Opened in 1994, the Museum houses a permanent collection of modern and contemporary works of artists from around the world.
The unique Gunnar Birkerts-designed building is composed of a central atrium and two wings.The main gallery, measuring 5,697 square feet, showcases portions of the permanent collection. Smaller galleries feature rotating exhibitions, and a meeting room offers works on paper and other glazed works from the permanent collection.
Works in the collection range from those created after the 1913 Armory Show — an important benchmark in modern art — to the present. Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art presents 8–12 exhibitions per year in the Charlotte Crosby Kemper Gallery, the Barbara & Paul Uhlmann Gallery, and the Kemper East Gallery. The Museum curates exhibitions from its Permanent Collection and of the work of emerging, midcareer, and established artists.