Alberto Bautista Gómez, Jaguar (detail), 1970-1980, Clay, 16.5 x 27 x 13”, Collection Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, Kansas (photo by EG Schempf)

SAVE THE DATE

September 9, 2023 | 6–9 p.m.
Live and online auction | Wild attire | Gourmet hors d’oeuvres
Honorary Chairpersons: Lena Price and Thomas M. Cohen

Held at the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art at Johnson County Community College

Stay tuned for details as we celebrate more than 30 years of art at Johnson County Community College with a bash celebrating our history, founding executive director and chief curator Bruce Hartman’s 30-year legacy at the JCCC Gallery of Art and the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, and the publication of the Nerman Museum’s book, Celebrating 30 Years of Art on Campus.

Save the date, and plan to join us as we honor JCCC and the Nerman Museum’s extraordinary journey and celebrate the future of contemporary art excellence! Learn more at nermanmuseum.org/WildLife2023.

The Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art Acquires Artwork by Teresa Baker

Teresa Baker’s works reward slow looking. In vast expanses of color, she embeds marks — thin lines and subtle shapes made from yarn, willow branches or buffalo hide. On closer inspection, the viewer notices that the expanses are made of artificial turf, albeit in unexpected colors and in organic forms that contradict their artificiality. On these synthetic fields, Baker affixes natural materials which relate to her cultural heritage. With this juxtaposition, the artist speaks directly to a history of how these materials were and still are being used, a history that is rooted in both function and spirituality. The interplay of these elements evokes contemplation about our relationships to the landscape, and how we interact with and impact the land.

Reflecting on her work, Baker said, “My intention is to capture the feeling of being in land, and I think that, for me, it’s really important because the land speaks to cultures. It speaks to stewardship. It speaks to a relationship with something that is much bigger than us. And I felt really compelled to try and encapsulate that feeling, to bring that feeling to an object.”

View this and other works by Teresa Baker in Sun Drinks White — on view through July 30, 2023.

Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Johnson County Community College

H. Tony and Marti Oppenheimer Gallery; Dean E. Thompson Gallery, First Floor

Featuring Marie Watt, Mark Cowardin, Rashawn Griffin and Teresa Baker