May Final Friday
May 29th through June 21st
Celebrate the coming of summer at the Phoenix Gallery this Final Friday!
Summer fun is in store this month in our Phoenix Underground Gallery. “The Un-functional Cat and Other Ceramic Curiosities” by artist Deborah Gendel is a delightful exhibit of next-level creativity. Deborah has had artistic experience in a wide variety of mediums, from handwoven textiles to small animations to printmaking, all leading to her first ever ceramics show. Deborah’s love for creativity is evident in her excellent craft and unrestrained fun, resulting in an exhibition that you won’t want to miss!
In the Upper West Gallery, we have Miranda Whalen’s show “The Comfort of My Own Home”. Miranda’s oil paintings and collages focus on reflection and evolution in domestic and natural spaces. She uses the mediums, colors, and forms to represent the coexistence of comfort and discomfort that comes with personal growth.
You can meet the artists and gain insight into their exhibitions on opening night, May 29th from 6 pm to 9 pm.
Opening night music will be provided by local band Coreopsis from 6 pm to 8 pm.
_______________________
Deborah Gendel
Mission Hills, KS
Artist Statement
“My favorite thing about working with clay is the moment the kiln is open. There are always mixed feeling when looking over a finished load. Scanning each piece with a hyper critical eye. You are happy and disappointed at the same moment. My second favorite thing is coming up with an idea. An idea that often morphs along the way. Sometimes an idea might have been a vase. Then changes happen and you have a sweet little vase or a wobbly bowl. Or you start over again.
“This is my first ever ceramic show in a gallery. My experiences in any art form have been varied. I have made handwoven scarves and tapestries, painted, made paper collages, worked on print making, made little animations, sewn scarves with vintage silks and cottons and did a little knitting and yarn spinning.
“I truly enjoy color and design on any surface. I approach each piece as if it were a blank canvas. Some mugs, cups and vases have a collection of patterns and colors, some are hand painted with swirls or gold polka dots, some have a forest of branches and some have gold decals of butterflies and flowers. Each piece I make is my never-ending attempt to get better at making a connection between my idea and a slab of clay. A nonconfrontational and unassuming slab of clay.”
Artist Biography
Growing up in Kansas meant seeing vast horizons on the way to Colorado or Oklahoma where my family lived. Each road trip came with vistas of color and subtle changes in the landscape. Living in other cities has changed my surroundings from time to time but one thing that has always been constant and that is I love to create. I have been a weaver, fabric maker, painter and I like to garden. Now I work with clay. I am influenced and drawn to anything that is colorful and quirky. This includes fabrics, folk art, animation, ancient pottery, and my children's drawings. In my world, for now, all roads lead to clay and the possibilities are endless.
You can find Deborah’s exhibit in the Phoenix Underground Gallery of the Phoenix Gallery.
To view her work online or to purchase, please click here.
_______________________
Miranda Whalen
Lawrence, KS
Artist Statement
“The Comfort of My Own Home” is a collection of oil paintings and mixed media that embark themes of light, growth, familiarity, pattern, reflection, and human connection to nature and domestic spaces. I am interested in a certain tendency we have as humans, we inevitably live our lives through habit. Whether that’s a subconscious or active decision, these personal rituals shape us into who we are. My work offers a visual representation of the mental push and pull of disrupting comfortability in order to grow. My pieces consist mainly of abstractions of natural forms, both figures and plants. With these motifs I use shape, color, and light to evoke a sense of comfort versus discomfort. I use greens to signify hope and growth in contrast with various shades of purple that represent anxiety and turmoil. These paintings are all characterizations of my current personal mental state; I am striving to learn to find comfort within discomfort, all the while allowing myself to continue to seek peace in the domestic and natural forms of the world.
Artist Biography
Miranda Whalen is a first generation college student. She currently lives in Lawrence, KS where she received her BFA in Visual Art with a minor in art history at the University of Kansas. Miranda works with various media but primarily works in oil paint. She was born in Nebraska but moved to Weston, Missouri at a very young age. Growing up in the Midwest, specifically in a small town of 1500 people, has impacted narratives and themes within her work. Living in a small community led to a family and nature centered lifestyle. She has a very close relationship to her mom, plants, and cats- which are all common motifs in her work. In 2026 she was chosen to display work for the Juried Undergraduate exhibition at Albrecht Kemper Museum, presented her senior thesis show at the Offsite Gallery, and participated in the senior exhibition in the Edgar Heap of Birds on campus at the University of Kansas. Miranda plans to continue studying painting at a graduate level in the near future, but until then will continue to create works inspired by human connection to nature and domestic spaces.
You can view Miranda's work in the Upper West gallery at the Phoenix Gallery
To view her work online or to purchase, please click here.