Concetta Morales, A Man with the Certainty of a Tree and the
Flair of a FISH: Tony Aguirre, 2001, Mosaic.

Concetta Morales designed the art for the Tony Aguirre Community Center based on Tony Aguirre’s commitment and dedication to the people of the Westside. A Man with the Certainty of a Tree and Flair of a FISH: Tony Aguirre, the artwork consists of mosaic panels set into the concrete exterior of the building. Each contains images from Aguirre’s time as coach and athletic director at the Guadalupe Center, as well as from his various other roles in the Westside community. One depiction of a large fish represents Aguirre’s nickname and the character traits he encouraged in young people (FISH stands for Friendship, Intelligence, Scholarship, and Honor).

Gordon Huether, Ambit, 2012 Painted steel and glass

The boundaries of the city and patrol areas are rendered in two layers of plasmacut steel; one side is gold, the other blue. The different areas served are outlined with complementary blue or gold, with dichroic glass squares denoting the different stations. The colors blue, gold and red come from traditional colors associated with law enforcement. The stacked glass grounding the sculpture is a metaphor for the limestone lying just below the surface of the station. The sculpture measures 12 feet high and 7.5 feet wide, weighing approximately 3 1/2 tons. Overall, the composition is bold, straightforward, dignified and orderly — words that describe the Kansas City Police Department.

Stuart Keeler, Apparent Systems (green grass), 2008, Painted steel, pavement, and landscaping

The stalks at first glance might remind one of the grasses at the river’s edge. The layered steel in multiples suggests a landscape with manmade materials, superimposed on the paver platform. The river and its grasses nurture life and commerce along the water’s path, blending nature with the built environment.

Rie Egawa + Burgess Zbryk, Barnacles, 2011 Powder-coated spun steel, steel, and polycarbonate

A love of fish and aquariums inspired the artists to create Barnacles for the east façade of the parking garage in the Power and Light District. Barnacles is attached to the side of the parking facility in much the same way true barnacles cement themselves to the marine substrate and animals, and to ships, bridges and other human-made intrusions on their natural territory. At first thought, Kansas City might seem inimical to barnacles, but until the end of the Paleozoic period the region was covered by a sea; the fossil record reveals much, including barnacles. Barnacles is nine feet tall at the center and spans 80 feet across the uppermost opening of the garage. Each powder-coated white “barnacle” is made of spun steel. Each includes a blue polycarbonate center which will highlight sunshine and car headlights inside and outside the garage, day and night. Of the piece, artist Burgess Zbyrk said, “We hope people see this and smile.”

Deborah Butterfield, Bonfire and Meridian, 1995, Bronze

At first glance, Bonfire (reclining) and Meridian (standing) appear to be branches, vines, and pieces of scrap wood, but they are actually cast bronze. The horses give observers feelings of calm and wonder, and even a sense of pathos. Butterfield’s profound understanding of horses and her love for them is apparent, allowing an easy appreciation for the work that is found at the Kansas City Zoo.

Robert Morris, Bull Wall, 1992 Milled steel, steam

Bull Wall by Robert Morris was Kansas City’s first One Percent for Art project. Saluting the city’s history, the piece is found near the railroads in the West Bottoms, once home to stockyards and cattle shows. The solid steel panel depicts 15 bulls in silhouette, while bursts of steam represented clouds of dust raised by trampling hooves; the piece combines strength and stability with frenzied motion as it weathers and rusts.

Christian Mann, Chandelabras, 2002 Found objects, glass and neon

Christian Mann explains in his artist statement, “Chandelier, a lighting fixture hung from the ceiling, and candelabra, a large branched candlestick, are the namesakes for the chandelabra series.” Mann’s installation includes five chandelabras in three of the Kansas City International Airport Terminal parking garage stair towers. Each is composed of found machinery parts and old steel cables mixed with colored neon lights.

SOFTlab, Cloud Gazing, 2022, Powder-coated aluminum, nylon straps, UV-printed acoustic tiles.

Cloud Gazing is located in the new terminal’s concourse Connector, taking advantage of the long, open perspective. The custom artwork includes 10 “clouds” with colorful backgrounds that span the length of the Connector ceiling. Hanging nylon straps give each cloud a three- dimensional and billowing quality while obscuring vibrant interlaced patterns printed on the ceiling tiles above each cloud. As visitors walk down the concourse or travel on the moving walkways below, the straps and interlaced colors create pattern interference and produce unexpected animations.

John W. Hans, Cone Worship, 2021, Archival Pigment Print

Cone Worship captures a pyramid-shaped wind direction indicator placed near runways to guide aircraft takeoffs and landings. The artist states, “Through my work I highlight the beauty and complexity of subtle, sometimes completely unnoticed surroundings. I’m always scanning for unique shapes, distinct patterns or superior light. I combine the uniquely complex aspects of everyday industrial or organic landscapes with artistic components like contrast or unpredictable compositions.”

James Woodfill, Deuce, 2002 Sign motors, fluorescent lights

Deuce by James Woodfill consists of six rotating, propeller-like light fixtures. Two fixtures are installed in each stair tower of the three Kansas City International Airport Terminal parking garages. The installations have two slowly rotating fixtures that are mounted in various locations in the three stair towers. Woodfill used four-foot long fluorescent lights attached on opposite sides of a rotating motor to create the eightfoot long, spinning signals. Blue and green filters on some of the rotating fixtures create different effects, visible twenty-four hours a day, inside and out.

Israel Alejandro García García, Diáspora No.1X, 2022, Mixed media, found objects, giclée archival prints, light, sound and video on acrylic.

Diáspora No.1X focuses on the immigrant experience, forced and voluntary human migration, BIPOC histories, and systematic segregation across generations. The artist explores how displaced communities have come together despite hostile environments to sustain their cultural identities— locally, nationally, and internationally. White X’ed panels represent historically excluded narratives of color. The artist asserts, “We don’t have to whitewash or censor stories. With understanding and solidarity, we can tell a more complete, honest people’s history.”

