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  "description": "Curated by Branden Lawless, \"Color Bomb!\" sets a playful tone for the summer at ShiftSpace. ",
  "path": "/a-group-show-at-wsu-shiftspace-spans-the-colors-of-the-rainbow/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-21T18:50:17.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.shoutwichita.com",
  "tags": [
    "Branden Lawless",
    "Johanna Cairns",
    "Read about our commitment to sharing accurate information",
    "Derby man has the kind of voice that turns heads — and chairs",
    "Socializing while sober: how some Wichitans are cultivating alcohol-free communities",
    "As a small creative business closes, the owner mourns",
    "Painting through it: Autumn Noire on 20 years of making art",
    "How a guy from Wichita resurrected 'Dawn of the Dead'",
    "Bygone Friends University museum housed curious collections",
    "Click here to support our work with a tax-deductible donation",
    "Yes! I want to support the SHOUT"
  ],
  "textContent": "I visited “Color Bomb!” at WSU ShiftSpace on First Friday before the throngs arrived. What I encountered was less an explosion of color and more of an outburst — an observation that says less about the exhibition itself than it does the nature of the gallery space.\n\nHoused within the arts powerhouse Harvester Arts, WSU ShiftSpace is unlike most public galleries in Wichita. It is dedicated to current students and recent graduates of Wichita State's School of Art, Design, and Creative Industries and serves as a laboratory for artists who are still developing their practices and finding their voices.\n\nAly Horn, “Timberdoodle vs. Gumberoo: An Epic Battle for the Ages,” crocheted tapestry on oak dowels. __Photo by Jessy Clonts Day for The SHOUT.__\n\nBy focusing on emerging artists, ShiftSpace helps bridge the gap between art school and professional practice. Many of these emerging artists choose to remain in Wichita and become the next generation of working artists, advocates, and arts educators in the city.\n\nKora Hanna, “‘O’ Vase,” ceramics. __Photo by Jessy Clonts Day for The SHOUT.__\n\nRecent Wichita State graduate Branden Lawless, who earned this debut curatorial opportunity through a faculty selection committee, transformed the original proposal of two longer exhibitions into three month-long shows to open on First Fridays this summer.\n\n## Our free email newsletter is like having a friend who __always__ knows what's happening\n\nGet the scoop on Wichita’s arts & culture scene: events, news, artist opportunities, and more. Free, weekly & worth your while.\n\nSubscribe\n\nEmail sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup.\n\nNo spam. Unsubscribe anytime.\n\nLawless’ triumphant Master of Fine Arts thesis exhibition at Harvester Arts in May,_“_ Rat Bastard University: Home Sweet Home,” was a world-building collection of sculptural ceramic figures that included large-scale, exaggerated, anthropomorphized animal characters and cityscapes as well as duplicate miniature ceramic action figures housed within graphically designed RBU packaging, which he also fabricated. To take his world further, at the exhibition opening reception he dressed in the likeness of his main character Bam, in baggy jeans, goggles, and green hair. Lawless is establishing an edgy voice of whimsical satire from a self-described Midwestern queer perspective. It’s exciting to witness.\n\nKore Crystal, “The Unicorn’s Revenge,” printmaking. __Photo by Jessy Clonts Day for The SHOUT.__\n\n“A big reason why I decided to propose ideas for this is because I’m staying in the Wichita area. I’m from Derby, and I grew up all around here, and I want to continue building my art presence here,” Lawless said in an interview with The SHOUT.\n\nKristopher Cruspero, “Blueberry #3,” Digital Art. __Photo by Jessy Clonts Day for The SHOUT.