Last month, Kansas City’s Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art celebrated its 15th anniversary with a weekend that featured 15 artists who came to the city for a round of fundraising receptions and dinners.

On that list: Frank Stella, Petah Coyne, Ursula von Rydingsvard, Deborah Butterfield, Christopher Brown, Polly Apfelbaum, Lezley Saar, Hung Liu and Keith Jacobshagen.

“I was the one that people would say ‘who’s that guy?’” a self-effacing Jacobshagen said with a laugh while recounting the weekend.

On a more serious note, the Lincoln painter was honored to be included on the roster with the internationally acclaimed artists.

“I was very pleased with that, I have to admit,” he said. “I can’t be lackadaisical about this one.”

Nor should he be. The Kemper recognition puts Jacobshagen on the artistic level where he belongs. His art isn’t trendy or wildly conceptual. But Jacobshagen is among the top painters working today, a master of the landscape who adds new dimensions and perspectives to the traditional subject matter.

It’s no accident that Jacobshagen’s fall show at the Gerald Peters Gallery in Santa Fe, N.M., was extended twice and that a third of the 21 paintings sold in an art market at rock bottom.

Jacobshagen, who retired from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln art department, is devoting himself full time to painting and has a list of possible shows and residencies — a sign that his career isn’t close to slowing down, creating the likelihood that he will continue to be more widely, and deservedly, recognized.

Observations from Friday art walk

It’s tough to take a close look at the work on the walls during the monthly Friday art walk, especially in the Parrish Studios, which get crowded early and stay that way for hours.

That said, here are some quick observations from last week:

I found the black-and-white photographs of Dennis DeHart at Workspace Gallery fascinatingly baffling. DeHart shoots landscapes in the Northwest, but the photos are manipulated. For example, there appears to be a plane crashing deep in the background of one of the images. There’s plenty of haze and lots of detail in the photos, which could be studied at length without revealing their secrets.

Lots and lots of video. Michael Burton has his videos showing at both the Haydon Art Center and Tugboat Gallery, and they’re terrific. Burton’s short videos are animated from paintings — a labor-intensive process that yields a rich end product. I had the good fortune to see an earlier piece on the big screen, where it was really impressive. But it’s great fun to see the new videos, which in one case finds people transforming into colored masses.

There are more videos by more artists at Tugboat that looked pretty good through the mass of bodies. I’m planning to stop there to get a closer look soon.

Pawl Tisdale’s “Apawling” show at Chocolate Cake in the Parrish Studios is also good fun. Made up of small plastic sculptures hung on the wall, Tisdale’s little tableaus are kind of disturbing — one features a meat grinder, another a falling body. But that is undercut by a sense of humor that pervades the work. Tisdale’s art is always original, edgy and entertaining. This show is no different.

Finally, kudos to Brad Krieger for finding a way to hang a painting show on the bright green walls of SPATIVM, also in the Parrish. Krieger’s abstractions are brightly colored, making the presentation a challenge. He pulls it off nicely with white-based paintings covered with patterned areas in various colors and an impressive large black-and-white piece that suggests numerology or calligraphy.

Reach L. Kent Wolgamott at 473-7244 or kwolgamott@journalstar.com.