Allan Winkler, Dream Play, 2000, Steel

For the Marlborough Community Center project, Winkler creates uplifting images to inspire a sense of fun, play and movement – all aspects of what goes on in a community center. Winkler created hand-drawn pictures in a permanent medium, cut out of steel in a decorative, simple fashion. Winkler also chose the placement of his images; some hang in the windows in the gym while others mark the restrooms. Some are hidden in the rafters and one is wrapped around a heating duct, making their viewing a challenge for the most curious.

Beth Nybeck, Dream Swept, 2021 Stainless steel and powder-coated aluminum

To create Dream Swept, Kansas City-based artist Beth Nybeck imagined combining the form of birds with the maple tree seedpods that whirl to the ground as they fall. Nybeck was inspired by the rural farmland and forest heritage of the surrounding neighborhood and its present vitality.

The artist says, “This artwork casts dreams about the future and captures in a dynamic way the journey of moving from one place to the next, and bringing our dreams along with us.” One Percent for Art funding for Dream Swept came from general obligation bonds that voters passed in 2017 for citywide infrastructure improvements.

Bernadette Esperanza Torres, Dreaming of the Beautiful Places You Will Go, 2022, Digital images printed on vinyl, Plexiglass.

This multi-layered artwork features digital “dream clouds,” flowers from the artist’s ceramic artworks, and other imagery. As the daughter of a florist, Torres grew up surrounded by beautiful colors, amazing smells, forms, and shapes. “Flowers are intrinsic to all of my sculptures. For me, flowers represent the fragility of the cycle of life. Their presence always brings me joy.”

Stuart Keeler, Exposed Structures (System Mapping), 2008, Painted steel, pavement, and landscaping.

A portion of the Missouri River’s substrate is presented on the site – pinned to the ground. The triangles symbolize Pythagorean mathematics with cut steel that creates a tent, open to the sky. The GIS mapping of the river bed creates a new structure in the form of a living trellis. The piece brings to mind an unfolding map, and the adventures within. This project was administered in collaboration with the City Planning and Development Department.

Barbara Grygutis, Firefighters Memorial Fountain, 2015 Renovation Project, Aluminum, electric lights

The Firefighters Memorial Fountain commemorates firefighters who have died in service to the city. The improvements to the 1991 fountain were part of the City’s One Percent for Art program; funds for the renovation came from the construction of several fire stations. Rather than commissioning an art piece for each station, the money was directed to the memorial project. The new design includes aluminum panels engraved with the names of fallen firefighters. The panels are lighted at night, giving the memorial a more striking appearance. Barbara Grygutis, the artist responsible for the renewed design said, “The plaza has not been used in a while, so the idea is that people, the community, will use it again. The idea is to reinvigorate it, and to pay homage to the firefighters.”

Hou de Sousa, Flights, 2022, Aluminum composite panels.

Inside a stairway, within a parking garage, surrounded by an airport, movement is everywhere. Zooming farther out, the context expands and we see Kansas City, a cultural hotbed and fountain of musical innovation. Flights by Nancy Hou and Josh de Sousa celebrates the improvisational character of Kansas City jazz and the aerodynamic forms that enable flight. Featuring a variety of widths and palettes, the project’s streamlined fins evoke feathers and airfoils. Running parallel to the trajectory of the switchback stairways, the fins weave together into a syncopated rhythm, punctuated by unique apertures and moments of contrast that invite exploration and discovery. Beyond the nuanced moments and details that one encounters directly while passing through the stairway, the artwork’s broad and generous scale creates a dramatic visual impact when observed from a distance, particularly when illuminated at night.

Rachelle Gardner-Roe, Fly-Over Country: The Wild Side, 2022, Hand-dyed Shetland sheep and alpaca wool, thread, pins.

Sometimes referred to as “fly-over” country, the Midwest is home to a variety of ecosystems. This textile work depicts the wildlife of Missouri and Kansas far below the airplane cabin window. The colorful backdrop of hand-dyed wool comes from the artist’s family farm in rural Missouri.

Rob Ley, Urbana Studios, Formidable, 2014 Aluminum and steel

Formidable is an aluminum and steel sculpture that hangs in a two-story space connecting the older headquarters (built in 1938) with the 2014 construction that added new offices, workspace, electrical facilities and a spacious boardroom/ community room. Rob Ley’s graceful sculpture is made of hundreds of gold and silver tubes that hang as one, reminding people of the passage between old and new and the connection between all members of the community. The flow of the work lends an open and welcoming feeling to the area used by the public and the police department.

Leo Villareal, Fountain (KCI), 2023
Steel, LEDs, custom software and electrical hardware

Leo Villareal’s Fountain (KCI) harnesses the power of light in the form of a fountain to elicit a universal human response as it bridges Kansas City’s past to its future. The artwork is composed of elegant, repeating metallic forms embedded with thousands of monochromatic LEDs, through which Villareal evokes the movement of water. Villareal’s custom sequencing software allows him to arrange light patterns in random, non-repeating order, creating a presentation that is constantly evolving. Fountain (KCI) is ever-changing, eliciting circulation and breath within the terminal. Like Villareal’s greater body of work, Fountain (KCI) explores not only sculptural physicality but adds the dimension of time, combining both spatial and temporal resolution. The resulting forms move, change, interact, and ultimately grow into complex compositions that are inspired by mathematician John Conway’s work with cellular automata and the Game of Life.

Garth Edwards, Untitled, 1996 Brushed aluminum

The all-seeing eyes of a vigilant firefighter top scenes of dalmatians, flames and firefighters, which make up the brushed aluminum sculpture in front of the HazMat facility. Seattle-based artist Garth Edwards created the piece specifically for the site, incorporating his whimsical, cartoon characters into a 15-foot totem-like structure, which address the responsibilities of the firefighting profession.

