Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art

This exhibition examines the friendships, romances, and collectives that have influenced the works and lives of artists from the Kemper Museum’s permanent collection. Inspired by Alfred Stieglitz’s Gallery 291 group of artists that included Georgia O’Keeffe and Arthur Dove, Companion Pieces also looks at the works of friendship-based artist circles, including husband and wife Elaine and Willem de Kooning and their good friend Fairfield Porter; Maine-based painters Neil Welliver and Alex Katz; and Bennington College colleagues Jules Olitski, David Smith, and Kenneth Noland.