Current Exhibition on View: If Only For a Moment
- Zhou B Art Center 1801 East 18th Street Kansas City, MO, 64108 United States (map)
ABOUT
If Only For a Moment, is an exhibition that reveals how moments serve as the threads that weave together our shared human experience. Unified by time, our lives are shaped by chapters, fragments, and fleeting instances. It is in these boundaries that profound discoveries begin, and where lessons find closure. Moments hold space for change, interpersonal bonds, and are a collection of stories that breathe life into one’s identity.
This exhibition brings together the diverse voices of the resident artists within the Zhou B Art Center KC. With a wide array of artistic practices and backgrounds, the artists present works that reflect on the nature of time, the persistence of memory, and the significance of personal and collective histories. Each piece invites viewers to consider how their own experiences echo through time, shaping identities, relationships, and understandings of the world.
The exhibition seeks to slow down the passage of time and invites viewers to find meaning in the subtle, the still, and the unseen. If Only for A Moment encourages contemplation on how every moment — no matter how brief or seemingly insignificant — can engage an opportunity for connection and gratitude. It asks: What stories do we uncover when we give ourselves permission to pause, even if only for a moment?
Title of Piece: Crystal
Artist: Scott Tubbs
Size: 30” X 30”
Medium: Acrylic - Mixed
Price: $550.00
About the Piece:
The image feels both structured and dynamic, as if frozen moments of movement have been crystallized into shape. It is inviting the viewer to explore how individual pieces connect to create something larger and unexpectedly harmonious.
About the Artist:
Scott Tubbs is a contemporary abstract painter whose work explores the balance between structure and spontaneity. Through layered acrylics, rich textures, and intuitive mark-making, he creates paintings that feel both dynamic and contemplative.
Connect!: stubbskc1@gmail.com
Name: Emmalee Rathsam
Title of Piece: Strength in Scoliosis
Size: 35.5” x 29.5”
Medium: Archival pigment inkjet print
Price: $2500
Description:
This work speaks to the resilience forged through adversity, whether physical, emotional, or societal. While inspired by the experience of scoliosis, its meaning extends beyond a single condition. It reflects the strength required to carry challenges that leave both visible and invisible marks: prejudice, discrimination, loss, hardship, or the weight of expectations placed upon us by others. These experiences become part of our structure, shaping who we are. Like the curve of the spine itself, the path through life is rarely straight. Yet within that bend lies evidence of adaptation, perseverance, and growth. This image honors the courage to move forward, to embrace one's identity, and to find strength not despite adversity, but through it.
Title of Piece: A Safe Place
Artist: Kiley Miles
Size: 12 in. x 24 in.
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas
Price: $450
About the Artist:
Kiley Miles (b. 1982, Salina, KS) is an Overland Park-based artist whose mixed-media paintings examine compassion, love, and spirituality. Utilizing acrylic and collage, Miles utilizes the form and structure of hand gestures to capture the emotional depth of a comforting touch and the invisible nuances of the spiritual realm. She holds a BFA from Fort Hays State University. Miles has exhibited in local and regional venues throughout the Kansas City metro area; regionally including the Birger Sandzén Memorial Art Gallery.
About the Piece:
This piece represents what "home" means to me in the physical, but also in spirit. I chose a turtle dove as their distinct call brings a soothing and familiar sound to me. I added the hands lifting the water to the dove as a peaceful and giving gesture. Lastly, the water represents many properties and translates to our own actions that can ripple out to others in a beneficial way.
Name: Don Wilkison
Title of Piece: Alien Lifeform
Size: 18 by 24 inches (unframed); 22.5 by 28.5 (framed w/ UV glass).
Medium: pen and colored pencil on bristolAlen
Price: $200 (unframed); $450 (framed)
Description: One a series of abstract works about alien lifeforms.
