The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art featured writings on Mar. 24 from Soph Garrison, Abigail Usrey, and David Cateforis as part of its ongoing Kemper x KU: Collection Spotlights series in collaboration with the University of Kansas. The spotlight focused on Charles Arnoldi’s “Last Thoughts” and Jacques Lipchitz’s “Bellerophon Taming Pegasus: Large Version,” both part of the museum’s collection.
This collaborative series aims to deepen public understanding of key artworks at the Kemper Museum by drawing on research from university scholars.
Garrison wrote about Arnoldi’s “Last Thoughts,” describing it as a large untreated aluminum panel marked by deep cuts, gouges, and incised lines that create plant-like forms and a stick figure. The work reflects techniques developed in Arnoldi’s earlier career when he used painted tree branches in geometric compositions. According to Garrison, these early works evolved into more complex reliefs using chainsaws on plywood before transitioning to metal casting processes that maintained spontaneous mark-making.
Usrey and Cateforis examined Lipchitz’s monumental bronze sculpture “Bellerophon Taming Pegasus: Large Version,” which stands outside the museum. They explained how Lipchitz drew inspiration from Greek mythology, depicting Bellerophon subduing Pegasus as a metaphor for struggle between man and nature. The authors detailed Lipchitz’s artistic journey from Cubist influences in Paris to larger expressive sculptures after relocating to New York during World War II.
Quoting Lipchitz about his process for the Columbia Law School commission, they included: “I had thought first in terms of the form of the sculpture, something horizontal in relation to the space of the architecture. This led me to the idea of the horse…. Then I thought about Bellerophon because Bellerophon is a symbol of man dominating nature.”
The series continues as an educational partnership designed to connect art historical scholarship with public engagement.
