Kemper Museum hosts survey of painter Barbara Takenaga
Kemper Museum showcases 25 years of painter Barbara Takenaga's intricate, illusionistic works exploring scale and art history.
Barbara Takenaga (b. 1949, North Platte, NE), Forte , 2011. Acrylic on linen, 54 x 135 inches. Uncrated Art Foundation, Kansas City, MO (Barbara Takenaga)
The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City has launched a comprehensive exhibition titled Barbara Takenaga: Awestruck. The survey features a collection of works spanning 25 years of the artist's career, dating from the early 2000s to the present.
The exhibition, which opened on Oct. 9, 2026, and is scheduled to remain on view through April 11, 2027, includes over 45 works gathered from institutional and private collections across the United States. The display is co-organized by Jessica May, Ph.D., the museum's executive director, and independent curator Tae Edell.
The collection is arranged into four thematic sections that highlight the artist's focus on process, the manipulation of scale, the use of illusion, and references to art history. Takenaga, a New York City-based painter and professor emerita at Williams College, noted that her work often explores themes ranging from microscopic views to cosmic phenomena.
Regarding her creative approach, Takenaga stated that her paintings often imply narratives such as natural landscapes or celestial events. She described the work as labor-intensive, aiming to reconcile random elements with structure and order. This exhibition marks the first major survey of her career in nearly a decade.