Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum

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Homepage | Home | Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum The Art on Campus program is a growing collection of public artworks by nationally and internationally recognized artists.

Happy New Year's Eve! 🎆🍾🎉
We're ringing in 2024 with the festive energy captured in this photo by Joel Meyerowitz (American, b. 1938). The 1965 photo conveys both the bustle of New York City and stillness of the couple, depicting the unique spirit of New Year’s Eve.

Known for his street, portrait, and landscape photography, Meyerowitz is a two-time Guggenheim Fellow and a recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts, among other prestigious accolades.
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Joel Meyerowitz (American, b. 1938), "New Year's Eve, NYC, from the portfolio The Early Works," 1965. Gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 in. Gift of Joanne and Douglas Milch, 2003.

"African Modernism in America," presented at the Museum last spring, was chosen by ARTnews as one of the defining exhibitions of 2023.

“The exhibition delves into the complex relationship between African artists and their American patrons, highlighting evolving Western perceptions of African art, and unravels the intricacies of philanthropic ties, CIA-backed funding, and ongoing disparities in the reception of African and Black art today,” writes Daniel Cassady of ARTnews.

https://loom.ly/S0UpZm8

The Defining Exhibitions of 2023 See the 25 shows that emblematized this year, from a Vermeer retrospective to canon-expanding surveys.

Did you know that WashU was listed as one of the prettiest college campuses in America by Architectural Digest in 2022?

We completely agree, and it's no wonder to us that WashU's postcard building, Brookings Hall, inspired these eponymous paintings by Fred Conway (American, 1900-1973) and William F. Quinn (American, 1929-2022) in our permanent collection.
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William F. Quinn (American, 1929-2022), "Brookings Hall," 1965. Oil on canvas, 40 x 46 in. Gift of William F. Quinn, 1974.

Fred Conway (American, 1900-1973), "Brookings Hall," 20th century. Oil on canvas, 24 x 36 in. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Ethan A. Shepley, 1982.

We don't know who she is, but we want to be her! On the first day of winter, we're dreaming of the warm beaches and summer sun that this woman in Ralph Gibson's 1980 photograph "Woman on Beach–Sardinia" is enjoying.

Ralph Gibson is a prolific American photographer known for his high contrast black-and-white images characterized by evocative, abstract compositions. This photograph is from his portfolio "If & (Silk): Fifteen Photographs by Ralph Gibson" in our permanent collection.
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Ralph Gibson (American, b. 1939), "Woman on Beach—Sardinia," from the portfolio "If and (Silk): Fifteen Photographs by Ralph Gibson," 1980. Gelatin silver print, 14 x 11 in. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Ruderman, 1985.

We're wishing everyone a very Happy Holidays!

Looking for an activity to do with your loved ones this holiday season? Stop by the Museum to see "Adam Pendleton: To Divide By" before the exhibition closes on January 15.

Holiday hours:
Dec 24: Open 11 am–3 pm
Dec 25: Closed
Dec 31: Open 11 am–3 pm
Jan 1: Closed
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Installation view, “Adam Pendleton: To Divide By,” Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis, 2023. Photo by Dmitri Jackson.

One month left to see the exhibition "Adam Pendleton: To Divide By" at the Museum!

Pendleton's solo exhibition showcases a polyvocal assemblage of new and recent paintings, drawings, and video portraits that together reveal his interest in creating a conversation between mediums, as well as his belief in abstraction’s capacity to destabilize and disrupt. His works address the codes of representation and abstraction, the visual and literary uses of language, and the aesthetics of Blackness as an open-ended signifier. This evocative, dynamic, and captivating exhibition is one you don't want to miss.
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Installation view, "Adam Pendleton: To Divide By," Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis, 2023. Photo by Dmitri Jackson.

WashU students, it's time to put down your books, gather your friends, and join us for some creative self-care, because the Kemper Kickback is back this Wednesday (12/13) from 5–7 pm!

We know finals are stressful, so we're making the Museum a space of relaxation. Grab some free hot cocoa, experience guided meditations, enjoy music, view the exhibition "Adam Pendleton: To Divide By," and play art bingo to win prizes! Designed to encourage rest during finals, the Museum will become a space to think about how engaging with art can build connections within ourselves and with each other.

More info: https://loom.ly/CCBClec

Calendar | Kemper Art Museum Put down your books, gather your friends, and join us for some creative self-care. Grab some free hot cocoa, experience guided meditations, enjoy music, view the exhibition Adam Pendleton: To Divide By, and play art bingo to win prizes! Designed to encourage rest during finals, the Museum will becom...