__\n\n“Color Bomb!” __ is organized in the classic ROYGBV rainbow sequence (plus some pinks, grays, and blacks) with 38 works by 18 artists in a broad range of media, from ceramics and acrylic paint to woven fiber and reduction woodcut prints.\n\nDao Tang, “A Fragile Fate,” acrylic gouache, ink, and acrylic on canvas. __Photo by Jessy Clonts Day for The SHOUT.__\n\nPresented during Pride month, Lawless acknowledged that this is a Pride show without it being an overt Pride show, instead allowing the color itself to carry much of the conversation. The labels feel considered, providing the artists’ names, work titles, and media, but also a direct line to learning more, with the contact information and Instagram handles for the artists include at the bottom.\n\nDao Tang, “Cherry Girl Landscape,” acrylic, oil, and plastic embellishments on canvas. __Photo by Jessy Clonts Day for The SHOUT.__\n\n“My main focus was to give opportunities to students,” Lawless said. “For a lot of the students that applied for this show, this is their first exhibition.”\n\nMicalah Ruff, “Queens,” mixed media. __Photo by Jessy Clonts Day for The SHOUT.__\n\nAmong the red works, Micalah Ruff’s “Queens” depicts two female-presenting figures who represent different generations within the same family. Rendered in embroidered thread, the figures share identical brown-toned skin and crimson tops. One appears more youthful with black hair and a cutout in the shoulder of her shirt; the other appears older, with gray hair and a jacket layered over her blouse. The absence of facial features shifts attention toward the visual and emotional connection between them.\n\nSierra Hagan, “Untitled,” oil on canvas. __Photo by Jessy Clonts Day for The SHOUT.__\n\nSierra Hagan’s abstract “Untitled” oil painting is a vibrant blend of sunset oranges and yellows, with softer glints of purples and greens subtly woven into the background. The muted lavender peaks in the top center of the work, and a soft swatch of aqua in the lower left corner suggests a golden-hour landscape.\n\nSloane Dyer, “Untitled,” oil on canvas. __Photo by Jessy Clonts Day for The SHOUT.__\n\nIn the yellow section, Sloane Dyer’s “Untitled” color study demonstrates a confident handling of paint. Thick impasto swatches of mustard yellow swirl into brighter banana tones above linear strokes of creams layered over greens. The work rewards close looking through its attention to texture and surface.\n\nKrista Edwards, “Don’t Take My Pickles,” Acrylic on canvas. __Photo by Jessy Clonts Day for The SHOUT.__\n\nThe green section features a playful oval acrylic painting of a popular deli counter item. Krista Edwards’ “Don’t Take My Pickles” depicts a dense, almost overflowing cluster of bright green pickles with textured bumps on a dark background, which makes them pop.\n\nJessica Lada, “Blue Bottles,” ceramics. __Photo by Jessy Clonts Day for The SHOUT.__\n\nThe blue section occupies the largest portion of the exhibition, lending some support to the often cited theory that it is the world’s favorite color. Jessica Lada’s “Blue Bottles” are five ceramic vessels of varying heights and bulbous forms covered in a crystalline glaze. This type of glaze requires a fascinating chemistry of minerals in the firing process to grow actual crystal structures on the ceramic form. Lada continues this glaze exploration in an untitled wall-mounted work composed of undulating waves of blue and stone-colored forms.\n\nFatima Bravo, “Skin of the Sea,” ceramics. __Photo by Jessy Clonts Day for The SHOUT.__\n\nNearby, Fatima Bravo’s “Skin of the Sea” evokes a tidal pool hugged by spiky sea urchins. The vessel’s gaping central hole creates a sense of mystery, inviting viewers to peek inside.\n\nKenna Green, “Don’t Shoot It’s Just Cardio,” oil, acrylic, and gems on wood. __Photo by Jessy Clonts Day for The SHOUT.