Multiple figures swim and wade in a calm, green-tinted river lined with dense trees under a bright sky. Wooden docks with lounging figures occupy the left foreground, while black inner tubes float in the water among the swimmers.

Improvising

Julie Blackmon

10/9/2020 – 11/21/2020

Haw Contemporary is pleased to present Improvising, Julie Blackmon’s first solo exhibition in Kansas City. The show pairs six new photographs, all made in 2020, with a selection of earlier work.

Made during a year when families are suddenly home together, the new pictures show children making do with what’s in front of them. In Bubble, two toddlers play inside a giant inflatable ball in the driveway, sealed off and safe. In Spray Paint, seen from above, babies in diapers sit on a lawn scattered with a croquet mallet, a sliced watermelon, cans of spray paint and a stray face mask. Treehouse packs a crowd of kids into a backyard treehouse at dusk, with a baby dangling below in a bucket swing. New Neighbors catches a moving day: twin girls in matching red dresses, a toddler on a balance bike, and a family’s belongings set out on the curb. In Lindenlure and River, the cast heads to the river for a summer of swimming, inner tubes and sunbathing on a floating dock.

The earlier works, including Trapped, Bathers, Fixer Upper and Midwest Materials, show how long Blackmon has been at this. She stages everyday family life in Springfield, Missouri, with the precision of a painter, and she finds both comedy and unease in it. This year, the title fits the moment: everyone is improvising.

Exhibition Images ()

  • A bright, minimalist gallery interior with polished concrete flooring displays four large framed color photographs hung on white walls. The images depict domestic and outdoor scenes featuring people in naturalistic settings. Track lighting illuminates the space, with an open doorway visible in the center background.
  • Three framed color photographs hung on white gallery walls: at left, a small white house with figures in front; center, a dark forest scene with floating objects and figures; at right, a richly colored nocturnal gathering of figures. Polished concrete floor, track lighting overhead.
  • Three framed color photographs of varying sizes hang on white gallery walls in a minimalist installation. The left image depicts an aerial view of a person in a yellow inner tube on dark water; the center shows a nighttime scene with figures and atmospheric lighting; the right displays a daytime suburban scene with children playing in a dirt yard near a house and parked vehicle.
Multiple figures swim and wade in a calm, green-tinted river lined with dense trees under a bright sky. Wooden docks with lounging figures occupy the left foreground, while black inner tubes float in the water among the swimmers.

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