Celina Curry, Gathering, Watching, and Passing By, 2015 Acrylic

The canopies of three streetcar tops at the River Market terminus portray the flourishing activity of the many people who ride the streetcar. The three separate and visually distinct shelter roofs show images that were drawn in graphite and digitized to different degrees, and then printed on the acrylic panels. The colorful depiction of passengers in the canopies lends a joyous, even whimsical tone while serving a protective function. The works are found at 3rd and Grand, 4th and Delaware, and 5th and Walnut.

Kathy Minhsin Liao, Hello and Goodbye, 2022, Acrylic on birchwood panels, epoxy, ceramic tiles.

Kathy Liao’s artwork relates to her immigrant background and captures a fluid state between experience and place. The artist revisited images, snapshots, and memories until they began to morph, overlap, and unravel. The artist says, “I immigrated to the U.S. from Taiwan as a teenager. Growing up in the suburbs of Southern California, I remembered my father visiting every three months, traveling between my Taiwan home and my America home. I think about the division of spaces and how that translates in my composition and color choices. Ceramic tiles capture fragments of memory and interrupt once-familiar patterns.”

Kati Toivanen, I Spy Carry-on, 2022
Digitally composed photographs

These compositions invite the traveler to seek and discover familiar items found in carry-on luggage that flows through x-ray machines. The project and its title were inspired by the popular I-Spy books, which present thematic visual riddles. The artist says, “For these photographs I embraced a shadow-show approach, a playful technique children use to invent and perform stories. The dreamlike imagery provides a calming moment for the travelers, and children will delight in recognizing familiar toys like dinosaurs and dolls. The viewer might even spot a pair of ruby-red slippers, a playful nod to our local cultural history.”

Julia Cole and Leigh Rosser, Inheritance, 2008 Mixed media

The project consists of five thematically connected works located throughout the Southeast Community Center. The first piece is Common Ground, a topographical map of the area surrounding the community center made of carved and polished plywood.. The second part is three maps mounted on glass panels entitled Mapping Community: Map of Probability, Map of Possibility, and Map of Being, which explore community, geographically and culturally. Ripple Effect is a 150 foot long sculpture of translucent blue fins that move as people pass in the hallway. Connection Web is a series of painted ceramic buttons that show the ecological interconnections of living beings. The piece is intending as a teaching tool. The final work is Video Explorers, two videos created by the artist and students at the center.

John T. Scott, Jazz Pantheon, 2002 Stainless steel

Jazz Pantheon, located at 18th and Vine, portrays the cultural and musical heritage of Kansas City. Silhouettes in stainless steel show musicians performing while other figures are shown listening, walking, and dancing; one rides a horse. Buses, cars, and floating bars of music are included. The stainless steel surface reflects the images of people viewing the art, placing them in the past as well as the present. Jazz Pantheon is a celebration, an homage to the city’s history, and a blending of art and humanity in a powerful and enduring medium. The art by John T. Scott is a celebration and social statement. “To me,” Scott said, “the thing that makes art is when you have form and content and you cannot distinguish between the two.”

Hong Chun Zhang, Kansas Braids Grass Style, 2022, Charcoal on Paper

The artist states, “I combine my drawings of long black hair with images of tall native grasses and wheat to depict the beauty of Kansas, as well as my identity of being a Chinese immigrant in the American Midwest. Each drawing is presented with scrolls on the ends like a traditional Chinese painting to accentuate the length and the flow of long hair.”

Sean Nash, Kansas City Reciprocity, 2022, Composite resin, fiberglass, muslin, acrylic paint and varnish on wood panel.

This artwork celebrates the commitment of KC-area farmers to food security, land stewardship, sustainability, ecological diversity, and preservation of cultural heritage. The Buffalo Seed Company, Longfellow Community Garden, Ki Koko Farms, Maseualkualli Farms, Sankara Farm, and Young Family Farm are represented by Cherokee white corn, tomatoes, long beans, jicama, hot peppers, and okra.The fruits and vegetables repeat across three panels and form images of a sun, a rainbow, a flower, and a wave. These forms remind us of the interdependence, transformations, and generational movements that have brought each of these foods here.

Rachel Hubbard Kline, Kansas City: A Quilted History, 2022, Stoneware and glaze

In this work, the artist celebrates Kansas City’s history by combining patterns from her collection of ancestral quilts with news stories and quilt patterns published in the Kansas City Star 1928- 1961. Laser engravings of historical events documented in the Star and the Kansas City Times appear on clay tiles that make up quilt-like geometric patterns. Through a process of transferring laser engraving onto clay slabs, the stories of our great city are emblazoned in heirloom patterns and colors. The resulting relief texture, though subtle, preserves Kansas City’s history for generations.

George Rodriguez, Let the Music Take You, 2022, Ceramic stoneware and glaze.

Nine larger-than-life ceramic jazz musicians stand together at the new airport looking forward to their next gig, with instrument cases in tow. Their clothing is decorated with glazed, molded ceramic patterns that subtly refer to popular symbols of Kansas City culture and history. Together the group represents the diversity of Kansas City’s people and celebrates jazz culture and the love of travel.

Michael Savage, various titles, 2020 Acrylic on canvas

Michael Savage’s 10 paintings at the Kansas City Campus for Animal Care feature a variety of animals to highlight the many types of animals that Kansas City Pet Project cares for. With whimsical artwork titles like Kitty Kats need Care and Pick Us!, Savage’s paintings remind us of the joy and love that pets bring to our lives.

JT Daniels, Midwestern Meanderings, 2022, Spray paint, latex paint, acrylic paint on wood panels.

This work depicts the diverse types of people you may meet in Kansas City, as well as the changing landscape, urban, suburban, and rural areas you experience nearby. The artist says, “Driving 30 to 50 minutes in any direction will allow you to experience the changing landscape that’s associated with the Midwest. More than just a flyover area, KC is home to fantastic people. I wanted to focus on not only the changing landscape, but also on the varied people you’ll most likely meet while visiting here.”

