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Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art acknowledges it resides on the ancestral territory of the Osage, Kaw, and Otoe-Missouria, among other tribal nations forcibly moved to the region such as the Shawnee, Wyandot, Delaware, Potawatomi, Sac and Fox and Kiikaapoi (Kickapoo) nations. We recognize and support the continued vibrancy of Native communities and cultures today who continue to thrive, as well as the inherent sovereignty of tribal nations. We are compelled to serve and advocate for these communities in accordance with our public mission.

Kemper Museum acknowledges and respects the diversity of Native people connected to this land today. Many recognize the land and all beings who live within it as relatives. We acknowledge the earth we inhabit, the waters of the Blue River, the Kansas River, the Missouri River, and the plants, animals, and people supported by them. 

We acknowledge our responsibility to be good caretakers of the land we occupy. 

Click here to learn more about our land acknowledgment process.

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On view at Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Andrea Carlson: Shimmer on Horizons considers how landscapes are shaped by history, relationships, and power.

Andrea Carlson: Shimmer on Horizons

Andrea Carlson (Grand Portage Ojibwe/European descent, b. 1979; based in northern Minnesota and Chicago, IL) considers how landscapes are shaped by history, relationships, and power. Her artworks imagine places that are “everywhere and nowhere,” visualizing these shifting yet ever-present dynamics. Grounded in Anishinaabe understandings of space and time, the works in this exhibition reflect on how land carries memories of colonial expansion and violence, as well as Indigenous presence and resistance.

Across painting, video, and sculpture, Carlson organizes imagined landscapes around one constant—the horizon. This line is reminiscent of her homelands on Lake Superior. It is also a significant art historical trope that artists have employed to depict territories as vast and vacant, ripe for the taking. Carlson’s prismatic works are not empty: they are densely layered with an abundance of motifs, making reference to the tactics of colonialism as well as her family and peers, Ojibwe culture, and Indigenous sovereignty. Confronting ongoing histories of erasure and dispossession, Carlson proposes that what appears to be lost can be remade, reimagined, or otherwise regained.

Andrea Carlson: Shimmer on Horizons is curated by Iris Colburn, Curatorial Associate at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. The Kansas City presentation is organized by Jessica S. Hong, Chief Curator, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. 

Andrea Carlson, Exit, 2019. Screenprint; 33 1/2 × 47 3/4 in. (85.1 × 121.3 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Bockley Gallery. © Andrea Carlson. Edition of 20 screenprints published by Highpoint Editions.

Andrea Carlson, Cast a Shadow, 2021. Oil, acrylic, gouache, ink, color pencil, and graphite on paper; each: 11 1/2 × 30 in. (29.2 × 76.2 cm), overall: 46 × 182 in. (116.8 × 462.3 cm). Forge Project Collection, traditional lands of the Moh-He-Con-Nuck. © Andrea Carlson. Courtesy of the artist and Bockley Gallery.

Featured Works

Andrea Carlson: Shimmer on Horizons is organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.

Lead support for Andrea Carlson: Shimmer on Horizons is provided by R. H. Defares and the Zell Family Foundation.

Major support is provided by Newcity, Charlotte R. Cramer Wagner and Herbert S. Wagner III of Wagner Foundation, and the Terra Foundation for American Art.

Generous support is provided by the Sandra and Jack Guthman Chicago Works Exhibition Fund.  

Additional support is provided by Bockley Gallery, the Jessica Silverman Gallery, and D. Elizabeth Price and Lou Yecies.

This exhibition is supported by the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago’s Women Artists Initiative, a philanthropic commitment to further equity across gender lines and promote the work and ideas of women artists.

Andrea Carlson: Shimmer on Horizons is part of Art Design Chicago, a citywide collaboration initiated by the Terra Foundation for American Art that highlights the city’s artistic heritage and creative communities.

Meet artist Andrea Carlson at Kemper Museum.

Andrea Carlson: Shimmer on Horizons | Artist Talk & Opening Celebration

Generous contributions of all sizes help keep the Museum FREE for all visitors.

At Kemper Museum there is no charge for admission, parking, special exhibitions, or programs. Your donation underwrites these expenses and inspires many thousands with contemporary art each year.

Installation view, Chicago Works | Andrea Carlson: Shimmer on Horizons, MCA Chicago. August 03, 2024 – February 02, 2025. Photo: Robert Chase Heishman.