Local Artist, Rachelle Gardner-Roe, Opens Studio & Gallery

Grand opening of gallery space and open studio weekend features inaugural exhibition, Making of Self

Following a fire in the building of her former studio, local artist, Rachelle Gardner-Roe, relocated near UMKC and Rockhurst University to rebuild. Almost a year later, she is pleased to announce the opening of her new gallery and studio space to the public for a grand opening and open studio weekend on the second Friday of November. The inaugural exhibition, Making of Self, features textile and drawn works that explores consciousness, as well as our connection between the everyday and the sublime. Through the use of writing and lacework, the artist’s newest work utilizes traditional meditation techniques in the creation of contemplative self-portraiture, textile sculpture, and hinted landscapes.

“Having a space like this creates new possibilities in creating work, but also in engaging the public with an artistic process. Whether through exhibitions, studio visits, or educational programming that I hope to offer in the future, I feel that I can contribute in a meaningful way to the local community,” says Gardner-Roe. “In any case, this place is a small, but hard-fought dream of mine.”

The Opening Reception will be on Friday, November 14, 6-9pm, with
Open Studio hours running: Saturday, November 15, 12-5pm and on
Sunday, November 16, 1-4pm.

Studio RM Gardner
1017 E. 55^th St.
Kansas City, MO 64110

About the Work:

Process is integral in the creation and understanding Gardner’s work. She works in various media – textiles, resin, ceramics, drawing, and painting; sometimes combining media, sometime not. Attentive to the passing down of knowledge and handcraft from one generation to another, she is especially interested in working with concepts of awareness and consciousness. Physical processes and materials become vital parts of this story. Material becomes metaphor. Process becomes transformation. Dissolving, revealing, and encapsulating become reflections of the human state in subtle form – the relationship with one’s self, others, our environment and existence. Gardner-Roe’s goal is to create work that sparks reflection and self-awareness, in the hope of advocating for compassion and a better quality of life experience for all.

About Rachelle Gardner-Roe:

Rachelle Gardner-Roe grew up outside a small town south of Kansas City, Missouri. While hearing the artist’s call at an early age, she developed a knack for drafting and received her undergraduate degree in Interior Architecture from Kansas State University. She worked as a woodworking and design apprentice before inevitably being drawn back to the fine arts. As a mixed media artist, her practice includes ceramics, painting, woodworking, resin, and an emphasis on textiles. Her work has been included in international exhibitions and she continues to exhibit nationally. Among other honors, Gardner-Roe has received multiple Inspiration Grants from the ArtsKC Regional Council, Kansas City, MO; The Presidential Scholarship from The Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Snowmass Village, CO; The Urban Culture Project Residency, Kansas City, MO, and an Escape to Create Residency of Seaside, FL. Gardner-Roe resides in Mission, KS. For more information on the artist’s work, visit www.rmgardner.com.