Terry Allen, Modern Communication, 1995 Bronze

Believing “work should raise questions,” Terry Allen sculpts bronze businessmen known for their tongue-in-cheek social commentaries. With a tie covering his eyes, fingers in his ears and a shoe in his mouth, this realistic figure, standing on a briefcase, blocks out the world around him. He represents no one and everyone, attracting as many interpretations as there are people crossing the courtyard he stands in. The implications are endless.

Soo Sunny Park, Molten Swing (Capturing Light Series), 2022, Stainless steel, dichroic acrylic.

This composition honors Bennie Moten (1894-1935), the Kansas City bandleader whose innovative “Moten Swing” composition helped Kansas City become the only UNESCO City of Music in the United States. Jazz makes something new of ordinary musical materials. Molten Swing uses ordinary steel frames and acrylic tiles to sculpt a malleable visual structure that changes as travelers and light flow through the space. It is a center of energy that reshapes the space around it.

Ned Smyth: Untitled, 2000 Mosaic

Ned Smyth used a unique mosaic process for the historical images that adorn the pillars at the Line Creek Community Center. The dark colored glass in simple line drawings show a man plowing the fields, a group of houses, a hawk, a cowboy and a Native American portrait upside down, a giant rabbit, and other images. The artist states, “I don’t intend to make political comment, I am using a process of drawing and, as might occur in my sketchbook, sometimes the images appear turned around.”

Hasna Sal, Nostalgia, 2022, Glass, LED lights, fiberboard.

This 10-part illuminated installation transforms seemingly ordinary Midwest imagery and experiences into the extraordinary through color, shapes, shadows, and tonalities. The artist conveys stories of human connection and emotion using a sgraffito technique. Glass powders are mixed with binding agents, brushed intricately onto glass panes, and annealed in a high-temperature kiln for weeks to achieve molecular stability for this viscous material. This installation took more than nine months to complete.

Linda Lighton, Ode to the Tallgrass Prairie, 2022, Ceramic tile, China paint, lustres.

To create this work, the artist researched many of the iconic plants and insects that are native to this area, as well as some that are invasive. She notes, “I learned that the female firefly lures the males and eats them to produce a smell that protects them from other insects, and that echinacea is a helpful cure for lung problems.” The midwestern tallgrass prairie, at 11,000 acres, previously 170 million acres, is the largest area of tallgrass prairie remaining. It consists of a luscious sea of green and rustling grasses, rippling under a vast blue sky.

Willie Cole, Ornithology, 2022, Assembled alto saxophones.

Ornithology is an installation by Willie Cole in the new terminal at Kansas City International Airport. The work consists of twelve larger-than-life birds made entirely from alto saxophones. Suspended from the ceiling in Retail Atrium B, this artwork is a tribute to Kansas City native and jazz great Charlie “Yardbird” Parker and his 1946 tune titled Ornithology. The birds were constructed in Kansas City’s historic 18th & Vine jazz district and installed in the new terminal with support from project partners Lillian Cho, Lighting Director Hortense Duthilleux, and Mike “The Horn Doctor” Corrigan of Kansas City’s BAC Music.

Kwanza Humphrey, People of KC, 2022, Oil on canvas

People of KC features three women and two men of various backgrounds that represent what it means to live in greater Kansas City. Women make up the majority of these panels because the artist believes “the pendulum needs to swing in more of a feminine direction.” He adds, “A city isn’t about the objects, buildings or what there is to do, but it’s about the people. How we live in the community and what we care about is what defines a city.”

Ed Dwight, Phoenix Rising out of the Ashes, 2019 Bronze and rolled copper.

Ed Dwight titled this work Phoenix Rising Out of the Ashes as a reflection of the rebirth of the surrounding community. According to the artist, “The Linwood District has experienced hard times in the past, so I proposed a sculptural installation symbolizing the Linwood District as the ‘Phoenix Rising out of the Ashes.’ I represent this metaphor with the use of a 16-foot-tall tower of rolled copper rising out of the shopping center. The tower is open in the front from bottom to top for light to emerge into its center. Emerging out of the tower’s top are five figures representing typical Linwood residents that have experienced the ‘fire’ of stagnation and the neighborhood now striving for progress. The main feature of the tower is a light that shines up through the tower and illuminates the top figures. To provide the drama of the installation, the inside surface of the tower is painted with a metallic gold reflective paint that illuminates the work and the area around it.”

Kristen Jones and Andrew Ginzel, Polarities, 2002-2024, Terrazzo flooring, mosaic.

The deep blue terrazzo floors of Kansas City International Airport’s former terminals contained inset brass plus and minus signs and circular, inset mosaic emblems of marble, glass and terrazzo. The emblems were inspired by the sky and land, flight and nature. One is a mosaic of The Scout, a Kansas City landmark. The colorful lines and circles resembled cartography and the orbital patterns of planets.

38 medallions were salvaged from the former Terminal A and reused in the new single terminal. Over 40 medallions were salvaged from terminals B and C.

Mona Cliff, Prairie Confluence, 2022, Seed beads, wood, beeswax, pine rosin, petroleum jelly, thread, glue.

Prairie Confluence is an organic abstraction and expression of converging regional influences. The artist says, “During my time living in Kansas, I’ve come to love the billowing clouds of incoming thunderstorms and the subtle beauty of the rolling hills and how light plays against the gentle mounds. I wanted to allude to a number of organic influences such as skyscapes, waterways, rolling hills, and landscapes.”

Janet Zweig and el dorado, inc., Prairie Logic, 2012, Prairie grass, landscaping and a modified box car.

