Join us as we "listen to the voice of eccentricity, within ourselves and in the world. The alien, the dangerous, like the negligible near thing" through six decades of work by artist Robert Blunk. A consistent explorer of space and color, Blunk is drawn to the seascapes, landscapes, and permutations of the two, figurative and abstract.
Robert Blunk is a distinguished artist of note in the Midwest. His work has been collected by municipalities (public art projects), museums (e.g., Spencer Museum of Art, Lawrence, Kansas; Hale Library, Manhattan, Kansas; Schingoethe Center, Aurora, IL; and the Beach Museum of Art at Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, and the New England Foundation for the Arts in Boston, MA), and by private collectors.
opening reception
Thursday, September 21, 2023
5-7 pm | Salina Art Center
Comments by Guest Curator Jay Nelson at 6 pm.
“One remarkable mans engagement with, love for, and pleasure in this cultural phenomenon we call art”
Robert Blunk, 1991 | Photo courtesy of Blake Justice, Robert’s nephew
On view September 20 - October 29
Programming
Opening Reception | Found Along the Shore
Thursday, Sept 21 | 5-7 PM
Salina Art Center | FREE
Please join us in celebrating the opening of Found Along the Shore by artist Robert Blunk. Remarks by guest curator, Jay Nelson will be at 6 PM. This event is free and open to the public.
Walk & Talk with curator, Jay Nelson
Learn more from curator Jay Nelson as he takes us through Found Along the Shore and introduces us to Robert Blunk in a new way. Hear the inside scoop about each piece and why it was chosen to represent an illustrious and very long career.
Writing with Art: ROBERT BLUNK
Saturday, Oct 14 | 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Lori Brack | Salina Art Center | Registration required, $35
Works on exhibit by Kansas artist Robert Blunk will provide the moods, settings, and characters for a story you invent. You’ll complete a piece of imaginative “flash fiction” – about 250 words – stimulated by the works of art you choose, and take away a first draft and a list of places that publish flash fiction for when you’re ready to send it into the world. | Workshop is open to middle school, high school students and adults
Art Byte
Wednesday, Oct 18 | 12:15 - 12:45 PM
Darren Morawitz | Salina Art Center | FREE
Bring your lunch and join Darren as he takes just 30 minutes to investigate a single piece of art in the gallery. These small bytes of art information inspire conversations around viewing, interpreting, and discussing contemporary art in all forms. This interactive conversation will surely leave you feeling inspired and confident about your next visit to an art museum. A new piece of work is discussed each month while you enjoy your lunch break.
Robert Blunk | Photo taken by Blunk’s nephew, Blake Justice in DaKalb, IL
Jay Nelson | Guest Curator
Photos courtesy of the the Blunk Family; Jay and Barbara Nelson; Bill and Kathleen Pierson; Chad Graff and Joann Falkenburg; Blake Justice; Patrick Lofthouse; Mariana Kistler Beach Museum of Art, Kansas State University; and Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas