Camera phones were snapping Friday night with the opening of PeregrineHonig's latest exhibition at Haw Contemporary, a gallery in the West Bottoms of Kansas City, Mo. While many artists discourage photographs of their work, Honig openly invited viewers to use her large-scale oil paintings as backdrops for selfies, or self-portraits.
Artist Michael Schonhoff took a moment to photograph his son Theo, 2, in front of one of Honig’s paintings — a ring of yellow and orange roses. Schonhoff, who is also assistant curator at the H&R Block Artspace, said he had been looking forward to seeing Honig’s new work.
“When you bring yourself to a painting you kind of have to find your dialogue with it,” Schonhoff said. “This way it’s a little more physically activated or technologically activated. But you’re physically finishing the piece. I like it. It’s another level of engagement that a viewer can have with the piece, so it’s interesting.”
Jordan Joy, a painting student at the Kansas City Art Institute, and her friend Mel Young took turns taking photographs in front of the paintings.
“It’s a little bit embarrassing just because you are taking a selfie in front of all these people that are also here to take a selfie, but it’s an interesting experience,” said Joy. “It is a different dynamic to what you usually expect at a show.”
Peregrine Honig’s exhibition 'Unicorn' is on view through Dec. 6 at Haw Contemporary, 1600 Liberty St., Kansas City, Mo., 816-842-5877. A gallery talk featuring Honig takes place on Nov. 15 at 1 p.m.