The sculpture is a perforated, semi-transparent boxcar and the landscaping consists of native prairie grass that covers the green roof area of the park. The boxcar sits on rails that trail off into the prairie a few feet on either side. From the artist’s proposal: “Conceptually, the piece is about our contemporary condition of longing—the longing to be someplace else, both spatially and temporally. We have nostalgia for an imaginary past, and sometimes we long to leave home. Urbanites long to be in the suburbs; suburbanites long to be in the city. Urbanites and suburbanites long to be in the wild; people in tall office buildings may wish they were outdoors. People without jobs might be wondering what it would be like to work in one of the tall buildings that surround the roof. We hope the artwork can form a reality that is strikingly different than the city or the suburbs, a strange escape from both time and place.” Prairie Logic is primarily intended to be a place of contemplation and reflection as viewed from adjacent buildings and as experienced on site. The boxcar has doors that can be opened so the space can be used as a stage. The site includes a small gravel-paved area adjacent to the sculpture where a small audience for art or educational events can gather.

Ellen Driscoll, Pro Patria Mori, 2006 Stainless steel, mosaic

The gates at the entrance of the National World War I Museum and Memorial create an 84-foot panoramic mural executed in steel and mosaic, showing scenes from the Great War. A nurse tending the wounded, horses and planes, a skeletal Grim Reaper, and other scenes from the devastating war are done in mosaic. Laser cut holes in the steel gate show soldiers walking away from battle, and is based on a photo in the museum archives.

Elwood (James Woodfill and el dorado, inc.), Pulse, 2002 Steel, LED lights, computer circuits and speakers

Pulse consists of 15 light arrays installed in the two stair towers of the parking facility. Each array faces east and includes 21 blue LED lights that are programmed to pulse independently and as people pass sensors in the stairwells. Adding to the effect are continuous low-level sound patterns that react to people passing by. This work is visible from inside and outside the building, casting ambient blue light throughout the stair towers. Pulse is a collaboration of Kansas City artist James Woodfill and el dorado, inc., a Kansas City architectural firm.

Buster Simpson: Quenching Cup, Offering Hat and Illuminating Boat, 1997 Steel, mixed media

Emphasizing the healing properties of water, light and plant life, Buster Simpson’s stylized origami-like folded vessels blend art and the environment. Water spills from Quenching Cup into a pool outside, while the suspended Illuminating Boat reflects light in the atrium. Offering Hat provides plants in reference to nature’s role in healing. Abstract figures resembling fingers hold each piece, adding human touch to the composition. Simpson’s art reflects a social consciousness, believing we should “act in concert with the planet.”

Laura Crehuet Berman, Rays, 2022, Monoprints with oil-based ink on cotton paper.

Artist Laura Crehuet Berman created Rays after being inspired for many years by the landscape surrounding Kansas City and its dynamic relationship to the sky and earth. Originally begun as a tiny doodle, the grass-like images were scanned, enlarged, and repeated throughout the piece as
variously sized printing plates. Each image in the work was inked with a unique color and placed by hand in its own space within the overall composition. Overall, the triptych contains 20 different hand-mixed colors and hundreds of printing plates, printed together in five runs through a large intaglio press.

Gordon Huether, Red Eye, 2009 Aluminum, glass, and paint

Red Eye adorns the entry to the City-owned parking facility which is part of JE Dunn’s headquarters, across the street from City Hall and Municipal Court. Limited space for art and a population more interested in leaving the space than viewing art make parking facilities a special challenge for artists. Huether was selected in part due to his extensive experience in addressing this challenge. The red ‘eye’ refers to tail lights visible on leaving. The giant abstract painting identifies the public portal to the garage and keeps an eye on the inside of the garage and the neighborhood nearby.

Jake Balcom, Remembrance, 2021 Stainless settel and acrylic

Jake Balcom’s elegant sculpture was inspired by memorial fountains and contains poignant symbolism. Bright blue acrylic diamonds suggest water as well as uniformed officers, while three rings of nine vertical elements recall the radio code 10-999, which some police departments use to indicate an officer down.

Michele Oka Doner, River Jacks, 1996, Bronze

Blending the line between art and function, Michele Oka Doner’s fireplace and hearth, bronze fire screen and tools fill the Hillcrest Community Center with the spirit of history. The title, River Jacks, refers to the native river stones used in the hearth’s construction. Doner combines her interests in natural history, archaeology, and anthropology into a piece that, in her own words, “evokes the ancestral storage containers of early Missourians.” The work is as functional as it is evocative.

Michael Davis, Salute, 2010 Bronze, stainless steel, glass, copper, concrete

As described by the artist, the artwork includes a weather vane mounted atop a compass rose. The vane is topped with a copper silhouette of a police officer saluting the surrounding community. The figure brings into focus the person behind the badge who shares in the life of the community. Below the vane, a structure of stainless steel, bronze, granite and blue glass creates a sun dial. As the earth revolves and orbits the sun throughout the day, a shadow records the movement of the sun’s path. At midday, the tower aligns with a solar noon line in the plaza, illuminating it with a line of blue light marking the sun’s path. This phenomenon will continually change, marking time and the seasons. Witnessing time in this way connects us to forces outside our day-to-day activity and is a reminder of our orientation to the forces of nature.

Santiago Cucullu, Separate and Complex Bodies, Sophisticated Interactions, and Unfathomable Lives, 2022, Printed vinyl on aluminum.

Spending time in woods and forests can produce multiple positive physiological effects on us. This work is a panoramic collage of various wooded areas around the city at the onset of spring. Winter quickly recedes, and the world pushes forward again. This large artwork signifies that a walk through the woods can place us firmly in the moment. Our perceptions quickly become heightened, and the experience shifts our framing of time and space beyond our own bodies.

Matthew Dehaemers, Seven Sentinels, 2008 Specially fabricated parking gates

“Life is full of challenges. Some are self-induced and some are thrust upon us. Regardless, after we face them, it’s nice to get a pat on the shoulder to help us move on,” Dehaemers said during one planning meeting. “When people experience Seven Sentinels, I hope they smile. At least they’ll have a chance to gain some closure and move forward.” Seven Sentinels is made of automatic parking gates modified into seven, 16-foot-tall sculptures standing equidistant inside the traffic island that separates traffic at the vehicle impound facility. Each gate rises as cars leave the facility, presenting a synchronized display akin to a salute. After the car passes all the gates, they return to their level state in a similarly staggered wave pattern. The gates represent closure and moving forward. Dehaemers’ goal was to make people smile, even if they were not happy.