Title of Piece: TakeOff
Artist: Kayin Mujahid
Size: 18in x 24in
Medium: Acrylic & Non Toxic Pastel
Price: $1,300
About the Piece:
This tribute piece celebrates the life, artistry, and lasting influence of Takeoff. Created with acrylic paint and non-toxic pastel on canvas, the composition blends portraiture with symbolic imagery to reflect both his presence and legacy. The central portrait captures Takeoff's calm confidence and introspective energy, while the surrounding elements create a dreamlike atmosphere that speaks to memory, spirit, and transcendence. The halo and celestial motifs symbolize elevation and remembrance, while the vibrant colors, flowing abstract forms, and cosmic background represent creativity, movement, and the impact he continues to have on music and culture. The secondary figure references his journey and artistic evolution, creating a visual narrative that bridges the earthly and spiritual realms. Through layered textures, bold contrasts, and expressive mark-making, this work serves as both a celebration of his achievements and a reflection on the enduring nature of influence beyond a lifetime. This piece is dedicated to honoring Takeoff's legacy, spirit, and the inspiration he continues to provide to fans and artists around the world.
About the Artist:
Kayin Mujahid is a multidisciplinary artist and educator whose work explores storytelling, culture, spirituality, and human connection. Working across watercolor, acrylic, ink, and mixed media, Kye creates artwork that bridges personal experience with collective memory. As both an artist and instructor, Kye is passionate about fostering creativity, building community, and using art as a tool for inspiration, reflection, and growth. Through both teaching and studio practice, Kye seeks to create meaningful experiences that encourage connection and self-expression.
Title of Piece: Wrapped In Possibility
Artist: Kim Newton
Size: 24 x 28 (Artist Proof)
Medium: 100% Cotton, Indonesian batik, quilted
Price: $1,100
About the Piece:
We often speak about possibility as something external—a door opening, an opportunity arriving, a dream fulfilled. But possibility begins much more quietly, in the moment we allow ourselves to imagine a different life, a fuller life, than the one we were taught to settle for. Through the eyes of a child surrounded by color, butterflies, and wonder, Wrapped in Possibility reflects the hope, imagination, and self-belief that make transformation possible. It is a reminder that there is something sacred about believing your future can hold beauty you have not yet experienced.
About the Artist:
Kim Alexis Newton is a multidisciplinary textile artist and creative entrepreneur based in Kansas City. Raised around art, Kim’s creative foundation was shaped early through family, storytelling, and traditional quilt making. She is a graduate of Fisk University and earned her MBA from Vanderbilt University before spending more than twenty years building a successful corporate career in product marketing, strategy, and leadership. Kim also runs a commercial Gift Quilt™ company and sits on corporate boards. Today, Kim brings that same intentionality, discipline, and emotional intelligence into her fine art practice. Her work has been featured in notable museum exhibitions and collected by prominent cultural figures and private collectors, including Oprah Winfrey and former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama. Originally from California, Kim lives in Kansas City with her husband, Nikki, and their daughter, Piper who is a Junior at Spelman College in Atlanta
Connect!:IG: @kimalexisnewton
Title of Piece: Horizon
Artist: Scott Tubbs
Size: 24" x 36"
Medium: Acrylic / Mixed
Price: $450.00
About the Piece:
"Horizon" carries a deep sense of stillness, where time feels suspended and emotions settle into calm reflection. There’s a gentle undercurrent of solitude and introspection, as if the space invites you to pause, breathe, and drift inward.
About the Artist:
Scott Tubbs is a contemporary abstract painter whose work explores the balance between structure and spontaneity. Through layered acrylics, rich textures, and intuitive mark-making, he creates paintings that feel both dynamic and contemplative.
Connect!:stubbskc1@gmail.com
Title of Piece: Breathless
Artist: Anita Easterwood
Size: 33 x 44
Medium: Graphite and Batik
Price: $4,950
About the Artist: NA
About the Piece: This piece is dedicated to the journey of womanhood. Its beauty, complexity, and strength
Connect!:
IG: Anita_easterwood
Title of Piece: KATRINA
Artist: Michael Brantley
Size: 24" × 36"
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Price: Inquire for price
About the Artist:
Michael Brantley is a contemporary figurative painter whose work explores identity, memory, and cultural legacy through portraiture and narrative imagery. His paintings have been exhibited at the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the American Jazz Museum, and other regional institutions throughout Kansas City.
