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Kemper Museum is a free art museum in Kansas City, Missouri that presents global contemporary art.

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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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Abstract Expressionism is a form of abstract art developed by American painters in the 1940s and 1950s with several different subcategories, including Action painting and what would later be called Color Field painting. Pop art was an American movement that emerged in the 1950s and 1960s, drawing inspiration from sources in commercial and popular culture. Dan Budnik (American, 1933–2020) photographed Abstract Expressionists and Pop artists in their studios during the height of these artistic movements. Some of his photographic portraits are currently on view in Kemper Museum’s Meeting Room Gallery.

This companion exhibition presents works of art from Kemper Museum’s Permanent Collection that were created by Abstract Expressionists and Pop artists working in New York City that Budnik photographed in the 1950s and 1960s. These works highlight important themes, including an interest in pop culture, a focus on non-traditional art-making materials, and innovation with media.

Looking to pop culture and iconography, Pop artist Jasper Johns (American, born 1930) created the series The Seasons (1987) including optical illusions like the old woman/young woman, duck/rabbit, snowflakes, snowmen, and other symbols to represent the different stages of life and the cycle of aging and growth. Robert Rauschenberg (American, 1925–2008) and David Smith (American, 1906–1965) used non-traditional media found in commercial culture, like metals and steels, and blended materials and methods of art making. Focusing on found objects, Louise Nevelson (American, 1899–1988) created Untitled (date unknown) with wood scraps she collected while walking around the streets of New York City. She then painted the piece monochromatic black, suggesting that  the color makes any material appear more distinguished; these materials ended up resembling the buildings and cityscape. Interested in movement and light, Larry Bell (American, born 1939) used mixed media on canvas in Too Tall (1989) to investigate the properties of light on surface. 

Inspired: Innovation, Pop Culture, and Material is curated by Jade Powers, assistant curator at Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art.

Inspired: Innovation, Pop Culture, and Material

Robert Rauschenberg, (American, 1925–2008), Seminole Host, 1990, from the series ROCI USA (Wax Fire Works)
 acrylic and wax on stainless steel, edition PP, edition of 22, 72¾ x 96¾ inches

Collection of the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri
 Bebe and Crosby Kemper Collection, Gift of the R. C. Kemper Charitable Trust, 2008.13.01. 
 © Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. Photo: EG Schempf, 2021