WashU Kemper Art Museum

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WashU Kemper Art Museum Renowned collection, thought-provoking exhibitions, exciting programs. Free & open to all.
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At the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum an outstanding art collection and special exhibitions featuring modern and contemporary art come together in a dynamic learning environment. Building on over one hundred years of tradition, the Kemper Art Museum promotes critical thinking and visual literacy within Washington University, in the regional community, and nationally and abroad—through its internationally renowned collection, exhibitions and scholarship, and its innovative outreach and educational programs.

Meet the artists: Grete Stern and Horacio Coppola Photographers Grete Stern and Horacio Coppola were central figures in ...
10/21/2026

Meet the artists: Grete Stern and Horacio Coppola
 
Photographers Grete Stern and Horacio Coppola were central figures in Buenos Aires’s vibrant modernist art scene of the 1930s and ’40s. They met in 1932 while studying at the Bauhaus in Berlin, married, and settled in Buenos Aires in 1935 after leaving Europe amid the rise of Na**sm.
 
Though their artistic approaches differed, Stern and Coppola shared a commitment to experimentation and creative exchange. Coppola’s photographs captured the city’s rapidly changing urban landscape with a unique perspective, while Stern’s work reflected her commitment to social issues. Their home also became a gathering place for younger artists, painters, poets, and intellectuals, fostering an environment of exchange and collaboration.
 
Stern and Coppola’s relationship and work offers a window into this dynamic artistic community, which is at the heart of “Buenos Aires Modern, 1935–1950,” and helped shape modern art during a period of profound cultural and political change in Argentina. 
 
Discover the exhibition through January 4, 2027.
 
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Grete Stern and Horacio Coppola, by an unknown photographer, c. 1933, estate of Horacio Coppola and Grete Stern, courtesy Galería Jorge Mara–La Ruche, Buenos Aires

We’re grateful for the thoughtful local, national, and international press coverage of our fall exhibitions “Buenos Aire...
10/20/2026

We’re grateful for the thoughtful local, national, and international press coverage of our fall exhibitions “Buenos Aires Modern, 1935–1950” and “Carolina Caycedo: Growing Deep Roots.” Here are a few highlights! 
 
From the vibrant, cross-disciplinary artistic community that shaped modernism in midcentury Buenos Aires, to Carolina Caycedo’s exploration of humans’ relationship with land and water, thank you to St. Louis Magazine, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Artdaily, STL Jewish Light, Arte al Dia, The Land Institute, and more for engaging with these exhibitions.

Nine artists represented in the Kemper Art Museum’s collection have been named to TIME’s inaugural TIME100 Art list: Jen...
10/15/2026

Nine artists represented in the Kemper Art Museum’s collection have been named to TIME’s inaugural TIME100 Art list: Jenny Holzer, Rashid Johnson, Christine Sun Kim, Tuan Andrew Nguyen, Catherine Opie, Trevor Paglen, Lorna Simpson, Hito Steyerl, and Wolfgang Tillmans. Their work spans a range of media and approaches, reflecting the breadth of contemporary art represented in the Museum’s collection. 
 
The list also recognizes Komal Shah, founder of the Making Their Mark Foundation, which organized the Museum’s 2025 presentation of “Making Their Mark: Works from the Shah Garg Collection,” co-curated by fellow honoree Cecilia Alemani.
 
Congratulations to all those recognized for shaping the global art landscape!
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Installation view of “Making Their Mark: Works from the Shah Garg Collection,” Washington University in St. Louis, 2025. Photo by Joshua White / JWPictures.com.

Jenny Holzer (American, b. 1950), “Selections from ‘The Survival Series,’” 1983–84. Electronic LED sign with yellow diodes, 6 1/2 x 60 3/4 x 4 in. Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis. University purchase, Charles H. Yalem Art Fund, 1991.

