Artwork of Our Time & Place: Kemper Museum Showcases Midwest Artists
“The Regional” is on view now at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art.
The author at the exhibit. Photos by Anna Petrow
A first-of-its-kind contemporary exhibition of Midwestern artists is now on view through September 11, 2022, at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art.
The exhibition features new work from over 20 artists reflecting, responding to, and complicating our understanding of the Midwest. The Regional is a major multi-museum survey exhibition series showcasing a range of media grappling with our day’s most pressing issues. “It’s a testament to what artists in the Midwest are doing and what they’re interested in right now,” said Jade Powers, who co-organized The Regional as Assistant Curator with the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art.
I recently spoke with Powers, who told me a bit more about putting the exhibition together during the pandemic and the collaborative spirit this virtual environment sparked for the curators and artists. Powers commented that “These artists are truly rockstars. I’d definitely write [their names] down. I think you’ll see them again.”
Could you tell me about the goals for the exhibit and the relationships that developed while working on the project?
Amara [Amara Antilla, Senior Curator with the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) in Cincinnati and co-organizer of The Regional] and I knew each other previously and we were talking about how great the art scene is in our respective cities, but how it’s not always showcased on either of the coasts.
When the pandemic happened, that was, of course, really hard. We had to think about the next steps for the project. It ended up being a positive because it allowed us to have studio visits remotely. We could be in Detroit at 2 p.m. and Cincinnati at 3 p.m.
It was really through those virtual conversations with different artists that the themes for the exhibition came to be. We wanted the artists to guide us in what they were excited to show.
As Powers described, the vision for the show was artist-led, and through Zoom calls, six common interconnected themes emerged to unite the artists’ work. These include: Landscape and Abstraction, Immigrant Experience and Labor, Architecture and Notions of Home, Healing from Ethnic and Racial Traumas, Americana and Pop Culture, Portrait and Identity.
Are these timely issues and questions something that attracts you to contemporary art? How did you get to where you are, and what do you like about contemporary art?
I trained as an art historian. What excites me about contemporary art is looking to the past. So while the art in the exhibition is new, they’re all - in one way or another - thinking about the past, thinking about the region, and their place in the region.
From the exhibit’s title, we know that regionalism is front of mind and that the artists reflected on their experiences of the “Midwest.” From your perspective, what does the Midwest mean to you?
I think to me the Midwest is so diverse and exciting. You can be in Kansas, and you can be in Ohio, and they feel very different, but at the same time, they’re all so familiar. I’m from Indiana and we’d often travel, but somehow there’s this [enduring] feeling of hospitality and care that I appreciate throughout the Midwest.
From your perspective of the Midwest, what work in the exhibit exemplifies - or considers - that feeling of hospitality?
I honestly would say they all do in their way. Anissa Lewis’s works on paper are really interesting in the historical narrative and history of the Midwest and the idea of hospitality. Rachel Cox also does that nicely.
From the Digital Exhibition Catalogue - Theme: Architecture and Notions of Home
Anissa Lewis uses photography, installation, and social practice to explore community, place, and memory in predominantly Black neighborhoods…Lewis’s work highlights neighborhood change and the holes in the social fabric that stem from the systemic lack of resources and generational neglect imposed on communities of color historically and today.
Working primarily with photography, Rachell Cox engages in self-reflection by documenting the people and places that surround her…By unpacking the euphemism “urban planning” and presenting the suburbs as a contingent entity, Cox explores the constructed nature of value, raising questions about access, belonging, and equity.
Did any one piece encourage you to see the Midwest or its communities in a new way?
I wasn’t as familiar with the Salvadoran population in the Midwest. Lorena Molina’s work is related to coffee, coffee farmers, and the United State's relationship with El Salvador - especially during the war in El Salvador. I think that it was really interesting to learn more about that war, the production of coffee, and how the effects of having coffee have trickled down to affect the farmers in El Salvador.
From the Digital Exhibition Catalogue - Theme: Healing from Ethnic and Racial Traumas
Land—specifically what is grown on land—inspired Lorena Molina’s installation Reconciliation Garden (2021). In this work she asks viewers to think about their consumption, specifically of coffee and the Salvadoran Civil War (1979–1992) … Molina asks: “How can we make amends for the past actions of our country?” in hopes visitors will consider ways in which this might be possible.
The artists - largely because of the virtual meetings held on Zoom - were very involved in this process and in conversations with each other. Could you tell me a bit more about how that looked?
After we decided on the 23 artists, we grouped them by availability, and every person in the show could meet on a Zoom call where 3-4 artists presented their work. This created an opportunity for them to talk to each other, share the things they’re interested in, and ask further questions about their work.
Those meetings were really fruitful and exciting for Amara and myself as we didn’t come in with any themes and were talking and listening to what the artists were saying. That [process] really helped us evolve our themes and our groups. It was really nice to work with everyone on that.
Visitor Tip - Don’t miss Isa Gagarin’s wayfinders. Gagarin’s work provides visitors with their own wayfinder as a way to engage with her work, other works in the exhibit, as well as the world outside!
How might we support a regional conversation and prop-up local artists?
I think shows like The Regional are a great way to highlight local artists. I also think both the Kemper and CAC do a really good job of engaging the local arts community through programming like talks, workshops, etc.
Visitor Tip - Don’t miss the QR codes next to the artwork throughout the gallery! When scanned, these provide little snippets of audio from conversations the curators had with the artists. Every work in the show has an expanded didactic to make sure visitors have all the information they need as they view the Midwest through the artists’ eyes.
How might we foster conversations between our cities and other vibrant hubs throughout the Midwest?
What was so exciting for me working with so many of these artists was that I learned something new. Whether that was learning a new process or about a moment in history that is fundamental for their practice. This artwork is a great way to start the conversations about what each artist thinks is important and exciting. That through art, there can be a continued conversation.
As visitors come to the Kemper Museum, what questions would you like them to consider?
I’d love them to consider these questions:
Do I know this artist?
Have I seen them before?
Is their subject matter intriguing to me?
Is it something that I’ve thought about?
What could I do to learn more about it?
What is my experience with the Midwest? Did this art align with what I’ve seen?
Ultimately, Powers hopes that visitors are excited by what they see and continue to follow The Regional artists as they shape the discourse around contemporary American art and culture. In the long-term, she hopes that other museums will become involved and work to feature even more artists working across the Midwest.
See The Regional while it is in Kansas City at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art from June 3 to September 11, 2022.
Note: Questions and responses from the interview with Jade Powers have been edited for brevity and clarity.
