erik Johnson, Jayplay writer
In early 2002, two University of Kansas art and design students had the idea that Lawrence needed a new place to showcase the emerging local artists whose edgier, unconventional work may not get the wall space it deserves in other galleries. Jill Kleinhans and Bailey Kivett, both artists themselves, saw an
emerging local scene without a place near Massachusetts Street to show work. "We had this wild hair
THE OLIVE GALLERY AND ART SUPPLY, 15 E. EIGHT ST., IS OPEN 10 A.M. TO 11 P.M. EVERY DAY.
would be, but he stipulated that he would have to be left out of the day-to-day operations because of his busy schedule in a town more than two hours away.
up our butts," Kleinhans says, "that this would be a really cool thing to do and that there was a need for it."
Already working two extra jobs each to support themselves while in school at the University, the girls needed someone willing to invest in what they believed to be a sure bet project. So Kivett approached Gene Marsh, a Halstead Emergency Room doctor and painter, with the idea to open a gallery. Marsh, who received his Master of Fine Arts from Wichita State University and has painted in New Mexico and Kansas for years, says he was aware of Lawrence's arts nature and was delighted with Kivett's proposal. Almost immediately, he agreed to be what the girls have come to call their "angel investor." Marsh said he would fund the project and understood what a risk it
The women found a prime location on Eighth Street between Mass and New Hampshire, and by April 2003, they
opened the doors to The Olive Gallery and Art Supply. The Olive is decidedly quaint in size: a single room packed
with various supplies on one side and a wall for showcasing monthly galleries on the other. The shared space between a supply store and a gallery, Kivett says, makes the place a little less intimidating. It was designed by the girls to be ultra-comfortable: walls are painted an inviting light lime and a few wooded cabinets are painted the store's namesake olive. "We tossed around a lot of colors for the name of the place," Kivett says, wearing an olive-colored shirt as she settles into an olive-colored couch. "Olive just seemed to work the best."
With an atmosphere set to their liking, Kleinhans and Kivett set out to push the limits of Lawrence art. Almost immediately, local artists were lining up to have their fresher, edgier work shown in the hip new gallery. October's feature gallery was local artist Julie Black's
"Dead Pets For Sale," a presentation of cotton-stuffed fabric road kill: a rabbit complete with tire marks and entrails spilling beyond the frame or a raccoon with its long-dead eyes bugging out of its furry sockets. Any one of them would be adorable to an unsuspecting 4-year-old, unaware of the concept of death by automobile, and morbid but very cute to a passing admirer.
This month's feature gallery, a collection of work titled, "Thoughts Like Shed Skin," by locals Erica Shamrock and Jay Gordon, opened on Nov. 6. Shamrock says The Olive was a good fit for her work because she didn't know of any other gallery in Lawrence that could showcase the kind of things she does. Her title piece, "Like shed skin," is a sculpture of mixed media made with paper oxygen
masks and dried apricot that, like a few of her other pieces, looks like a human heart. "They go for the non-commercial stuff with a local edge," she says, "which is good for me. It's stuff that's just out there, that's not selling for like
$10,000 to be put in an office somewhere."
Each monthly gallery also includes a Kids Corner, where local youngins can get their names out. This month's Kids Corner artist is Sam Foster, a 15-year-old Southwest Junior High student. He was reluctant to put a price on his work at first, he says, but is selling his abstract
paintings of objects from feet to flowers
for $20 to$ 60.
The Olive must be catching on, as other artists outside Lawrence have begun to approach Kleinihans and Kivett to show their work. Their monthly galleries are booked, Kivett says, until at least March 2005, and more famous faces such as "Fudge Factory" comic creator Travis Millard and Massachusetts Street muralist Dave Lowenstein will showcase their work in upcoming months.
Professor of the arts Maria Velasco says The Olive has remained successful in its short running because its owners have been fantastic in communicating with the wants and needs of instructors, students and local artists. And because they haven't been strictly interested in a
Ongoing and upcoming galleries
"Thoughts Like Shed Skin," Erica Shamrock and Jay Gordon's show of decay and entropy, will run through Nov. 23.
The Holiday Show will begin Nov. 24. Local artists will be selling their art at more than affordable prices. Great gift ideas for the fast-approaching holiday season.
profit, she says,
Kleinhans
and Kivett
have been
able to take
more serious
risks in whom
they accept
and what
they show.
"We haven't made any money," Kleinins says. "We both still have two extra jobs. But I love it, and I'll continue to do it until I don't love it anymore."
Kivett echoes that statement; "It's been great. If people didn't appreciate it, I wouldn't keep doing it. But people seem to really appreciate it, so we'll keep doing what we're doing."
11. 18.04 Jayplay