Collection

4420 Warwick Boulevard
Kansas City, MO 64111

Contact

Kemper Museum Policies

The Kemper Museum website uses cookies. By continuing to use the site, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use.

Hours

Employment

Docent Portal

Policies

News

Accessibility Statement

Accessibility

Atrium Project

Oil on Linen

Visit

Free Admission

Programs

Location & Directions

Plan Your Visit

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

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art

The Arterie

Exhibitions

Exhibitions & Collection

Calendar

Groups & Tours

Volunteer

Public Programs

Mission

History

Architecture

Leadership

Community Partners

About

Give

Memberships

Legacy Society

Gala

Annual Report

Support

Café

Museum Shop

Special Event Rentals

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.

Land Acknowledgement

Join

Celebrate

Shop

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art presents the exhibition "Lie. Sit. Stand. Be Still." on view August 28, 2026 through July 25, 2027

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art Presenting Exhibition "Lie. Sit. Stand. Be Still."

PressRelease_LieSitStandBeStill_KemperMuseum_Kligmanedits-6-18-26.pdf

Kansas City, MO – Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art presents the exhibition Lie. Sit. Stand. Be Still. on view August 28, 2026, through July 25, 2027. The exhibition will be presented in two parts, with a second rotation of artworks going on view February 5, 2027. The works featured in the exhibition suggest slowness, contemplation, silence, and rest. Referencing a 1995 portfolio in the Kemper Museum’s collection, which includes poetry by Michael McClure (b. 1932, Marysville, KS – d. 2020, Oakland, CA) and lithographs by Robert Graham (b. 1938, Mexico City –d. Santa Monica, CA), Lie. Sit. Stand. Be Still. offers an invitation to the viewer. States of rest and pause are referenced and/or encouraged throughout the exhibition, which posits reflection and free time as key to the human experience, both necessary and sublime. Lie, Sit, Stand, Be Still. Is composed of approximately 30 works from the Kemper Museum’s collection, displayed across two galleries. The works are installed in an alternating rhythm featuring figurative representation, abstraction, and landscape, and verses from the Michael McClure poem, which serve as a structural underpinning for the show. Figurative drawing and painting like Two Models on Kilim Rug with Mirror by Phillip Pearlstein (b. 1924, Pittsburgh, PA – d. 2022, New York, NY), and Male Nude by Paul Cadmus (b. 1904, New York, NY – d. 1999, Weston, CT) are foundational to the work selection. They are presented alongside and intermingled with such meditative abstractions as Murmur, and Duet by Chenoae Kim (b. 1952, Inchon, South Korea) and Memory by Frank Owen (b. 1939, Kalispell, Montana), and contemplative landscapes including Equivalent by Alfred Stieglitz (b. 1864, Hoboken, NJ – d. 1946, New York, NY) and Midnight Shore by Helen Frankenthaler (b. 1928, New York, NY – d. 2011, Darien, CT).

The exhibition is organized by Amy Kligman, an artist, community organizer, and Independent Curator. Explains Kligman, “In positioning these works in conversation, the common thread is not the content or process of the image itself but the state of mind it reflects and evokes. Artmaking and art objects have served humanity as sanctuary for centuries. The relevance and need for such a respite is as present in the contemporary world as ever.”

Barbara Takenaga was born in North Platte, Nebraska and lives and works in New York City. In 2020, she was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in the field of Fine Arts and was commissioned by New York MTA Arts & Design to create a permanent installation for the MetroNorth Railroad White Plains Station. Other awards include the Founders Grant by the Trellis Art Fund in 2024 and was elected in 2013 to the National Academy of Art & Design. She also completed a 30-foot wall mosaic at NYU Langone as part of their permanent art collection. In 2017, Williams College Museum of Art organized a 20-year survey of Takenaga‘s work, curated by Debra Bricker Balken. Other solo presentations of her work include the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha, NE (2018); SPACE | 42 at The Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase, NY (2017); and a large-scale 110-foot wall installation, Nebraska (2015-2017) at MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA.

Join us for an evening of figure drawing! Artist Stefan Schulz will guide participants through instruction, drawing inspiration from works featured in Lie. Sit. Stand. Be Still.

Studio Night: Action & Rest

Embrace slowness, mindfulness, and restoration through Move/Be Still, a mind and body series at Kemper Museum, drawing inspiration from themes in featured exhibition, Lie. Sit. Stand. Be Still.
Join us for Move: Outdoor Yoga with Joy Monzón followed by a gallery visit of current exhibition, Lie. Sit. Stand. Be Still. Joy Monzón is a yoga educator and community practitioner with a long-standing commitment to public service & people-centered spaces.
We invite all ages and experiences to join us as we explore rest and restoration.
(Waiver/release required)

Move: Outdoor Yoga with Joy Monzón

Embrace slowness, mindfulness, and restoration through Move/Be Still, a mind and body series at Kemper Museum, drawing inspiration from themes in featured exhibition, Lie. Sit. Stand. Be Still.

Be Still: Sound Bath with Laura Frank

The Missouri Arts Council, a state agency funded through the Missouri General Assembly, Missouri Cultural Trust, and National Endowment for the Arts. 

Bold. Inclusive. Contemporary. Since 1994, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art has been a creative force in Kansas City and beyond, championing today’s artists and sparking conversations that matter. As Missouri’s first contemporary art museum, Kemper has introduced generations of visitors to the most compelling global voices in modern and contemporary art. Admission is free, thanks to the generosity of supporting members. 

Home to a growing collection of nearly 1,500 works, the museum showcases both established and rising artists, with a strong emphasis on those from historically underrepresented communities. Housed in an iconic building designed by Gunnar Birkerts, Kemper Museum offers an ever-changing mix of exhibitions, installations, and bold new projects, presenting 8 to 10 major shows each year and a robust schedule of events. Its restaurant, Oil on Linen, features an art-inspired menu by Chef Ted Habiger, who is known for his commitment to local farmers and sustainable practices.

Kemper is more than a place to see art. It’s a place to engage. From hands-on family activities and artist talks to community partnerships and thought-provoking exhibitions, the museum’s free public programs invite people of all ages and backgrounds to connect, create, and be inspired. 

Kemper Museum is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. For more information about the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, please visit kemperart.org.

Media inquiries: Allison King, aking@kemperart.org ;Meg Blackburn, meg@blackburncreative.com  

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art Presents the Exhibition Lie. Sit. Stand. Be Still. 
On View August 28, 2026 – July 25, 2027