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Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art acknowledges it resides on the ancestral territory of the Osage, Kaw, and Otoe-Missouria, among other tribal nations forcibly moved to the region such as the Shawnee, Wyandot, Delaware, Potawatomi, Sac and Fox and Kiikaapoi (Kickapoo) nations. We recognize and support the continued vibrancy of Native communities and cultures today who continue to thrive, as well as the inherent sovereignty of tribal nations. We are compelled to serve and advocate for these communities in accordance with our public mission.

Kemper Museum acknowledges and respects the diversity of Native people connected to this land today. Many recognize the land and all beings who live within it as relatives. We acknowledge the earth we inhabit, the waters of the Blue River, the Kansas River, the Missouri River, and the plants, animals, and people supported by them. 

We acknowledge our responsibility to be good caretakers of the land we occupy. 

Click here to learn more about our land acknowledgment process.

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Virginia Jaramillo: Principle of Equivalence

Artist Virginia Jaramillo's first retrospective exhibition – Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art

Principle of Equivalence was the first major retrospective exhibition for New York-based artist Virginia Jaramillo (Mexican American, born 1939). Tracing the impact of the Jaramillo’s practice, which collide postwar abstraction with physics, science and the cosmos, archaeology and mythology, and modernist design philosophies, this exhibition sheds light on her career and situates it within the larger narrative of American abstract art. For decades, Jaramillo’s work has been celebrated internationally in groundbreaking exhibitions including The De Luxe Show, in 1971, one of the first major racially integrated exhibitions in the United States. Jaramillo also has an exhibition history in Kansas City that stretches back to the late 1970s. Her work was featured in Kemper Museum’s debut exhibition in 1994 and is represented in the permanent collections of Kemper Museum, Spencer Museum, Daum Museum, and as well as in the Hallmark Collection. 

This exhibition presents a selection of seventy-three paintings and handmade paper works over nearly seventy years and six major series. 

This exhibition is organized by Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art and curated by Erin Dziedzic, director of curatorial affairs. A full-color catalog was published in conjunction with this exhibition and distributed by Yale University Press.

This exhibition will travel to The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, where it will be on view May 4, 2024–January 7, 2025 and Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, Charlotte, North Carolina, where it will be on view February 6–June 8, 2025.

Virginia Jaramillo (American, born 1939), Principle of Equivalence, 1975 oil on canvas 48¼ x 60 inches. 

Collection of the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri, Gift of Robert and Sally West, 2012.01. © Virginia Jaramillo, courtesy of the artist and Douglas Drake Fine Art, Kansas City, Missouri. Photo: E. G. Schempf, 2019.

Principle of Equivalence

Virginia Jaramillo (American, born 1939), Quanta, 2021, acrylic on canvas, 72 x 144 inches. 

Courtesy of the artist and Hales, London and New York.
 © Virginia Jaramillo. Image courtesy of the artist and Hales, London and New York. Photo: JSP Art Photography.

Virginia Jaramillo (American, born 1939), Green Dawn, 1970, acrylic on canvas, 83⅞ x 72⅛ inches.

The Joyner/Giuffrida Collection. © Virginia Jaramillo. Image courtesy of the artist and Hales, London and New York. Photo: Phoebe d'Heurle.

Virginia Jaramillo (American, born 1939), Blue Space, 1974, oil on canvas, 82 x 70 inches.

The John and Susan Horseman Collection, Courtesy of the Horseman Foundation, St. Louis, Missouri. © Virginia Jaramillo. Image courtesy of the artist and Hales, London and New York. Photo: Frank Oudeman.

Featured Artworks

Celebrate the opening of the artist's first museum retrospective exhibition.

Virginia Jaramillo: Principle of Equivalence Opening & Artist Conversation

Hear from exhibition curator and Kemper Museum Director of Curatorial Affairs Erin Dziedzic

Curator-led tour of Virginia Jaramillo: Principle of Equivalence

Save your spot for our three-day art camp

Summer Camp Kemper: Landscapes, Archaeology & Science Fiction

newEar Contemporary Chamber Ensemble presents a performance inspired by the artwork of Virginia Jaramillo.

Musical Spectrum of Color: newEar Contemporary Chamber Ensemble

Join us an hour before the museum opens to the public for a quiet and low-stimulating environment and a hands-on activity.

Low Sensory Saturday

Join us for a virtual conversation on Virginia Jaramillo's practice with Dieu Donne, a leading organization dedicated to handmade papermaking based in New York.