Rashid Johnson (American, b. 1977), “Thurgood in the Hour of Chaos,” from the portfolio “America America,” 2009. Photolithograph, 29 5/8 x 22 in. Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis. Gift of Exit Art, 2013.

Christine Sun Kim (American, b. 1980), “Three Tables III (AGB, HPA, DTS),” 2020. Charcoal on paper, 58 1/4 x 58 1/4 in. Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis. University purchase, Bixby Fund, 2023.

Tuan Andrew Nguyen (Vietnamese American, b. 1976), “Dragon Scales,” 1983–84. 57 mm brass artillery shell, tuned to 432 Hz; brass ordnance and stainless steel; and wire; and with wood mallet, 68 x 37 x 44 in. Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis. University purchase, Yeatman Fund and William McMillan Fund, 2022. 

Catherine Opie (American, b. 1961), “L.A. Uprising, Catalina Rooftop, 1992,” 1992, printed 2024. Pigment print, 30 x 37 1/2 in. Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis. University purchase, with funds fr

10/14/2026

Calling all members! On Wednesday, October 21, at 5:30 pm, Assistant Curator Dana Ostrander will lead a tour of “Buenos Aires Modern, 1935–1950,” offering a behind-the-scenes perspective on the making of the exhibition, and the surprising St. Louis connection that made it possible. 
 
Interested in becoming a member? Visit the 🔗 in our bio to learn more about the various ways to join and the unique benefits of membership.

10/14/2026

On view in “Buenos Aires Modern, 1935–1950,” Gyula Kosice’s “Coplanal” (1947) is part of the Kemper Art Museum’s collection. Composed of four discs and connecting bars, the work was intended to be experienced physically: the discs rotate on their axes, while the bars can be moved to create different polygonal forms. Like other works by Argentine Concrete artists, “Coplanal” sought to break down the boundaries between artist, artwork, and spectator, and to awaken viewers to their own material conditions in society.
 
You can experiment with this idea at the Museum, where a touch replica of “Coplanal” allows visitors to manipulate its movable elements and experience its changing forms. Then, take the experience home with a “Take & Make” movable artwork kit created by the Museum’s education team. Inspired by the geometric forms, material experimentation, and participatory spirit reflected in “Buenos Aires Modern,” each kit gives you the materials and prompts to create your own movable artwork.
 
Visit “Buenos Aires Modern, 1935–1950” through January 4, 2027, and stop by the Museum to manipulate the touch replica and pick up a Take & Make kit.

On Saturday, October 17, join Saundi McClain-Kloeckener for “Reciprocal Care: Plants, Water, People,” a gallery talk exp...
10/09/2026

On Saturday, October 17, join Saundi McClain-Kloeckener for “Reciprocal Care: Plants, Water, People,” a gallery talk exploring “Carolina Caycedo: Growing Deep Roots” and reciprocal relationships with the natural world.
 
An educator, caregiver, healer, and member of the Native Women’s Care Circle, Saundi will share insights from her own practice and work tending to local environments, including the Buder Circle and Three Sisters Garden at WashU. 
 
📅  October 17
🕞 11:30 am
📍 Museum Lobby
🎟️ Free and open to the public 
🚗 Free in the East End Garage
🔗 Link in bio to register
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📸 Saundi McClain-Kloeckener

On Saturday, October 17, join Saundi McClain-Kloeckener for “Reciprocal Care: Plants, Water, People,” a gallery talk exploring “Carolina Caycedo: Growing Deep Roots” and reciprocal relationships with the natural world.
 
An educator, caregiver, healer, and member of the Native Women’s Care Circle, Saundi will share insights from her own practice and work tending to local environments, including the Buder Circle and Three Sisters Garden at WashU. 
 
📅  October 17
🕞 11:30 am
📍 Museum Lobby
🎟️ Free and open to the public 
🚗 Free in the East End Garage
🔗 Link in bio to register
__
📸 Photo by Chris Bauer

On Saturday, October 17, join Saundi McClain-Kloeckener for “Reciprocal Care: Plants, Water, People,” a gallery talk exploring “Carolina Caycedo: Growing Deep Roots” and reciprocal relationships with the natural world.
 
