Hoerman’s work is predominantly digital, stylized as bright and playful while maintaining dark undertones. In their artist statement, they refer to their work as “macabre with a candy coating.” Oftentimes, Hoerman’s illustrations feature invented characters with corresponding environments around them. In one piece, a character named Pesto the Possum boxes with a mantis named Marrow. 

Hoerman uses a variety of mediums throughout the collection. One mixed media piece titled “Create Xing” is a deer-like creature painted on cardboard, holding a metal stop sign. They use ink and graphite to show their creative process. Next to their finalized digital pieces, they display sketches they made on paper. Allowing the audience to perceive the beginning of an idea before the final polished piece shows a certain amount of vulnerability from the artist which not only contributes visually but is also conceptually appealing. Displaying their process is fitting, as the show is meant to depict the intimate thoughts and feelings of Hoerman. 

“These pieces are my dreams, my hopes, my fears,” Hoerman details in their artist statement. “These are my defying thoughts and defining memories.” 

They also refer to the works as a collection of memories. Hoerman invites viewers to explore these memories in hopes that onlookers might find joy in the works or even relate to them personally.

Photos by Claire Henry.

Located in Brown Hall, the Stocksdale Gallery is currently featuring the work of sculptor Martha Aldridge.

“Creating a sculpture begins with an inspiration, a vision, or an assignment or commission,” Aldridge said.

A Missouri native, Aldridge’s bronze works often depict her favorite subjects – horses and children. “Pony Tails” was her first bronze piece. Taken from an actual life experience, the sculpture depicts two children gleefully riding a pony. On the other hand “Kaylen” and “Jacob” are sculptures of the artist’s own grandchildren.

“Having always loved working with my hands building and carving things, my sculpture interest grew and I began taking sculpture classes and learning about the process of creating a bronze,” Aldridge said when asked how she began what drew her to the medium.

Aldridge was an art teacher in the public school system for more than 30 years. She took up sculpting after retiring.

“To begin a sculpture, an idea is formed either in my mind, on paper or by building a small maquette,” Aldridge said.

A maquette functions as a sculptor’s rough draft, often used to test ideas and shapes. Unlike finished pieces, maquettes are interesting because they convey the artist’s first thoughts and interpretations of the subject.

The next step in the building process is constructing an armature, the framework that gives structure and support to the rest of the sculpture.

“An armature is built using plumbing pipe and wire with the addition of foil or other materials to build bulk,” Aldridge said. “The clay is then pressed over the armature and the real sculpting process begins.”

Aldridge noted that ensuring this armature is properly supported is the most difficult aspect of creating her sculptures.

Many of Aldridge’s works are commissions – she is responsible for creating specific pieces based on what her client desires.

“As with the Lawrence ‘China’ Slaughter Memorial sculpture, I knew after speaking to members of the art council, they wanted a compassionate man with school children,” Aldridge said.

The commissioned sculpture honors a beloved Liberty, Missouri, resident, Lawrence “China” Slaughter, who served as a crossing guard and custodian for Franklin Elementary for more than 40 years before retiring in 1984. The memorial depicts the late Slaughter in his role as crossing guard with two school children carrying books.

Aldridge acknowledged that her proudest moment as an artist was installing this sculpture. A maquette is on display in the gallery, but the actual memorial is local and resides in a pocket park near the Liberty Square.

“This is the largest sculpture I have completed, and I’m so blessed to have been chosen for this project,” Aldridge said.

Aldridge’s favorite small piece, “Back from the Hunt,” is also her most recent. The sculpture includes a horse and rider accompanied by two hounds.

“I love the interaction of the horse with the hounds as the rider engages the horse to stay on task,” states the description beneath the sculpture.

What I found most alluring about Aldridge’s work was the subtle variety. While the subject matter is often the same, each piece has its own character. The most notable difference is size, as the sculptures range from small door knockers to life-sized renderings of children. If you look closely, not even the bronze coloring is the same. Some sculptures are lighter, darker or redder than others.