Phil “Sike Style” Shafer, Show Me Champions, 2017 Hand-painted exterior mural, latex paint, spray paint on DiBond.

Phil Shafer’s 100 foot by 14 foot mural, Show Me Champions, adorns the south facade of the Kansas City Urban Youth Academy in the heart of the historic 18th and Vine District. The handpainted design pays tribute to Kansas City baseball’s past, present, and future. Included are references to the Negro Leagues, founded in Kansas City in 1920, along with legendary players Satchel Paige, Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron, Bob Gibson, Frank White, Bo Jackson, Salvador Perez, and Alex Gordon, to name a few. Painted illustrations celebrate messages of community and sportsmanship with homages to KC Jazz, Municipal and Kauffman stadiums, the Royals championship teams of 1985 and 2015, youth baseball, and women’s softball.

John Louder, Sight Lines, Flight Lines, 2022, Oil on linen.

Each of these paintings features a ground-level view and an aerial view to portray a scene typical of the area surrounding Kansas City International Airport. Color-coded lines indicate the lines of sight in each painting, while the passenger plane silhouette in the aerial view points in the direction of the airport. The artist says, “I have been painting landscapes for over fifty years and I am always looking for ways to add to the traditional approach to landscape painting. My interest in maps led to the idea of including the satellite view corresponding and contrasting with the standing-on-earth view.”

Denise DiPiazzo, Sixteen Windows, 2016 Laser-cut copper

To create Sixteen Windows, Denise DiPiazzo reflected on the many activities that take place within the Municipal Court. The artist says, “Openings allow for inward contemplation of past history, while angled panels reach outward to the future. With over 200,000 cases annually, a multitude of human interactions from routine to the extraordinary are experienced within these walls. From paper to punch cards to pixels, this facility processes an astounding amount of records and information.”

Jill Anholt, Sky Prairie, 2022 Steel, aluminum, programmed LEDs

Sky Prairie is an illuminated kinetic artwork that takes inspiration from the topography, flowing grasses, and warm golden hues of the rolling hills surrounding Kansas City. The artwork is activated by amber-hued lighting sequences, wind, and air currents from vehicles moving through the arrivals roadway. Located at two crosswalks along KCI’s arrivals roadway, Sky Prairie creates an unexpected immersive experience for travelers as they take their first steps out of the Kansas City airport terminal and into the western Missouri geography and culture. The work is comprised of two arrays of 1,714 painted aluminum tubes fastened to a horizontal frame that floats above pedestrians at each crosswalk location. Each tube is suspended on a stainless steel aircraft cable, which allows it to shift back and forth in sequence along with the other tubes.

R.M. Fischer, Sky Stations, 1994 Stainless steel, aluminum, lights

Transforming the city’s skyline, R.M. Fischer’s stainless steel sculptures tower above the Kansas City Convention Center and Bartle Hall. The four ornaments adorning the building’s structural supports are interpretations of the Art Deco style prevalent in nearby buildings. Interior decoration completes the synthesis of old and new parts of the convention center with 48 hanging works, including a giant clock and light fixtures throughout pedestrian passageways and conference center. Although initially derided, Sky Stations is now perhaps the most notable example of public art in Kansas City.

Warren Rosser, Spirit Catcher: Arrival of the Travelers, 1994 Wood, steel

Warren Rosser’s Spirit Catcher: Arrival of the Travelers adds energy to the spaces it now occupies in City Hall. Originally adorning the lobby of the Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport, the work was moved to City Hall’s 11th and 17th floors in 2016. Constructed from poplar and painted in primary colors, the sculpture translates the kinetics of the human body into figurative rhythms. Rosser’s inspiration came from the Dogon of Mali, who place structures on their houses in order to pull spirits from the air.

David Griggs, Star Turn, 2021 Painted aluminum, programmed LED lights

David Griggs’ Star Turn adds bold color and dynamic curves to this formal space leading to the Convention Center’s Grand Ballroom. Griggs states that the round form of his sculpture was inspired by “star trails,” the circular patterns of stars in time-lapse photographs of the night sky. In addition, Star Turn echoes Jun Kaneko’s rounded artwork outside the Convention Center windows. Griggs’ sculpture also recalls the dramatic arcs of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts to the south of the Convention Center. The artist is based in Colorado and has been making art for public spaces for nearly 40 years.

Alice Aycock: Strange Attractor for Kansas City, 2007 Aluminum, neon, Plexiglass, halogen lights.

Alice Aycock wrote of her work, “The sculpture evokes the spaces created by wind tunnels, which are used to test the aerodynamics of airplane designs. It also suggests future travel through wormholes or time machines imagined in science fiction as well as the astrophysics illustrations of Stephen Hawking. From a distance, the interior space draws the spectator in and gives the longterm parking area a strong focus. The sculpture also suggests a device that could broadcast information from and to outer space. The neon antennas are designed as a vertical counterpoint to the curvature of the tunnel. They also mark the spot and suggest that energy is radiating out into and down through the sculpture.”

Andy Dufford, Strange Strange Sam, 2008 Rubberized play surface, carved and polished stone

The Zoo’s entry plaza is designed as a transitional area where parents can sit and kids can play while waiting to enter or leave the zoo. The selection panel was impressed by Dufford’s use of carved stone and his interest in working with the zoo’s educational department to create hands-on artwork which could be used for play and imagining. The artwork includes Strange Strange Sam, a poem by the artist. The poem is embedded in several numbered medallions surrounding the artwork, leading the children through an investigation of this imaginary creature who thrives on land, in the water, and in the air.

STRETCH, Sunburst, Dancing Crescents, and Dusk, 2002, Mixed media

Kansas City artist STRETCH created three pieces for the stair towers, one in each of the Terminal parking garages at Kansas City International Airport. Dancing Crescents is made of strands with steel crescents that cradle dichroic glass pieces, hanging from the tower ceiling. The installation moves as people traverse the stairways. Sunburst appears as a simple, three-dimensional sun, its lighted rays providing a yellow aura. In Dusk, the artist uses dichroic glass to capture and reflect a
range of colors to mimic an ever-changing sunset.