Virtual Conversation: Dieu Donne on Virginia Jaramillo

Summer Camp Kemper: ChromaCOLOR

Join us for a morning of art-making inspired by works on view in the galleries.

Collaborative Paper-Making Workshop with Kelsey Pike

Virginia Jaramillo was born in El Paso, Texas and raised in Los Angeles, California, before moving to Europe and settling in New York in the 1960s. Through her work, Jaramillo has forged a unique voice, experimenting with material and process to pursue her ongoing explorations of human perception of space and time.

1958–61 Otis Art Institute, Los Angeles, California, USA

2023 Solo exhibition, Pace Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (forthcoming)

2020 Virginia Jaramillo: The Curvilinear Paintings, 1969–1974, The Menil Collection, Houston, TX    

1977 Virginia Jaramillo: Oil Paintings, Douglas Drake Gallery, Kansas City, MO

2018–20 Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power, organized by Tate Modern, Lodon, UK, traveled to Crystal Bridges, Arkansas  Brooklyn Museum, New York, NY; The Broad, Los Angeles, CA; de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA; The Museum of Fine Arts Houston, TX

2011–13 Now Dig This! Art & Black Los Angeles, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA, traveled to MoMA PS1, New York, NY; Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, MA

1994 Inaugural Exhibition From the Collection, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO

1984 Women Artists of the 80’s, A. I. R. Gallery, New York, NY, USA

1971 The De Luxe Show, Deluxe Theater, Houston, TX, USA

1959 & 61 Annual, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA

Virginia Jaramillo’s sprawling career takes her ‘East of the Sun’: ‘No one expected me to survive as an artist

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art awarded $100,000 grant from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts for forthcoming exhibition, Virginia Jaramillo: Principle of Equivalence

Warhol Foundation to Give $4 M. to 48 Organizations in Fall 2022 Grants

Best Practices: Virginia Jaramillo’s Abstractions Are Finally Coming into Focus

Meet Virginia Jaramillo, a Pioneering Minimalist Who Fuses Cosmology and Science Fiction

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This exhibition has been generously supported by the Bebe and Crosby Kemper Foundation for the Arts, UMB Bank, n.a., Trustee, and the R. Crosby Kemper Jr. Exhibition Fund

Major support for Virginia Jaramillo: Principle of Equivalence is provided by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

Richard J. Stern Foundation for the Arts, Commerce Bank, Trustee; Jo Ann and William Sullivan

Lead Sponsors

Andrea and David Feinberg; Hebenstreit Family Foundation; Kirk Foundation; Mark One Electric Company, Inc.; The McDonnell Foundation; Matthew Peddie and Jessica Heimes; Todd and Emily Voth, in Memory of Mary O’Dell Swett; Robert and Sally West

Sustaining Sponsors

Additional financial assistance is provided by generous donors and members, especially: William T. Kemper Charitable Trust, UMB Bank, n.a., Trustee; Bebe & Crosby Kemper Foundation, UMB Bank, n.a., Trustee; Arvin Gottlieb Charitable Foundation, UMB Bank, n.a., Trustee; Missouri Arts Council, a state agency; The Family of Mary Beth Smith Docent Program; Christy and Bill Gautreaux; Muriel McBrien Kauffman Family Foundation; Matt Smith & Lindsey Patterson Smith; Stanley J. Bushman and Ann Canfield; Charles M. Helzberg and Sandra Baer; Jack and Karen Holland Visiting Artist Fund; Bebe and Graham Hunt; SpecChem / Liz and Greg Maday; Jane Voorhees; Murphy-Hoffman Company; Spencer Fane LLP; Thomas and Sally Wood Family Foundation, UMB Bank, n.a., Trustee; Copaken Family Fund; JE Dunn Construction; Francis Family Foundation; Kansas City University; Miller Nichols Charitable Foundation; Bradley and Linda Nicholson Foundation; Harry Portman Charitable Trust, UMB Bank, n.a., Trustee; Courtney S. Turner Charitable Trust, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee; UMB Financial Corporation; RLS Illumination Fund; The Sosland Foundation

Additional Thanks

Exhibitions are always free thanks to the generosity of members and other donors. Join or donate today to support free access to contemporary art.

Virginia Jaramillo (American, born 1939), Site: No. 3 51.1789° N, 1.8262° W, 2018 acrylic on canvas 72 x 72 inches

Courtesy of the artist and Hales, London and New York
 © Virginia Jaramillo. Image courtesy of the artist and Hales, London and New York. Photo: JSP Art Photography.