DAVENPORT, IOWA.- A new exhibition opened at the Figge Art Museum. Louise Kames: I Don’t See Anything That’s Not Beautiful invites viewers to explore themes of deterioration and transformation through Kames’s reflective drawings, prints, and installations

The exhibition offers an opportunity for contemplation inspired by nature and personal histories. Kames, an artist and art professor from Dubuque, Iowa draws upon her own experiences and relationships to reflect on the impacts of memory loss and the beauty found in everyday acts.

Kames encounters with a woman with dementia, who ritualistically gathered sticks and leaves into piles to “beautify the landscape” and soothe her mind, inspired one of the series I Don’t See Anything That’s Not Beautiful. The series includes charcoal and pastel drawings, screen prints on fabric, and transfer prints on pages from a prayerbook, each exploring the beauty found in ordinary things and the profound changes brought on by memory loss.

The exhibition also features Kames’s latest series depicting a mature willow tree from her yard. Slowly dying due to Iowa’s prolonged drought, the tree is rendered with intricate care, embodying a metaphor for resilience and loss. Kames compares her artistic practice to acts of devotion, sharing, “I find pleasure and solace in the simple act of seeing… My hope is to draw the viewer into a similar contemplative space.”

The Figge Art Museum will offer accompanying programming to complement the exhibition, including a printmaking workshop in which Kames will demonstrate some of the techniques she used to create works in the exhibition. The Figge will also host a panel of healthcare professionals, family caretakers, and patients in the early stages of Dementia, to discuss the impact of the disease on those who are afflicted and their caretakers. These programs invite the community to engage with Kames’s themes of mindfulness, memory, and beauty in unexpected places.

“Over 6 million Americans have some form of Dementia, and that number is only expected to continue to rise, said Figge Senior Co-Curator Joshua Johnson. “With that staggering statistic in mind we think that is important to share work like Kames’s that focuses on this difficult topic.”

Kames holds an MFA in drawing and printmaking from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an MA in Art History from the University of Illinois, and a BA in studio art and art history from Clarke University, where she is a professor of art and directs the Art + Design Program.

“Kames’s work invites us to slow down and truly see the beauty and significance in everyday life, even in moments of change and loss,” said Figge Executive Director and CEO Melissa Mohr. “We hope visitors will find comfort and inspiration in her thoughtful, meditative pieces.”

Louise Kames: I Don’t See Anything That’s Not Beautiful will be on view in the Figge’s Gildehaus Gallery through April 6, 2025, and is made possible through the generous support of Andy and Debi Butler, Susan Perry, and Stan Goodyear.