An educator, caregiver, healer, and member of the Native Women’s Care Circle, Saundi will share insights from her own practice and work tending to local environments, including the Buder Circle and Three Sisters Garden at WashU. 
 
📅  October 17
🕞 11:30 am
📍 Museum Lobby
🎟️ Free and open to the public 
🚗 Free in the East End Garage
🔗 Link in bio to register
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📸 Photo by Joshua White / JWPictures.com

10/08/2026

A look back at two recent Fox 2 Studio STL segments featuring the Kemper Art Museum’s fall exhibitions that are airing again today as part of a special Hispanic Heritage Month program.
 
The segments spotlight “Buenos Aires Modern, 1935–1950” and “Carolina Caycedo: Growing Deep Roots,” with curators Dana Ostrander and Meredith Malone sharing more about the exhibitions.
 
Catch the full segments on Fox 2 later today! 📺

Thank you to everyone who attended the most recent Kemper Refresh program, which invited visitors to slow down, explore ...
10/07/2026

Thank you to everyone who attended the most recent Kemper Refresh program, which invited visitors to slow down, explore “Carolina Caycedo: Growing Deep Roots,” and get creative with the natural world. Led by Dominique Begnaud of Create Play Grow Therapy, the botanical printing workshop brought the exhibition’s themes to life through hands-on art-making with natural materials. 🌿
 
Join us November 7 at 11 am for the next Kemper Refresh, in partnership with Missouri Botanical Garden’s Therapeutic Horticulture program. The morning will include a guided gallery visit, nature-based activities, and an invitation to explore the Washington University Arboretum.

The Kemper Art Museum has been selected as a 2026 Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA) grant recipient, receiving $...
10/06/2026

The Kemper Art Museum has been selected as a 2026 Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA) grant recipient, receiving $10,000 in support of the program “Building Consciousness and Community: Student Convening and Creative Response Exhibition.”
 
Taking place in spring 2027 alongside the exhibition “The Brockman Gallery: Black Art and the Making of Community, 1967–1990,” the initiative will bring together approximately 200 middle and high school students from across the St. Louis region for exhibition tours, artist-led discussions, collaborative art-making, and a culminating student exhibition.
 
We’re grateful to the ADAA Foundation and its member galleries for investing in arts-based learning and helping amplify young people’s perspectives on identity, community, and social change.
 
 
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Romare Bearden (American, 1911–1988), “Black Venus,” 1968. Mixed-media collage, 29 3/4 x 40 3/16 in. Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis. University purchase, Charles H. Yalem Art Fund, 1994. © Romare Bearden Foundation / VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Students participating in an art-making program. 

Artworks featured in a recent K–12 student art exhibition. Photo by Chris Bauer.

You may have seen the Hispanic Heritage Month Flag flying high around town this month–but did you know it was designed b...
10/02/2026

You may have seen the Hispanic Heritage Month Flag flying high around town this month–but did you know it was designed by José Garza, a member of the Kemper Art Museum team?
 
José created the flag as a unifying symbol for Hispanic communities, carefully developing its colors and symbols to reflect values including perseverance, sacrifice, family, courage, prosperity, and justice. The flag was first raised at St. Louis City Hall in 2023, and the St. Louis Board of Aldermen recognized José for his contribution. Since then, his design has continued to make its way beyond St. Louis, with cities and institutions around the country adopting and displaying the flag.
  
We’re proud to have José on our team and to see his work continuing to connect communities near and far.

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Washington University In St. Louis, One Brookings Drive
St. Louis, MO
63130

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Monday 11am - 5pm
Wednesday 11am - 5pm
Thursday 11am - 5pm
Friday 11am - 5pm
Saturday 11am - 5pm
Sunday 11am - 5pm

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(314) 935-4523

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