Happy last day of classes, WashU students! We hope your classrooms today were as fun as the one in this 1849 print for The Parisian Periodical in our permanent collection.
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Fréderic Bouchot (French, 1798–1860), "Rentrées des classes" (First day of class, ), published in Le Feuilleton de Paris (The Parisian Periodical), 15 October 1849. Watercolor Lithograph, 9 3/16 x 5 3/4 in. Gift of Eric G. Carlson in honor of Professor Elizabeth C. Childs, 2000

Kahlil Robert Irving, whose solo exhibition "Kahlil Robert Irving: Archaeology of the Present" opens at the Museum on February 23, was recently awarded CULTURED's Young Artists Prize.

Irving was selected by a panel of experts as the inaugural recipient of the Young Artists Prize, an unrestricted financial award that seeks to help extraordinary artist in their uncompromising career.

Known for turning found objects into ceramic artwork with a sobering social story, the St. Louis-based artist’s upcoming installation at the Museum showcases a series of works, including new sculptures, video, and found objects that together consider our relationship to the city street as a place and a concept.

Read more: https://loom.ly/-NJF-yg
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📸: Andrew Castaneda

Meet the Winner of CULTURED’s Inaugural Young Artists Prize Kahlil Robert Irving was selected by a panel of experts from the 27 members of this year’s Young Artists list.

“There’s something very tender about painting,” said artist Adam Pendleton, whose solo exhibition is currently on view at the Museum. “There’s kind of this ritual that occurs that is both seen and unseen, all of it having to do, on some level, with the body.”

In this new video published by WashU, Pendleton gives insight into how he feels about painting and his process. His paintings and other works address codes of representation and abstraction, visual and literary uses of language, and the aesthetics of Blackness.

"Adam Pendleton: To Divide By" is open at the Museum through January 15.

Video:

ADAM PENDLETON: TO DIVIDE BY | WashU “Things are always happening at once,” says Adam Pendleton. “I want the paintings to be like that.” In this video, Pendleton, one of the most celebrated visu...

Thank You Saturday is one of our favorite days of the month – as it's a special day set aside to show gratitude for our members. Members are invited to join us this Saturday 12/2 for the final Thank you Saturday of the year!

Museum members at all levels can show their member card at the Museum's Coffee Bar to receive a complimentary hot beverage. As always, you receive 10% off any additional Coffee Bar or Museum hop purchases.

More info: https://loom.ly/t_gkJNI

Calendar | Kemper Art Museum Museum members at all levels are invited join us at the Museum this Saturday for a Thank You Saturday, a special day set aside to show appreciation for your support. Thank You Saturdays take place the first Saturday of the month.

Join us this Friday (12/1) at 12 pm for the final Kemper Unplugged of the year! 🎵🎶🎵

Enjoy arrangements for voice and string performed by graduate students from Washington University’s Department of Music while surrounded by art in the permanent collection and special exhibition galleries. The repertoire includes works from Piazzolla, Mozart, and Gershwin as well as pop, jazz, and Broadway hits.

Arrive early or stay after to grab lunch at the Museum’s Coffee Bar, which has a selection of ice cream sandwiches from Sugarwitch, savory deli sandwiches from Parker’s Table, and pastries from Colleen’s.

These 45-minute concerts are free and open to the public. We hope to see you there!

More info: https://loom.ly/ahNjIoY

Calendar | Kemper Art Museum Take a break in your day to hear Washington University faculty and students from the Department of Music, Arts & Sciences, in intimate chamber music and acoustic solo performances surrounded by art in the permanent collection and special exhibition galleries. These 45-minute concerts are free and op...

Andy Warhol's "Fiesta Pig" (1979), from our permanent collection, is also an accurate representation of us at any holiday meal. . .

We wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday weekend, and hope that you eat as well as Warhol's pig!

The Museum will be closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving. Operating hours on Friday and over the weekend are 11 am–5 pm.
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Andy Warhol (American, 1928–1987), "Fiesta Pig," 1979. Screen print on Arches 88 paper, 21 3/4 x 30 1/2 in. Gift of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc., 2014. © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Last week, the International Institute's Youth Mentoring program joined us for a tour of the Museum focused on our new acquisitions in contemporary art in the Kemper Gallery and the Artists in Exile display in the Bernoudy Gallery.