About the Piece:
Two years after Hurricane Katrina, a Louisiana street musician prepares his instrument for another day. With hand-painted stars and stripes on his shoes, he pauses in the quiet ritual of cleaning his harmonica. In that fleeting moment between survival and performance, a photograph was taken—preserving a story of resilience, dignity, and the enduring spirit of New Orleans.
Connect!:
Website: michaelbrantleyart.com
Facebook: Artist Michael Brantley
Instagram: @michaelbrantleyart
TikTok: @michaelbrantley13
Title of Piece: THE CORNET PLAYER
Artist: Michael Brantley
Size: 28" × 70"
Medium: Oil on canvas (Artist Proof Giclée on Archival Paper)
Price: $1,500
About the Piece:
A moment in time focused on a musician’s connection to his instrument as he works his craft. This artist proof giclée is reproduced from Michael Brantley’s original painting and preserves the tonal depth, atmosphere, and intimacy of the original work.
About the Artist:
Michael Brantley is a contemporary figurative painter whose work explores identity, memory, and cultural legacy through portraiture and narrative imagery. His paintings have been exhibited at the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the American Jazz Museum, and other regional institutions throughout Kansas City.
Connect!:
Website: michaelbrantleyart.com
Facebook: Artist Michael Brantley
Instagram: @michaelbrantleyart
TikTok: @michaelbrantley13
Name:Bryce Holt
Title of Piece:Come to My Window
Size:36" x 156" (two canvases)
Medium:Acrylic on canvas
Price: Inquire for price
Description:He knew this might only be a love for a season, but last year taught him that armor is just another word for a cage. He was prepared to leave the window open to let the light spill out. After all, being brave is not the same as being fearless. Her mind warned her that it could not accept another heartbreak, but her soul was already unlatching the windowsill. She stood in the cooling forest, letting the blue hour spill out from her ribs. If the price of playing the game was the risk of being shattered, she was ready to pay it. The moon in her chest was too bright to keep hidden inside any longer.
Title of Piece: Jump, Jive, Joy
Artist: Jean McGuire
Size: 48" x 36"
Medium: Oil on canvas
Price: $2800
About the Piece:
18th & Vine is the home of Kansas City Jazz with a history that goes back more than 100 years. People tend to focus on the music when they think of 18th & Vine, but dance is just as important a part of the story. The combination of dance and music are an integral part of our city’s heritage. The two dancers in this piece embody the joy of moving with the innovative music that wafts through the streets of the district.
About the Artist:
After a forty-year hiatus from art, Jean McGuire rediscovered her passion through portrait studies, drawn to the challenge of capturing the unique stories behind each person. Her portraits seek to illuminate the emotions and histories of people from times past. The proximity of the ZhouB to the rich musical history of the 18th & Vine jazz district has inspired me to produce a series of paintings focused on the jazz that this area is famous for.
Title of Piece: The Yield
Artist: Kayla Traxel
Size: 27” X 15”
Medium: watercolor, thread
Price: $800
About the Piece:
He checks the sky before he checks the time. He knows what the land will take to, even the stubborn patch on the east lot. He walks the rows the way his father did, his hands moving through the field, unhurried. Time is measured in weeks folded into harvest. Far from here, bread will be broken for someone else's nourishment, and he will never know their name. His hands finish coiling the irrigation hose. The field is waiting.
About the Artist:
My practice centers on handworked techniques like embroidery, watercolor, and layered textile applications. I favor visible seams, raw textures, and soft, natural palettes that prioritize crafted over manufactured. I’m interested in how imperfection builds character, emphasizing transformation as an essential part of creation. Beauty, for me, emerges not from flawlessness but from what is broken, repaired, and made anew. These works invite reflective engagement where each piece holds the energy of a moment between, making room for memory, individuality, and connection.
Connect!: IG: @k_trax