The work of Kaari Upson was always profoundly concerned with the body, its interactions with the psyche, as well as its relation to other bodies both real and imagined.

Kaari Upson
eleven, 2020
Urethane and pigment
Dimensions variable
The work of Kaari Upson was always profoundly concerned with the body, its interactions with the psyche, as well as its relation to other bodies both real and imagined.
Limbs, eyes, lips, hands, feet and braids populate her sculptures, paintings and drawings, pulling viewers into their complex webs of form and narrative. Even in Upson’s abstractions, folds and orifices abound. Body as Landscape, whose title comes from a phrase found in one of the artist’s drawings, offers an in-depth look at Upson’s multilayered, kaleidoscopic works on paper, alongside one of her celebrated “mother’s leg” sculptural installations, which have never previously been shown in the US.
Kaari Upson
eleven, 2020
Urethane and pigment
Dimensions variable
Kaari Upson
eleven, 2020 (installation view)
Kaari Upson
eleven, 2020 (installation view)
Kaari Upson
eleven, 2020 (installation view)
Kaari Upson
eleven, 2020
Urethane and pigment
Dimensions variable
Kaari Upson
eleven, 2020
Urethane and pigment
Dimensions variable
Kaari Upson
eleven, 2020 (installation view)
Kaari Upson
eleven, 2020 (installation view)
Kaari Upson
eleven, 2020 (installation view)
Kaari Upson
eleven, 2020 (installation view)
Kaari Upson
eleven, 2020 (installation view)
Kaari Upson
eleven, 2020 (installation view)
Kaari Upson in her studio, 2019. Photo: Amelia Burns
Two masterworks anchor the exhibition. The room-sized installation eleven (2020) comprises a forest of suspended tree limbs; all eleven are cast from the tree outside the artist’s childhood home, melded with enlarged casts of her knee. Visible termite trails take on the look of arteries and veins, and the legs’ scale miniaturizes the viewer, as if they were returning to a child’s size—modeled by the artist herself in this portrait shot in 2019. These hybrid objects, whose colors range from earth- and skin-tones to radiant hues, display the importance for Upson of the casting process, which imprints not only physical surfaces, but psychic and emotional histories as well.
Kaari Upson in her studio, 2019. Photo: Amelia Burns
Two masterworks anchor the exhibition. The room-sized installation eleven (2020) comprises a forest of suspended tree limbs; all eleven are cast from the tree outside the artist’s childhood home, melded with enlarged casts of her knee. Visible termite trails take on the look of arteries and veins, and the legs’ scale miniaturizes the viewer, as if they were returning to a child’s size—modeled by the artist herself in this portrait shot in 2019. These hybrid objects, whose colors range from earth- and skin-tones to radiant hues, display the importance for Upson of the casting process, which imprints not only physical surfaces, but psychic and emotional histories as well.
Kaari Upson, Mother’s Legs (2018–19), collection of the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark, discussed by curator Marie Laurberg, 2021
Courtesy the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
The second monumental work on view, Untitled (2015–21), is the largest and most ambitious drawing the artist ever produced. Upson’s drawing style was unique, filled with seemingly innumerable layers of bodily presences and texts rife with psychological exploration—all sourced from past artworks and readings, as well as the artist’s own writings and studies for future projects.
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2015–21
Graphite and ink on paper
260.4 × 530.9 cm
102 1/2 × 209 inches
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2015–21 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2015–21 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2015–21 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2015–21
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2015–21
Graphite and ink on paper
260.4 × 530.9 cm
102 1/2 × 209 inches
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2015–21
Graphite and ink on paper
260.4 × 530.9 cm
102 1/2 × 209 inches
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2015–21 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2015–21 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2015–21 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2015–21 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2015–21 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2015–21 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2015–21
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2015–21
Many of her works on paper, such as this one, were created over many years, affixed to the studio walls to be worked and reworked as her ideas developed. Here, we see representations of her well-known sculptures cast from furniture (a sectional couch in the center left, for example); bodies of dolls and collaborators Upson worked with; a giant eye, perhaps of an animal, looks at us at the right with deep, unnerving intensity; while classroom notes on Lacan bring forward notions of time and trauma.