The Youth Mentoring Program helps pair refugee youth with adult mentors to focus on educational, vocational, and social goals. Not only do pairs meet one-on-one throughout the 10-week sessions, they also attend group events such as the Museum tour. We're grateful for the opportunity to support this program and their mission of increasing positive outcomes for refugee youth in St. Louis.

For more information about the International Institute St. Louis, check out their page!
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Join us this Sunday (11/19) at 2 pm for a two-hour art-making workshop inspired by Adam Pendleton’s multimedia artistic process, led by graphic designer and illustrator Danielle Ridolfi.

During this hands-on experience, participants will experiment with the power of juxtaposing diverse found materials to create a compelling visual poem using several of Pendleton’s methods, including collage and screen printing. Each participant will create a composition by cutting and pasting an assortment of visual ephemera, text, and paper using a rule-based procedure that combines artistic choice with elements of chance. Participants will also learn to apply a screen print texture to their collage to add layered meaning.

This workshop is designed in conjunction with the exhibition "Adam Pendleton: To Divide By," and is free and open to the public. Recommended for ages 10 and up.

Register here: https://www.kemperartmuseum.wustl.edu/node/14839

In the mood for a little music? You're in luck! Kemper Unplugged is back this Friday (11/17) with performances by Washington University faculty and students from the Department of Music in Arts & Sciences.

Take a break in your day to hear music spanning several different eras of the guitar repertoire surrounded by art in Ebsworth gallery. This iteration of Kemper Unplugged will feature four new works from WashU faculty member, Vincent Varvel, created in response to Adam Pendleton’s concept of Black Dada. The 45-minute guitar concerts are free and open to the public.

Arrive early or stay after to grab lunch at the Museum’s Coffee Bar. Enjoy ice cream sandwiches from Sugarwitch, savory deli sandwiches from Parker’s Table, and pastries from Colleen’s. Members get 10% off your purchase with every visit.

More info:

Calendar | Kemper Art Museum Take a break in your day to hear Washington University faculty and students from the Department of Music, Arts & Sciences, in intimate chamber music and acoustic solo performances surrounded by art in the permanent collection and special exhibition galleries. These 45-minute concerts are free and op...

"Disorderly Materials / Contingent Objects," now on display in our Teaching Gallery, brings a set of diverse artworks into conversation through an investigation into their physical and material properties.

The works presented speak to the agency inherent in the behavior of inanimate things and together raise the question, What happens when we allow materials to speak during the process of art production? For example, Manfred Pernice’s "Foundation, Fundament ‘09" (2009), shown here, highlights the ways that matter accumulates and yields unpredictable outcomes.

"Disorderly Materials / Contingent Objects" is organized by Kelley Van Dyck Murphy, assistant professor of architecture in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, and Hans Tursack, PhD candidate in electronic arts at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in conjunction with the fall 2023 course “Digital Ceramics.”
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Manfred Pernice (German, b. 1963), "Foundation, Fundament '09," 2009. Wood, paint, ceramic, concrete, brick, steel, and paper, 69 3/4 x 20 x 20 in. University purchase, Parsons Fund, 2009.

November is here, which means it's time for our next Thank You Saturday! This weekend, on 11/4, we're taking a day to show our gratitude for our members and their support 🍂🍁

Museum members at all levels can show their member card at the Coffee Bar all day on Saturday to receive a complimentary hot beverage. As always, members receive 10% off any additional Coffee Bar or Museum Shop purchases.

Thank You Saturdays take place the first Saturday of the month this year, so be sure to stop by to take advantage of this tasty membership benefit!

More info: https://loom.ly/sYSr20I

Calendar | Kemper Art Museum Museum members at all levels are invited join us at the Museum this Saturday for a Thank You Saturday, a special day set aside to show appreciation for your support. Thank You Saturdays take place the first Saturday of the month.

This Thursday (11/2) at 5:30 pm, join us to hear Adrienne Edwards, Engell Speyer Family Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Whitney Museum of American Art, provide an overview of Adam Pendleton's art in conjunction with this season's exhibition of his work. Edwards's lecture will discuss Pendleton's paintings, performance, installation, and video, exploring how his work exemplifies a shift in Conceptual art through a choreography of abstraction, engages experimental poetry and uses of language, and constellates and materializes matters of Blackness.