Stephen Proski, Taking Flight, 2022, Acrylic on collaged canvas.

Taking Flight depicts the three stages of commercial air travel: liftoff, cruise control, and the final approach. In each panel, passengers engage in casual conversation, soaring through the clouds several miles above sea level. In the last phase of descent passengers look out the window where Monarch butterfly silhouettes flutter above Kaw Point—the point where the Missouri and Kansas rivers meet—greeting you upon arrival to your destination: Kansas City.

Mags Harries + Lajos Heder and composers Bobby Watson, David Moulton and Roberta Vacca, Terpsichore for Kansas City, 2012 Mixed media, lights and sound

Terpsichore for Kansas City embraces the notion that a garage might serve a more innovative purpose than merely storing cars. Properly outfitted, a garage can become an inventive and inspiring musical and visual instrument; an experiential device for the pleasure of people moving through the garage, particularly those going to and coming from performances at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, and an inspiration to draw the arts into one’s life after a performance. When visitors exit their vehicles anywhere in the garage, they’ll hear music coming from the ceiling. As they pass through the garage toward an exit or in the main garage stairway, people will notice that the music is unique to the space—one of three original compositions created specifically for the garage by composers David Moulton, Roberta Vacca and Bobby Watson. Visitors approaching the center piece of the artwork—a four-story “light organ” situated in the central stair tower of the garage—will see the light moving up and down inside the seven, four-story acrylic tubes choreographed with the music. The artists hope that the experience in the garage will provide enjoyment for passersby and a gentle transition for those coming to or who have just enjoyed a performance inside the hall.

Nick Cave, The Air Up There, 2023
Steel wind spinners, snaps, swivels and cable

Nearly 3,000 individual strands create an overhead spinner installation spanning almost 500 feet. The custom wind spinners depict icons from the Kansas City region such as fountains and native animals, as well as symbols of equality and love, inspired by the magic of flight. The Air Up There is an expansion of Cave’s installation at Mass MoCA, which was envisioned as a way to put yourself in the belly of one of the artist’s “soundsuits.” All the color, memory and exuberance of the soundsuit is exploded into a kinetic sculpture made from thousands of colorful wind spinners delivering positive tenets, as well as local icons. The work conveys the importance of every tiny thing to a greater whole and serves as a reminder of our own place in a world much larger than ourselves.

Douglas Kornfeld, The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled, 2023

Douglas Kornfeld’s sculpture features two large, abstracted faces made of bent steel tubing painted bold red. The artist was inspired by the comedy and tragedy masks, traditional symbols of theatre that originated in ancient Greece. The laughing face symbolizes Thalia, the ancient Greek Muse of comedy, and the weeping face portrays Melpomene, the Muse of tragedy. Kornfeld says, “When we experience the live arts today, the wide diversity of audiences and performances means there is a greater variety of emotions and ideas evoked beyond the two symbolized by the masks. My sculpture depicts faces with more ambiguous expressions to invite audiences to share different interpretations.” One Percent for Art funding for this project came from general obligation bonds that voters passed in 2017 for citywide infrastructure improvements.

Chris Doyle, The Moons, 2007 LED screens, video and landscaping

The Moons are three screens standing on landscaped islands near the west entrance of the Sprint Center. The screens show people in apparently unaided, supernatural flight. The artist videotaped over 600 Kansas City residents jumping on trampolines—now they sail by the arena in joyous orbit. The Moons complement the seasonal changes of the landscaping and the accompanying water features, enriching the lively and busy downtown.

Ken Ferguson: The Race is Not Always to the Swift, Rabbit Hiding from Fox and Two Doves Sitting on a Branch Up High, 1999 Bronze, ceramic

Masterfully evolving from real and mythical sources, the hare has dominated Ken Ferguson’s art since 1985. Taken from the famed Aesop fable, The Race is Not Always to the Swift combines the hare with the Center’s icon, the tortoise, in a race to the finish. Depicting the hare eluding his antagonist, Rabbit Hiding From Fox comes from Southern folklore revolving around a witty trickster rabbit. Overlooking the nature center, the Two Doves Sitting On a Branch Up High symbolize love and peace, precisely how, the artist says, “we should see the world and all of the animals.”

Wopo Holup, The River, 2007 Stainless steel, bronze and limestone

Coursing through the interior of the Shoal Creek Police Station, and across the greenspace and parking area of the nearby Kansas City Police Academy is a stylized bronze and stainless steel representation of the Missouri River as it winds from Kansas City to St. Louis. On nearby benches and atop limestone pillars set along the river are largerthan- life bronze and limestone eagles, keeping figurative watch over the territory. The strong, stately birds attest to the power and durability of the natural surroundings, and represent our national emblem which also appears on the badges of the Kansas City Police Department.

Joel Shapiro, Three Figures/Fifteen Elements, 1996 Bronze

Welcoming visitors at the Kansas City International Airport, the bronze sculptures are geometric shapes from one angle, but active figures when viewed from a slightly different perspective. Heavy beams connected at angles create the reclining, bending and balancing figures that almost come alive. The figures can be viewed as geometric abstractions of the human form, kneeling, standing or dancing and waving in recognition of those arriving or departing the airport.

Christopher Brown, Tingmissartoq, 2000 Oil on canvas

Tingmissartoq (“one who flies like a big bird”) was the Inuit name given the plane flown by Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh in their 1931 flight from Maine to Japan and China, via the great arc route. The trip was recounted in North to the Orient, Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s bestselling account of the adventure which won the first National Book Award in 1935. Christopher Brown’s painting, based on a picture of the Lindberghs arriving at a dock. Tingmissartoq is a grayscale, oil-based mural which hangs the lobby of the Aviation Department Administration building at Kansas City International Airport.

