Artists and art are multilayered. 

Each artist in this exhibition is a nuanced individual. Many layers inform their identities and the stories they choose to tell through their art, including their personal experiences, passions, cultural ties to Mexico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Colombia, Uruguay, and Peru, and their roles in our community.   

Like the artists themselves, their art is also complex, composed of layers of subject matter, materials, processes, and meaning. At the intersection of these layers, there is a reckoning with ancestry, immigration, lived experience, place, healing, queer identity, and more. While some of these layers reveal, others purposefully protect and conceal.  

The power to tell one’s own story is significant. For this exhibition, the artists wrote labels to accompany their art and recorded audio interviews. Using the Smartify app, scan a work of art to hear more from each artist.

A Layered Presence / Una presencia estradificada is the third exhibition in the Nelson-Atkins initiative KC Art Now, which celebrates the talent of local artists.

Organized by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Generous support has been provided by Paul DeBruce and Linda Woodsmall-DeBruce, and Bill and Sara Morgan.