2023 New Acquisitions
Pepe Mar (Mexican, born 1977), Rising Sun 1, 2, and 3, 2022, acrylic on printed fabric, 266 x 101 inches, Collection of the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri, Gift of David Castillo, Miami, 2023.2.1-3. © Pepe Mar, courtesy of the artist and David Castillo, Miami. Photo: E.G. Schempf, 2022.
Pepe Mar (Mexican, born 1977), On a Spiral, 2022, mixed media on wood in artist's Formica shadowbox, 60 x70 x 10 inches, Collection of the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri, Bebe and Crosby Kemper Collection, Museum purchase made possible by a gift from the Bebe and Crosby Foundation for the Arts, UMB Bank, n.a., Trustee, 2023.1. © Pepe Mar, courtesy of the artist and David Castillo, Miami. Photo: Zachary Balber, 2022.
Four works by Pepe Mar (Mexican, born 1977) that comprise the 2022 Atrium Project installation, Rising Sun. On a Spiral, museum purchase made possible by a gift from the Bebe and Crosby Foundation for the Arts, UMB Bank, n.a., Trustee. Rising Sun I, 2, and 3, gift of David Castillo, Miami.
Pepe Mar is a Miami, Florida-based artist whose rich, experimental process recalls the history of assemblage and painting. Through found objects, images, and symbols, Mar’s work reflects on contemporary culture and cultural alienation through the use of found objects and by engaging narratives related to, science fiction, celebrity, commercial design, and social media. Pepe Mar: Rising Sun was a commissioned installation for Kemper Museum’s 7th annual Atrium Project, on view from 2022–2023.
Fabulous Beasts (Stripy Fox) by Simon Fujiwara (British, born 1982). Gift of Sharon and John Hoffman.
Simon Fujiwara is a Japanese-British artist who works across multiple disciplines to engage issues of personal experience and larger historical and political issues. This work is from the series, Fabulous Beasts, in which Fujiwara collected fur coats produced between 1950 and 2000, then deconstructed and shaved them to reveal details both in the animal skins as well as the garment’s fabrication. This work is on view in the exhibition New Acquisitions: In Celebration of Thirty Years of Kemper Museum from March 2024–March 2025.
Simon Fujiwara (British, born 1982), Fabulous Beasts (Stripy Fox), 2015, shaved fur coat, 51 x 33 ½ inches, Collection of the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri, Gift of Sharon and John Hoffman, 2023.3. © Simon Fujiwara. Photo: E. G. Schempf, 2023
Two Column Sonambient Sculpture by Harry Bertoia (Italian-born American, 1915-1978). Gift of Jinny McCoy.
Harry Bertoia was a multidisciplinary artist and influential midcentury furniture designer who known for metalwork. This is the second of Bertoia’s Sonambient works, also known as sound sculptures, to join Kemper Museum’s Permanent Collection. These distinct works were created to generate sound and have aesthetic, sonic, and kinetic properties. This work is on view in the exhibition, New Acquisitions: In Celebration of Thirty Years of Kemper Museum from March 2024–March 2025.
Harry Bertoia (Italian-born American, 1915-1978), Two Column Sonambient Sculpture, ca. 1968, beryllium copper rods, brass plate, 36 ½ x 8 x 8 inches, Collection of the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri, Gift of Jinny McCoy, 2023.4. © Harry Bertoia Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS) Photo: E. G. Schempf, 2024.
Untitled by Frederick James Brown (American, 1924–2015). Gift of Bruce Thall, to Arnold Thall, who recognized Fred Brown's talent early on, and was gifted this work of art.
Frederick James Brown was a painter with deep ties to Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art and Kansas City. His site-specific installation of more than 100 paintings titled History of Art has been on view in Café Sebastienne since the 1990s. This work is an abstract painting from Brown’s 1970s Galaxy series. This work is on view in the exhibition, New Acquisitions: In Celebration of Thirty Years of Kemper Museum from March 2024–March 2025.
Frederick J. Brown (American, 1945-2012), Untitled, 1974, from the Galaxy series, acrylic and oil on canvas, 36 x 60 inches, Collection of the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri, To Arnold Thall, who recognized Fred Brown’s talent early on, and was gifted this work of art, 2023.5. © Frederick J. Brown Trust. Photo: E. G. Schempf, 2023.
Approaching Valhalla by Malcolm Morley (British, 1931-2018). Gift of the Enid and Crosby Kemper Foundation, UMB Bank, n.a., Trustee.
Michael Morley was a New York-based painter and a leader in the Superrealism movement in the 1960s and 70s. This painting is one of Morley’s later works, and is the first work by Morley to join the museum’s Permanent Collection. This work is on view in the exhibition, New Acquisitions: In Celebration of Thirty Years of Kemper Museum from March 2024–March 2025.
Malcolm Morley (British, 1931-2018), Approaching Valhalla, 1998, oil on linen, 102 x 79 inches, Collection of the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri, Bebe and Crosby Kemper Collection, Gift of the Enid and Crosby Kemper Foundation, UMB Bank, n.a., Trustee, 2023.6. © Estate of Malcolm Morley. Rights held by Petzel Gallery, New York. Photo James Allison Photography, 2013.
Together We Bloom 2 by Gio Swaby (Bahamian, born 1991). Promised gift of Bill and Christy Gautreaux.
Gio Swaby is Toronto-based interdisciplinary artist who is known for her textile portraits that explore and celebrate Blackness. Together We Bloom 2 is a grid nine panels, each featuring a silhouette portrait of a woman from the artist’s own close social circle in varying fabric and patterns. This work is on view in the exhibition Thread: Making Patterns from March 2024–February 2025.
Gio Swaby (Bahamian, born 1991), Together We Bloom 2, 2023, cotton fabric and thread sewn on muslin, 65 x 56 inches, Collection of the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri, Promised gift of Bill and Christy Gautreaux, PG.2023.1. © Gio Swaby. Photo: E. G. Schempf, 2024.