Frank Swanson, To Serve and Protect, 2017 Mesabi Black Granite

Swanson explains, “To serve and protect are lofty goals for the Kansas City Police Department. To complete this mission, the police force must mold itself to the needs and nuances of the community it serves. My sculpture is designed to relate to and reflect the relationship between those who are working in law enforcement and the community they serve and protect. The sculpture starts as a single block of stone that is shaped and then cut into three interlocking pieces. These three pieces fit together as one, representing the family of police and community and their direct relationship with t each other. Each piece shapes the other pieces as they work together to form the whole. The sculpture represents the strong relationship between the Kansas City Police Department and the community it serves.”

Gail Simpson and Aris Georgiades, Transporters, 2015-2017, Aluminum and Bronze

Kansas City’s role as a hub of transportation, particularly during the westward movement, served as inspiration for the artwork near the historic Union Station. The reincarnation of the city’s streetcar system and the evolution of methods of transportation are significant to the city’s growth and development. Trains, riverboats, planes and automobiles are blended in the aluminum and bronze Transporters, creating figures that speak to the power and imagination of the mechanical energy that helped build Kansas City and America.

Jake Balcom, Triple Blome, 2014 Aluminum and steel

Triple Blome by Jake Balcom is a series of three geometric sculptures made of stainless steel, standing on ten-foot steel poles. Towering over the sidelines of the Swope Soccer Village playing fields, the sculptures use the hexagonal/pentagonal shapes found in soccer balls to evoke the natural beauty of flowers blooming nearby. Triple Blome serves as a symbolic marker, inviting players and observers to enjoy sport and art simultaneously.

Jay Markel, Urban Palisade, 1994 Bronze, steel and stone

Jay Markel’s Urban Palisade is situated in front of Kansas City Police Department’s Central Patrol Division station. The sculpture is a representation of a mountain range, with intersecting metal bars forming the earth’s crust. Secure inside the symbolic mountain is a sizeable piece of stone. The bronze latticework and the internal stone add color and texture to the severe architecture of the building behind it.

Jun Kaneko, Water Plaza, 2007 Concrete, ceramic; oil and canvas, Kansas City Convention Center Ballroom.

Kaneko says, “My aesthetic is akin to European public space design where the surface is a distinguishing and sensory part of the architecture and a Japanese garden with meticulous minimalist
concern for each surface and texture and their relationship to each other in the space.” On top of a water pattern, the artist places several of his large sculptural forms whose surface glazes and shapes flow with, obstruct or reflect the plaza pattern. Their scale and groupings invite people to linger on the plaza, and perhaps engage in dialogues both visual and verbal. Through the Convention Center’s glass wall, the composition continues with vertical companion artwork. A large painting graces the interior with the color and activity found in the exterior works. The pattern of the wall is like a colorful waterfall, flowing into the space where people gather.

David Dahlquist + RDG Studio, We Are a Bowl: Empty Earthen Vessels Waiting to be Filled, 2016 Clay

David Dahlquist and his team from RDG Studio created We Are a Bowl: Empty Earthen Vessels Waiting to be Filled with involvement of people from the surrounding neighborhoods. The artist hosted a “throwing mudathon” at which hundreds of people from pre-school to high school and adults of all ages threw clay, making bowls for the artwork. Relevant symbols such as a dogwood blossom, a bee, and a badge rendered in terra cotta appear with the bowls. Glenn North, a Kansas City writer, was asked to provide a poem for the project, and an excerpt (“Empty Earthen Vessels Waiting to be Filled”) adorns the top of the wall. Dahlquist has an extensive public art background and tries to always incorporate public participation in his artistic process.

Zhao Suikang, Winds of Aphrodite, 2008 Aluminum screen over a galvanized steel superstructure

Zhao Suikang collaborated with Crawford Architects to develop an art and design concept that was realized through the expertise of A. Zahner Co. The work is integrated into the north façade of the Convention Center’s loading dock. Winds of Aphrodite appears to be a massive piece of fabric, tossed by the wind and caught on the corner, falling and gracefully covering a large portion of the building. The artist’s intention was to complement the large, utilitarian structure with a cover that appeared soft and mysterious. For observers, the net-like aluminum screen changes the functional loading dock into an encounter with the imagination.

John Balistreri, Wings, 2022
Ceramic stoneware with slips and glazes

Wings consists of four large-scale ceramic sculptures hand-built by the artist using slab and coil techniques. Each wing was dried for ten months, then painted with slips and glazes formulated by the artist. They were then fired separately in a large kiln for two hundred hours for each wing. The two largest central wings are nearly ten feet tall. They mirror each other and are connected by a
patterned sphere that represents the human fingerprint. The smaller eight-foot wings that flank the central wings on both sides have imagery which connects all four elements visually. The wavy blue line at the lower part of each wing represents how the Missouri river winds through Kansas City. The pattern below the river is that of a dragonfly, one of the earliest life forms to master flight. The light blue background color represents the sky of Kansas in the summer. The flowers floating on the light blue are from the flowering dogwood, the state tree of Missouri. The honeybee on the left wing is the state insect of Kansas, and the eastern bluebird on the far right wing is the state bird of Missouri.
The airplane on the center wings is a Lockheed Vega, which is the plane that Amelia Earhart flew solo from the west coast to Hawaii. She was from the Kansas City area. The ailerons of each wing sculpture are painted in signal flag colors, spelling KCMO when read left to right.

Debbie Barrett-Jones, Woven Landscape print series, 2022,
Hand-dyed, handwoven textile, photographed and printed on 100% rag Matte Photographique, archivally mounted on Komatex.

This work began as hand-dyed yarn woven on a 16-harness loom. Compelled by curiosity and the desire to see from multiple perspectives, the artist hand-sculpted the textile to evoke a 3-D landscape. She then photographed this traditionally woven textile to produce these prints. Like a long walk or a country drive, Woven Landscape celebrates how our lives are interwoven with this rich land.