Visiting Artist Kevin Demery

Jan 4 - Jan 15, 2027

Community Engagement and Dialogue

Join us for a conversation in Schermer Meeting Hall at Anderson Ranch Arts Center with Visiting Artist Dyani White Hawk.

Visiting Artist lectures are free, open to the public, and available in person or via livestream.

Kevin Demery’s work explores the interplay between U.S. history and signifiers of power, developing an artistic language that invites viewers to move between the aesthetic qualities of his work and recurring motifs of historical violence, surveillance, and childhood trauma. He uses sculpture to engage audiences with iconic and often uncanny elements, such as children’s puzzles, wind chimes, and plaster casts, to reference specific histories and poetically interpret them within larger cultural experiences.

Demery received his BFA from the California College of the Arts in San Francisco, CA, in 2014 and his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, IL, in 2018. He is a full-time professor at the Kansas City Art Institute in Kansas City, MO. He is one of three recipients of the 2024 Charlotte Street Visual Artist Awards, and his work was recently exhibited at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City as part of the award exhibition. He also participated in the Delta Triennial at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts in Little Rock, AR, and Art Cologne in Cologne, Germany, with Sakhile&Me Gallery in 2024. He has participated in multiple residencies, including the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts and Vermont Studio Center, and is currently part of the Studios Inc. program in Kansas City, MO.

The Visiting Artists program is a core part of the Anderson Ranch Arts Center experience, welcoming contemporary artists across disciplines to work on campus through residencies and special projects. Artists receive dedicated time, space, and technical support to develop new work and advance their practice. Visiting artists engage with students and residents through studio visits, critiques, and public lectures, creating a meaningful exchange that enriches the Ranch community and the broader public. Learn more.