Haw Contemporary

Great print shop there.

It's a beautiful place.

Interesting gallery.

Great print shop there.

It's a beautiful place.

Interesting gallery.

A fairly large building with a new warehouse vibe located in the West Bottoms, but several blocks south of where most of the old warehouse renovations are taking shape and creating a buzz. I visited today to see the Julie Blackmon exhibit - "Metaverse". The photography exhibit featured about 12 large pieces and 1 installation that recreated her photo - "Costco"; using a Mitsubishi mini-van, a stuffed animal, cases of alcohol... a ridiculously fun visual. The remainder of the pieces evoked small town or rural Missouri living at it's most innocent and barren yet with lots of light and color. My only disappointment is that I was never greeted or given any acknowledgment from staff that did see me from the backroom. After leaving, I was reading up on the gallery and discovered that I missed a 2nd floor. I would have loved to have seen more of the space if I knew where it was. Even though missing some of the gallery and being shown indifference towards my visit; I will still incorporate Haw into my rotating gallery visits. It wasn't like I was charged an admission and I still got to see some cool art!

Beautiful contemporary gallery space in the West bottoms. Art is well presented with ample space and appropriate lighting.

I had the pleasure of attending an art show that my girlfriend had art work in. I will say this is a beautiful place. It's very simple design and it really makes you focus on the art. The building is a little off the beaten path but it's easy to get to. On the lower level, there are four different rooms they display the art work. Then up stairs there were several more rooms for the art work. We were able to get more of a private tour with the owner, Bill Haw. It was absolutely fantastic. Seeing someone's passion for artwork and hearing him talk about it was amazing. He knew everything about each piece and the individual artist. It was an experience to listening to him talk. The show was beautiful, the space was beautiful and the staff was phenomenal. Please get out there and support the arts in KC and in your local area!

This gallery is a hidden gem on the South side of the West Bottoms. Pretty nondescript from the outside but on the inside is a display of contemporary art. Some of the pieces are big and some of them are small, but it's all really good. I went there on a nice stroll after eating lunch at a nearby restaurant and it was a pleasant surprise. A woman greeted us with a sheet that listed the different pieces in the show, the names and artists and mediums and sizes and price. The most expensive piece of art (and one of the most impressive in my estimation) was a painting over 100 inches by over 100 inches. It was $28,000. The show changes routinely but that's just a sample of the quality of art they have in this place. It was a great little find for me and I look forward to showing my friends. Just a heads up though, they aren't open on Sundays (or Mondays for that matter) so if you want to jaunt over after Saturday brunch, that might be a great time!