TL;DR
Get art and craft supplies delivered free with Prime
- Fast, free delivery on millions of items
- Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included
- Member-only deals all year
Barbara Takenaga: Awestruck brings 40 paintings from the artist’s career since the early 2000s to the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City. The exhibition is on view through April 11, 2027, and is described as Takenaga’s first comprehensive survey in nearly a decade.
The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City is presenting Barbara Takenaga: Awestruck, an exhibition of 40 paintings spanning the artist’s work since the early 2000s. On view through April 11, 2027, it is Takenaga’s first comprehensive survey in nearly a decade, bringing together works from institutional and private collections across the country.
The exhibition follows Takenaga’s approaches to abstraction through four thematic sections: process, scale, illusion and art history. The museum’s announcement says the sections explore how her intricate compositions use those strategies to unsettle expectations and invite viewers to look closely. The presentation includes paintings from across her career, including recent work.
The paintings range in size, with some extending across broad canvases. One example listed in the announcement is Forte (2011), an acrylic-on-linen work measuring 54 by 135 inches, held by the Uncrated Art Foundation in Kansas City. The exhibition’s organizers are Jessica May, the museum’s executive director, and independent curator Tae Edell.
Takenaga has said her paintings can suggest natural phenomena and imagined views, despite being described as abstract. She connects their imagery to possibilities such as mineral cross-sections, aerial maps and cosmic events. The museum’s announcement describes the assembled works as showing the artist continuing to develop her approach, including through increasingly expansive canvases.
A Survey of Takenaga’s Abstraction
The exhibition offers visitors a chance to compare roughly 25 years of work in one setting, rather than encountering Takenaga’s paintings individually. The 40 works allow viewers to trace how recurring concerns—pattern, scale, illusion and the balance between chance and structure—appear across different points in her practice.
For the museum, the survey also brings together loans and works from collections around the country, making the presentation a concentrated view of an artist whose paintings can evoke many kinds of imagery without settling on a single narrative. The exhibition’s themes provide a route through that ambiguity: visitors can consider how a painting’s surface, dimensions and patterns shape what they think they are seeing.
The show is not presented as a definitive account of every part of Takenaga’s career. Its stated scope is work since the early 2000s, and the museum frames it as a survey of approaches to abstraction. Its value for readers and visitors lies in seeing those approaches gathered and organized around specific formal questions.
Popular right now
Samsung 75-Inch M80H Series Mini LED 4K Smart TV (2026)
Breville Barista Express Espresso Machine, Black Sesame
Breville BES870BTR Barista Express Espresso Machine, Black Truffle
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
How the Exhibition Is Organized
Barbara Takenaga was born in 1949 in North Platte, Nebraska. The exhibition centers on paintings made since the early 2000s, bringing together pieces from public and private collections. The museum calls it her first comprehensive survey in nearly a decade; the announcement does not specify the title or dates of the previous survey.
The four sections give the exhibition its structure. Process addresses the making of the paintings; scale concerns the shifting sense of size within them; illusion examines effects that can complicate how viewers read a surface; and art history points to references within Takenaga’s work. Together, the categories connect the physical construction of the paintings with the landscapes or phenomena viewers may imagine in them.
The museum identifies May and Edell as the exhibition’s organizers. Its announcement also directs visitors to kemperart.org for visit planning. The listed closing date is April 11, 2027.
Details Beyond the Survey Scope
The announcement does not provide a complete checklist of the 40 paintings, identify every lending institution or private collection, or specify how many works belong to each thematic section. It also does not give details about related programs, tours or public events.
The museum describes the show as Takenaga’s first comprehensive survey in nearly a decade but does not name the earlier survey. The announcement characterizes the exhibition’s themes and the artist’s continuing development; these are curatorial framing and do not establish a single interpretation that all visitors must share. No additional claims about visitor numbers or critical reception are provided.
Visit Before April 2027
Awestruck remains on view through April 11, 2027, at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City. The museum directs visitors to its website for practical information and visit planning. Any accompanying events or further exhibition details would need to be confirmed through the museum; none are specified in the announcement.
Key Questions
Where is Barbara Takenaga: Awestruck on view?
It is at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City.
How long is the exhibition open?
The exhibition is listed as on view through April 11, 2027.
How many works are included?
The exhibition brings together 40 paintings spanning Takenaga’s work since the early 2000s.
Who organized the exhibition?
It was organized by Jessica May, executive director of the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, and independent curator Tae Edell.
What themes guide the exhibition?
The presentation is organized around process, scale, illusion and art history, as ways to consider how Takenaga’s abstract compositions shape perception.
Source: hyperallergic.com