“If somebody puts me in front of my drawings, I’d put more text in it. It’s never finished, but none of my work is ever finished.” –Kaari Upson
Kaari Upson
Mutual Pathology, 2012
Graphite and ink on paper
143.5 × 113 cm
56 1/2 × 44 1/2 inches
156.2 × 130.2 × 5.1 cm (framed)
61 1/2 × 51 1/4 × 2 inches (framed)
Kaari Upson
Mutual Pathology, 2012 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Mutual Pathology, 2012 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Mutual Pathology, 2012
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Go Inside), 2011
Pencil on paper
58.4 × 75.9 cm
23 × 29 7/8 inches
65.4 × 81.3 × 5.1 cm (framed)
25 3/4 × 32 × 2 inches (framed)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Go Inside), 2011 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Go Inside), 2011 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Go Inside), 2011
Kaari Upson
Mutual Pathology, 2012
Graphite and ink on paper
143.5 × 113 cm
56 1/2 × 44 1/2 inches
156.2 × 130.2 × 5.1 cm (framed)
61 1/2 × 51 1/4 × 2 inches (framed)
Kaari Upson
Mutual Pathology, 2012
Graphite and ink on paper
143.5 × 113 cm
56 1/2 × 44 1/2 inches
156.2 × 130.2 × 5.1 cm (framed)
61 1/2 × 51 1/4 × 2 inches (framed)
Kaari Upson
Mutual Pathology, 2012 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Mutual Pathology, 2012 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Mutual Pathology, 2012 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Mutual Pathology, 2012 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Mutual Pathology, 2012
Kaari Upson
Mutual Pathology, 2012
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Go Inside), 2011
Pencil on paper
58.4 × 75.9 cm
23 × 29 7/8 inches
65.4 × 81.3 × 5.1 cm (framed)
25 3/4 × 32 × 2 inches (framed)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Go Inside), 2011
Pencil on paper
58.4 × 75.9 cm
23 × 29 7/8 inches
65.4 × 81.3 × 5.1 cm (framed)
25 3/4 × 32 × 2 inches (framed)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Go Inside), 2011 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Go Inside), 2011 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Go Inside), 2011 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Go Inside), 2011 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Go Inside), 2011
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Go Inside), 2011
Kaari Upson
Hateful Admiration, 2012
Graphite on paper
64.8 × 49.5 cm
25 1/2 × 19 1/2 inches
77.8 × 62.9 × 5.7 cm (framed)
30 5/8 × 24 3/4 × 2 1/4 inches (framed)
Kaari Upson
Hateful Admiration, 2012
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Psychic Mimesis), 2013
Pencil and felt pen on paper
48.3 × 61 cm
19 × 24 inches
55.9 × 68.6 × 5.1 cm (framed)
22 × 27 × 2 inches (framed)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Psychic Mimesis), 2013 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Psychic Mimesis), 2013 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Psychic Mimesis), 2013
Kaari Upson
Hateful Admiration, 2012
Graphite on paper
64.8 × 49.5 cm
25 1/2 × 19 1/2 inches
77.8 × 62.9 × 5.7 cm (framed)
30 5/8 × 24 3/4 × 2 1/4 inches (framed)
Kaari Upson
Hateful Admiration, 2012
Graphite on paper
64.8 × 49.5 cm
25 1/2 × 19 1/2 inches
77.8 × 62.9 × 5.7 cm (framed)
30 5/8 × 24 3/4 × 2 1/4 inches (framed)
Kaari Upson
Hateful Admiration, 2012
Kaari Upson
Hateful Admiration, 2012
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Psychic Mimesis), 2013
Pencil and felt pen on paper
48.3 × 61 cm
19 × 24 inches
55.9 × 68.6 × 5.1 cm (framed)
22 × 27 × 2 inches (framed)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Psychic Mimesis), 2013
Pencil and felt pen on paper
48.3 × 61 cm
19 × 24 inches
55.9 × 68.6 × 5.1 cm (framed)
22 × 27 × 2 inches (framed)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Psychic Mimesis), 2013 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Psychic Mimesis), 2013 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Psychic Mimesis), 2013 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Psychic Mimesis), 2013 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Psychic Mimesis), 2013
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Psychic Mimesis), 2013
Like much of Upson’s work, her drawings connote mixed feelings of repulsion and attraction. A selection of smaller drawings, nearly all of which are presented for the first time, offer an intimate look at different approaches she took to paper media, as well as the motifs and characters that recurred throughout her practice: included are her semi-fictional fantasy man, Larry; his idol, Hugh Hefner, and his Playboy Mansion; Angelina Jolie; and an array of twins and models, as well as glimpses of the artist herself.