In addition to her position at the Whitney, through which she has completed numerous high-profile curatorial projects, she has taught art history and visual studies at New York University, the New School, and The Graduate Center at CUNY. She is a frequent contributor to a range of artist monographs, anthologies, exhibition catalogues, and academic journals, and was president of the jury for the 59th Venice Biennale in 2022. She holds a PhD in performance studies from New York University.

This event is part of the Sam Fox School Public Lecture Series and is free and open to all. The event is also supported in part by Washington University's Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity and the Department of Art History & Archaeology in Arts & Sciences.

More info: https://www.kemperartmuseum.wustl.edu/events/lectures/14831
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📸: Bryan Derballa

Calendar | Kemper Art Museum Adrienne Edwards, Engell Speyer Family Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Whitney Museum of American Art, provides an overview of Adam Pendleton's art, including paintings, performance, installation, and video, exploring how his work exemplifies a shift in Conceptual art through a cho...

“Because I believe poetry makes it possible to think impossible thoughts, thoughts that are off the epistemological grid, I believe poetic thinking must seek a horizon of possible language and become writing that is always in a relation of negation with the demand for legibility.” —Simone White

Poet and critic Simone White’s talk and reading, held on 10/13 in conjunction with the exhibition "Adam Pendleton: To Divide By" and in collaboration with WashU’s Center for the Literary Arts, is now available to watch on our YouTube channel. She discussed poetry's radical potential as thought and art as well as the development of a relation between writing, performance, and the contemporary art world.

Watch the video: https://loom.ly/2MsQY4U

Reading and Talk with Poet Simone White “Because I believe poetry makes it possible to think impossible thoughts, thoughts that are off the epistemological grid, I believe poetic thinking must seek...

“I think one of the things I'm predominantly interested in is a theory of abstraction as it relates to painting and drawing but also as it relates to the individual and also as it relates to the collective and how we understand ourselves and who and what we are.”— .adam quoted in the article "New Kemper Museum Show Blurs Boundaries — In Multiple Ways" by Kasey Noss (WashU '24) for the "Riverfront Times"

In her article, Noss includes quotes from Pendleton and exhibition curator Meredith Malone that illuminate the artist's use of abstraction and layering, how the installation takes art outside the frame, and how the exhibition title connotes multiplicity at the same time as separation.

"Adam Pendleton: To Divide By" will be on view at the Museum through January 15.

Article: https://loom.ly/gSDmnow

New Kemper Museum Show Blurs Boundaries — In Multiple Ways Adam Pendleton's To Divide By plays with how abstraction helps us understand ourselves and others

In need of a midday music fix? This Friday (10/27) starting at 12 pm, Kemper Unplugged has got you covered! 🎶

Take a break in your day to hear Washington University faculty and students from the Department of Music in Arts & Sciences in intimate chamber music and acoustic solo performances surrounded by art in the permanent collection and special exhibition galleries. These 45-minute concerts are free and open to the public.

Arrive early or stay after to grab lunch at the Museum’s Coffee Bar. Enjoy ice cream sandwiches from Sugarwitch, savory deli sandwiches from Parker’s Table, and pastries from Colleen’s.

Can't make it on Friday? Kemper Unplugged will be back on 11/17 and 12/1.

More info: https://loom.ly/WUA8tco

Calendar | Kemper Art Museum Take a break in your day to hear Washington University faculty and students from the Department of Music, Arts & Sciences, in intimate chamber music and acoustic solo performances surrounded by art in the permanent collection and special exhibition galleries. These 45-minute concerts are free and op...

Last weekend WashU students joined Kevin McCoy (MFA19) of WORK/PLAY for a hands-on book arts workshop in collaboration with WashU' Center for the Literary Arts 📚📖

Held in conjunction with "Adam Pendleton: To Divide By" and poet Simone White's talk the night before, the workshop started with a discussion of experimental bookmaking in relation to language, poetry, and visual art. Students were then invited to collaborate on a publication, bringing together their own texts, images, and source material through various compositional analog techniques.

Adam Pendleton's conversation with curator Meredith Malone, held on the occasion of the opening of "Adam Pendleton: To Divide By" on September 22, is now available to watch on our YouTube channel. 🎥

During the conversation, Pendleton discusses a range of topics, including his approach to abstraction, his ever-evolving artistic practice, and the creation of this major solo exhibition, which will be on view in the Museum until January 15.

Watch the video: https://loom.ly/UJFHFcw

Artist Q&A: Adam Pendleton “What is your name?” “Where are you from?” “How did you end up here?” “Can you feel it?” “Does it hurt?” With these and other questions, the American artist ...

