Cities of Glass

Despite having been raised on a cattle farm in rural Kansas, artist Kale Van Leeuwen developed interests that skewed away from animal husbandry and toward painting. "I pretty much stayed inside and drew the whole time," he says. "Wasn't much help on the farm. I never was in 4-H. Anything I wanted to do, my parents were very supportive. My dad doesn't always understand the art, but he always went to all the shows." Van Leeuwen's subject matter is geographically distinct from his roots, too. His portfolio consists of abstract work that evokes the colors and textures of urban life and semi-abstract urban landscapes. "I do colored pencil and a lot of mixed-media abstract. They mostly end up being city-inspired," Van Leeuwen says. His 5 p.m. opening at the Red Light Gallery (323 Southwest Boulevard, 816-421-1484) features several series of urban-inflected paintings, including difficult mixed-media cityscapes and a striking "reflection series," juxtaposing glass-reflected street scenes against mannequins posed behind store windows. For more information, see vankale.com.
Saturdays, 12-5 p.m. Starts: Aug. 2. Continues through Aug. 30, 2008