__\n\nOne of the exhibition’s most poignant works is Kenna Green’s “Don’t Shoot It’s Just Cardio.” A Black figure in neon athletic clothing runs away from the viewer, the titular phrase bedazzled across the back of the T-shirt. The runner moves through a scape of dripping (bleeding?) stars and oversized X’s, striding toward a set of crosshairs, while the number 25 emerges beneath layers of bright pink. The combination of jewels and metallic golds and unsettling imagery creates a tension between leisure and violence. It is pure speculation, but this work may reference Ahmaud Arbery, the unarmed, 25 year-old Black man who was fatally gunned down by three white men in a truck as he jogged through a Georgia neighborhood in 2020.\n\nT.K. Olsen, “Above/below,” Woven fiber,” __Photos by Jessy Clonts Day for The SHOUT.__\n\nT.K. Olsen’s “Above/below” is an understated fiber weaving depicting two apples. The upper fruit appears perfectly ripe and shiny, while the fruit below it is speckled with mold spots. Quiet and restrained, the work provides a thoughtful conclusion to the violet section of the rainbow spectrum.\n\nAutumn Kurtzer, “In Space, No One Can Hear You Screaming,” oil. __Photo by Jessy Clonts Day for The SHOUT.__\n\nAs a curatorial concept, “Color Bomb!” __ has interesting intention and direction. The execution occasionally feels uneven, but that is also part of the appeal of a space devoted to emerging artists and curators with a broad range of developing artistic voices. If this exhibition is any indication, Lawless has an intriguing summer ahead. His July exhibition “UnNatural Instinct” will feature mixed-media works. Johanna Cairns, a sculptor and new Bethany College faculty member, will confer a “best in show” award at the opening. Lawless’ August exhibition will be “Sucker Punch,” focusing on comic books, pop art, anime-style works, and digital art. Stay tuned!\n\nFrom top left: Dao Tang, “Apple Girl Sticky Note,” acrylic on canvas; Micalah Ruff, “Absentee,” mixed media; T.K. Olsen, “Ruins Vase,” wood-fired ceramics; Jessica Lada, “Untitled,” stoneware; Jessica Lada, “Nach Deutschland,” woodcut reduction print on paper; Sloane Dyer, “Untitled,” oil on canvas. __Photos by Jessy Clonts Day for The SHOUT.__\n\nInstallation views of \"Color Bomb!\" on view at WSU ShiftSpace Gallery. __Photos by Jessy Clonts Day for The SHOUT.__\n\n## The Details\n\n**“Color Bomb!”**\nJune 5-26, 2026, at WSU ShiftSpace Gallery, 120 E. 1st St., inside Harvester Arts at The Lux\n\nAdmission is free, and the gallery is accessible to people with physical disabilities.\n\nWSU ShiftSpace Gallery is open Monday through Friday 3-6 p.m., Saturdays 10 a.m.-2 p.m., and First Fridays 3-8 p.m.\n\nCorrection: This post was updated on June 21 to state that the next exhibition at WSU ShiftSpace is titled \"UnNatural Instinct,\" not \"Unnatural Selection. Read about our commitment to sharing accurate information.\n\n* * *\n\n_**Jessy Clonts Day** is a writer, roller skater, and mother. After living 10 years in the American South and Southwest, she and her spouse returned to Kansas to raise their family, where the sunsets are otherworldly and the arts community is alive and well. _\n\n****Popular Reads****\n❋ Derby man has the kind of voice that turns heads — and chairs\n❋ Socializing while sober: how some Wichitans are cultivating alcohol-free communities\n❋ As a small creative business closes, the owner mourns❋ Painting through it: Autumn Noire on 20 years of making art❋ How a guy from Wichita resurrected 'Dawn of the Dead'❋ Bygone Friends University museum housed curious collections\n\n## Support Kansas arts writing\n\nThe SHOUT is a Wichita-based independent newsroom focused on artists living and working in Kansas. We're partly supported by the generosity of our readers, and every dollar we receive goes directly into the pocket of a contributing writer, editor, or photographer. Click here to support our work with a tax-deductible donation**.**\n\nYes! I want to support the SHOUT",
  "title": "A group show at WSU ShiftSpace spans the colors of the rainbow",
  "updatedAt": "2026-06-22T20:11:21.014Z"
}