This weekend we will be hosting two free, public tours of this season's exhibition "Adam Pendleton: To Divide By."

On Saturday (10/21) join Deaf artist and community advocate Devon Whitmore for an interactive American Sign Language (ASL) tour of select works from the exhibition. The tour will be provided in ASL with voice interpreters. This program is offered in collaboration with DEAF Inc. to celebrate Deaf culture and promote accessibility to the arts.

On Sunday (10/22) student educator and PhD student Weixun Qu will be hosting a Chinese-language tour of the exhibition.

For more info about ASL tour: https://loom.ly/jWYI-ws
For more info about Chinese-language tour: https://loom.ly/HX2Nd-0
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📸: Dmitri Jackson

As part of this season's exhibition "Adam Pendleton: To Divide By," the artist's latest film portrait, "Ruby Nell Sales," is currently on view in our video gallery 🎥

Pendleton was first drawn to Sales, the public theologian and civil rights activist, after hearing a 2016 interview in which she posed the question, "Where does it hurt?." For Pendleton, this seemingly simple question gets to the heart of being an American. In the hour-long video portrait, Sales reflections on her life, work, and upbringing are interwoven with flashes of diverse images, from contemporary Black Lives Matter protests to anonymous home movies of intimate life moments to abstract forms. The portrait continues Pendleton's investigation of the consonances and dissonances between individuals and collectivities.
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Adam Pendleton, (American, b. 1984), still from "Ruby Nell Sales," 2020–22. Video (color, sound), 61 min., 13 sec.© Adam Pendleton, courtesy of the artist.

This Friday (10/13) at 5:30 pm, join us for a reading by poet Simone White 📚

Organized in conjunction with this season's exhibition "Adam Pendleton: To Divide By," White will be hosting a conversation on creative practice in relation to the role of language and poetry in Adam Pendleton’s work.

White is an award winning poet whose works, such as "or, on being the other woman" (Duke University Press, 2022), "Dear Angel of Death" (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2018), and "House Envy of All the World," have been featured in publications including Artforum, Harper’s Magazine, Chicago Review, and The New York Times Book Review. Her honors include a 2021 Creative Capital Award, a 2017 Whiting Award in Poetry, Cave Canem Foundation fellowships, and recognition as a New American Poet for the Poetry Society of America in 2013. A graduate of Wesleyan University, she is also the Stephen M. Gorn Family Assistant Professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania and serves on the writing faculty of the Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts at Bard College. Photos by Dana Scruggs.
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More info: https://loom.ly/nvUMJT4

Calendar | Kemper Art Museum Organized in conjunction with Adam Pendleton: To Divide By, join us for a reading by poet Simone White and a conversation on creative practice in relation to the role of language and poetry in Adam Pendleton’s work.

A selection of works from Adam Pendleton's ongoing "System of Display" are interspersed with new untitled ceramic works to form a dynamic installation in the Museum's Saligman Family Atrium as part of our current exhibition "Adam Pendleton: To Divide By."

Pendleton's "System of Display" works are screen-printed onto mirrors framed by shadow boxes. Stenciled circles rendered with various levels of transparency proliferate the works, while a single letter from John Ashbery's 1993 poem "The History of Photography" is printed on the layer of Plexiglas covering each shadow box. The relationship between image and letter is perplexing, presenting a confluence of ideas on the two planes of the works that engage both language itself and language as abstraction.

The unframed ceramic works similarly feature variations on the circle, and their glazed surfaces—ranging from white to silver to black—reflect and distort us as viewers, facilitating a sensual experience of the now.

More info: https://loom.ly/EriOYOw
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Installation view, "Adam Pendleton: To Divide By," Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis, 2023. Photo by Dmitri Jackson.

We're thankful for our Museum members everyday, but tomorrow (10/7) we're showing extra gratitude!

Museum members at all levels are invited join us for Thank You Saturday at the Museum. Show your member card at the Coffee Bar all day to receive a complimentary hot beverage. As always, you receive 10% off any additional Coffee Bar or Museum Shop purchases.

Thank You Saturdays take place the first Saturday of the month this year, so be sure to stop by to take advantage of this membership benefit!

More information: https://loom.ly/Iz4D5yI

Calendar | Kemper Art Museum Museum members at all levels are invited join us at the Museum this Saturday for a Thank You Saturday, a special day set aside to show appreciation for your support. Thank You Saturdays take place the first Saturday of the month this year, so be sure to stop by to take advantage of this new membersh...