The Ekru Project is pleased to present Shifting Instinct, a group exhibition opening on January 21st from 12 - 6 pm, and is on view through March 4th, 2022.
Shifting Instinct presents paintings, drawings, textiles, and sculptures by ten contemporary artists residing in the United States. The exhibition features works by Christopher Daharsh, Liz Ainslie, Ky Anderson, Andy Ryan, Japeth Mennes, Cynthia Alberto, Jonathan Ryan, Aili Schmeltz, Cesar Lopez, and Sam Haan. Each deeply engaged with various modes of abstraction and cover a wide range of artistic production in a spectrum of style that not only explore line, color, shape, and texture, but also evoke an expansive realm of ideas and subjects, including consumerization, history, and the body. The title Shifting Instinct refers to the innate response each artist takes into consideration when creating their body of works.
This exhibition proposes the investigation and connection to reality and abstractions thoughts in the world today. The selection and arrangement of works are not determined by preconceived categories, but by the sensuous appeals of each specific medium, their inherent qualities, and their power to entrance the viewer. The range of techniques and subject matters in the exhibition encompasses ordinary subjects or actions of daily life—anything from commercial signals to aerial views of crop fields, from recycled tea boxes to discarded molds.
The works in this exhibition refer to art that avoids imitation of recognizable subjects. The works are unconcerned with attempts to literally represent objects and scenes from the visible world. In the process of working and reworking these images, each artist functions in a unique and habitable manner, the works complement each other even though the artists in this group come from different backgrounds with different intentions and different means of attaining them,  they are being placed together so that every work of art will both stand on its own and be given meaning by the works around it. Each piece consists of laborious layers of surface tension and simplified and obscured forms. No matter how trivial or mysterious a particular subject might seem, nothing is off-limits when it comes to modifying the materials in order to work to the advantage of each artist.
It is hoped that this exhibition will serve to stimulate further explorations into these fields by artists and visitors.
The Ekru Project is located at 517 E 18th Street Kansas City, Missouri 64108
We’re open Thursday - Saturday 11 am - 6 pm and Sunday 11 am - 4 pm
For inquiries, email hello@theekruproject.com and follow us on Instagram @theekruproject