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2019
Ink on paper
45.7 × 61 cm
18 × 24 inches
71.4 × 66.4 × 5.1 cm (framed)
28 1/8 × 26 1/8 × 2 inches (framed)
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2019
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2019
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Erika's Phone Number), 2008
Pencil on paper
48,3 × 61 cm
19 × 24 inches
55.6 × 68.3 × 5.1 cm (framed)
21 7/8 × 26 7/8 × 2 inches (framed)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Erika's Phone Number), 2008
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Erika's Phone Number), 2008
Kaari Upson
Untitled (I Will Be Lonely Don't Do This), 2009
Pastel, charcoal and ink on paper
111.8 × 144.8 cm
44 × 57 inches
119.4 × 152.4 × 5.1 cm (framed)
47 × 60 × 2 inches (framed)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (I Will Be Lonely Don't Do This), 2009
Kaari Upson
Untitled (I Will Be Lonely Don't Do This), 2009
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2019
Ink on paper
45.7 × 61 cm
18 × 24 inches
71.4 × 66.4 × 5.1 cm (framed)
28 1/8 × 26 1/8 × 2 inches (framed)
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2019
Ink on paper
45.7 × 61 cm
18 × 24 inches
71.4 × 66.4 × 5.1 cm (framed)
28 1/8 × 26 1/8 × 2 inches (framed)
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2019
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2019
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2019
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2019
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Erika's Phone Number), 2008
Pencil on paper
48,3 × 61 cm
19 × 24 inches
55.6 × 68.3 × 5.1 cm (framed)
21 7/8 × 26 7/8 × 2 inches (framed)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Erika's Phone Number), 2008
Pencil on paper
48,3 × 61 cm
19 × 24 inches
55.6 × 68.3 × 5.1 cm (framed)
21 7/8 × 26 7/8 × 2 inches (framed)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Erika's Phone Number), 2008
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Erika's Phone Number), 2008
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Erika's Phone Number), 2008
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Erika's Phone Number), 2008
Kaari Upson
Untitled (I Will Be Lonely Don't Do This), 2009
Pastel, charcoal and ink on paper
111.8 × 144.8 cm
44 × 57 inches
119.4 × 152.4 × 5.1 cm (framed)
47 × 60 × 2 inches (framed)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (I Will Be Lonely Don't Do This), 2009
Pastel, charcoal and ink on paper
111.8 × 144.8 cm
44 × 57 inches
119.4 × 152.4 × 5.1 cm (framed)
47 × 60 × 2 inches (framed)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (I Will Be Lonely Don't Do This), 2009
Kaari Upson
Untitled (I Will Be Lonely Don't Do This), 2009
Kaari Upson
Untitled (I Will Be Lonely Don't Do This), 2009
Kaari Upson
Untitled (I Will Be Lonely Don't Do This), 2009
Woven among them, and sometimes filling a drawing entirely, are Upson’s textual notations, which work continually through themes of repetition, pleasure and desire, home and the uncanny, inside and outside. Often these came from notes on psychological texts (both scholarly and pop cultural); phrases the artist overheard; her own articulations developed from years of stream-of-consciousness writings; and even studio to-do lists.
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Death Drive), 2007
Pencil on paper
78.1 × 52.1 cm
30 3/4 × 20 1/2 inches
85.7 × 59.4 × 5.1 cm (framed)
33 3/4 × 23 3/8 × 2 inches (framed)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Death Drive), 2007 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Death Drive), 2007 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Death Drive), 2007
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Death Drive), 2007
Pencil on paper
78.1 × 52.1 cm
30 3/4 × 20 1/2 inches
85.7 × 59.4 × 5.1 cm (framed)
33 3/4 × 23 3/8 × 2 inches (framed)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Death Drive), 2007
Pencil on paper
78.1 × 52.1 cm
30 3/4 × 20 1/2 inches
85.7 × 59.4 × 5.1 cm (framed)
33 3/4 × 23 3/8 × 2 inches (framed)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Death Drive), 2007 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Death Drive), 2007 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Death Drive), 2007 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Death Drive), 2007 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Death Drive), 2007
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Death Drive), 2007
Woven among them, and sometimes filling a drawing entirely, are Upson’s textual notations, which work continually through themes of repetition, pleasure and desire, home and the uncanny, inside and outside. Often these came from notes on psychological texts (both scholarly and pop cultural); phrases the artist overheard; her own articulations developed from years of stream-of-consciousness writings; and even studio to-do lists.