My favorite piece from the gallery is “Bring it On,” which depicts a young girl with her hands on her hips. Aldridge did a remarkable job portraying the girl’s confidence, and the sculpture somewhat resembles the “Fearless Girl” statue that stood across from the Wall Street Bull.

“Reflecting Class in the Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer” is an extended exhibition in the back of the Bloch building on the Nelson-Atkins grounds. The entirety of the exhibit is divided into four distinct sections: Upper Class, Middle Class, Lower Class and “Where the Classes Meet.” Every piece in the exhibit is either a portrait or a depiction of reality within 17th century Netherlands. The spacious gallery has a color scheme that represents the hues associated with the different classes; a rich purple adorns the Upper Class section, the Middle Class is surrounded in blue and the Lower Class section is mostly cream-colored.

The Upper Class section greets visitors. A majority of the paintings picture Dutch royalty, including the princes of Orange. Descriptions for these paintings include the phrases “elegance and grace” and “princely virtue.” If the paintings don’t depict the subject alone, they offer a glimpse into the royal court. There are many paintings that portray stately carriage rides with wives and family or depictions of the royal palaces. A fact about the paintings that is easy to grasp is the size of the paintings commissioned by upper class patrons. The size of the painting directly signifies wealth and status. The amount of the subject’s body shown is also indicative of wealth; a full-length portrait of a royal or nobleman would have cost substantially more than a bust portrait.

Another interesting aspect of the Upper Class section is the presence of African children in the portraiture. These African people are more so a device to emphasize wealth. African servants in these paintings are more a generic stand-in than actual representations of people who worked for the families. The perceived exoticness of African people made it a status symbol to have an African servant.

There is not much of a distinction in painting style between the Upper and Middle Class sections, but there is a definite change in the subject matter. Middle Class pieces reflect more of the daily work within cities and villages; the paintings portray middle class professions. From notaries to bread makers to tailors to goldsmiths, this section of the exhibit offers a more realistic view of the Netherlands in the time of Rembrandt and Vermeer.

Another noticeable difference between the upper and middle classes in this exhibit is the importance of women within each social structure. Upper class women are portrayed as docile and passive, painted only for materialistic purposes of her husband or father. Women in the middle class are shown as much more independent. The painting entitled “Grocery Shop” by Gerrit Dou depicts a woman running what appears to be a grocery store while younger women help with the customers. Women in the Netherlands during this time did have the ability to possess menial capital, which meant potentially investing in a store front, as is shown in this painting.

There is a tangible change moving from the Middle Class to the Lower Class section. The paintings lose the realism shown in the pieces in the previous two sections. The people in the lower class were mainly hard laborers. Many pieces in this section portray these people in a less refined and almost frenetic way; the paintings appear to be sketched, meant to show “uncleanliness.” Some paintings show the nuances of country life, while others depict sailors and fishermen at work in the seas. Those within the lower class were mainly destitute, which indicates that the artists were not paid to depict these scenes. The exhibit emphasizes how unique it is to have so many paintings illustrating the lives of the lower class.

The last section is a combination of the previous three sections of the exhibit. “Where the Classes Meet” features paintings that demonstrate all three aspects of Dutch class structure in the 1600s. The marketplace is the most common theme within these paintings because it was the central part of Dutch cities during that period. Paintings show the middle class bakers and fishermen selling their goods to middle and upper class families, while those within the lower class sit begging.

Overall, this exhibit is in depth and caught my attention immediately. The story the exhibit tells through the social classes connects the paintings in a new way. The last section, “Where the Classes Meet,” is a wonderful culmination of the theme of every piece found in previous sections.

“Reflecting Class in the Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer” will be displayed the Nelson-Atkins until May 29. Entrance into the exhibit is $12 for adults and $6 with a valid student ID. Other ongoing exhibits include “Through the Lens: Visions of African-American Experience, 1950-1970” and “Unconventional Clay: Engaged in Change,” all of which are free to the public.