Barbara Takenaga’s ‘Awestruck’
At Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, 40 paintings invite viewers into an exhibition where scale, pattern, and perception are explored and celebrated.
On view at Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City through April 11, 2027, Barbara Takenaga: Awestruck presents the artist’s first comprehensive survey in nearly a decade. Bringing together 40 works spanning her career since the early 2000s, the exhibition reveals the many approaches to abstraction that have shaped Takenaga’s practice. The exhibition is organized by Jessica May, Ph.D., Executive Director, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, and Tae Edell, Independent Curator.
The exhibition examines Barbara Takenaga’s intricate compositions through four thematic sections: an emphasis on process, a masterful confusion of scale, an embrace of illusion, and reverent nods to art history. Together, these strategies work to upend the viewer’s expectations, engaging imagination and stoking curiosity for more.
"My paintings are often seen as abstract, but with implied narratives: natural phenomena, imagined landscapes, microscopic or cosmic views. Cross sections of minerals or aerial maps of land or Big Bang explosions. There is a labor-intensive aspect to the work, with an aim to reconcile random, chance elements with structure and order. I’m enormously pleased to have this rare opportunity to look back at work from the past 25 years."
—Barbara Takenaga
Featuring works from institutional and private collections across the nation, this exhibition includes paintings up to her most recent, revealing Takenaga’s continued push to further her approach across increasingly expanding canvases, opening new paths within her ongoing exploration of abstraction.
Learn more and plan your visit at kemperart.org.