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2018
Pencil and ink on paper
31.8 × 23.8 cm
12 1/2 × 9 3/8 inches
39.4 × 31.1 × 5.1 cm (framed)
15 1/2 × 12 1/4 × 2 inches (framed)
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2018 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2018 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2018
The drawings’ layers function like a panoply of voices, their visual and aural repetitions echoing across the page. Certain phrases become mantras, appearing here and throughout other of her series and projects, including “I feel lonely don’t do this,” “There is no such thing as outside,” “navel gaze,” “waiting and wanting.”
Despite expounding on loss, trauma and other emotional breaking points, humor also filters throughout the artist's drawings—a knowing acknowledgment, and respite, from the melodrama of her visual and textual interplay.
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2018
Pencil and ink on paper
31.8 × 23.8 cm
12 1/2 × 9 3/8 inches
39.4 × 31.1 × 5.1 cm (framed)
15 1/2 × 12 1/4 × 2 inches (framed)
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2018
Pencil and ink on paper
31.8 × 23.8 cm
12 1/2 × 9 3/8 inches
39.4 × 31.1 × 5.1 cm (framed)
15 1/2 × 12 1/4 × 2 inches (framed)
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2018 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2018 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2018 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2018 (detail)
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2018
Kaari Upson
Untitled, 2018
The drawings’ layers function like a panoply of voices, their visual and aural repetitions echoing across the page. Certain phrases become mantras, appearing here and throughout other of her series and projects, including “I feel lonely don’t do this,” “There is no such thing as outside,” “navel gaze,” “waiting and wanting.”
Despite expounding on loss, trauma and other emotional breaking points, humor also filters throughout the artist's drawings—a knowing acknowledgment, and respite, from the melodrama of her visual and textual interplay.
“I’m recording anything and everything that I decide that is my subject. More often than not it’s actually not even the subject, but the spaces between the subjects. I record that space and fill in the gaps.” –Kaari Upson
Kaari Upson
Untitled (I Want a Red One; This Is Our Cheese Now), 2017
Pencil on paper, double-sided
30.5 × 22.9 cm
12 × 9 inches
37.5 × 30.5 × 5.1 cm (framed)
14 3/4 × 12 × 2 inches (framed)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (I Want a Red One; This Is Our Cheese Now), 2017
Kaari Upson
Untitled (I Want a Red One; This Is Our Cheese Now), 2017
Pencil on paper, double-sided
30.5 × 22.9 cm
12 × 9 inches
37.5 × 30.5 × 5.1 cm (framed)
14 3/4 × 12 × 2 inches (framed)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (I Want a Red One; This Is Our Cheese Now), 2017
Pencil on paper, double-sided
30.5 × 22.9 cm
12 × 9 inches
37.5 × 30.5 × 5.1 cm (framed)
14 3/4 × 12 × 2 inches (framed)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (I Want a Red One; This Is Our Cheese Now), 2017
Kaari Upson
Untitled (I Want a Red One; This Is Our Cheese Now), 2017
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Sexy Duchamp), 2016
Pencil on paper
32.1 × 24.1 cm
12 5/8 × 9 1/2 inches
39.4 × 31.1 × 5.1 cm (framed)
15 1/2 × 12 1/4 × 2 inches (framed)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Sexy Duchamp), 2016
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Sexy Duchamp), 2016
Pencil on paper
32.1 × 24.1 cm
12 5/8 × 9 1/2 inches
39.4 × 31.1 × 5.1 cm (framed)
15 1/2 × 12 1/4 × 2 inches (framed)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Sexy Duchamp), 2016
Pencil on paper
32.1 × 24.1 cm
12 5/8 × 9 1/2 inches
39.4 × 31.1 × 5.1 cm (framed)
15 1/2 × 12 1/4 × 2 inches (framed)
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Sexy Duchamp), 2016
Kaari Upson
Untitled (Sexy Duchamp), 2016
All installation views: Genevieve Hanson
Kaari Upson
Body as Landscape
September 9–December 21, 2023
Welcome to the online presentation of the exhibition
Kaari Upson
Body as Landscape
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