Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University to Present Andrea Carlson: A Constant Sky, the Artist’s First Major Museum Survey

DURHAM, NC - The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University will present Andrea Carlson: A Constant Sky, the first major museum survey of acclaimed artist Andrea Carlson, from Dec. 12, 2026, through June 27, 2027. Organized by the Denver Art Museum, the exhibition brings together approximately 30 works spanning painting, drawing, and sculpture. Carlson creates epic pieces that combine text with complex visual references to animals, art objects, and popular culture. These elements come together in prismatic layers of vividly colored landscapes that challenge assumptions embedded in American landscape painting, museum collections, and legacies of power.

A descendant of the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe and European settlers, Carlson describes these colorful environments as "inferred political space." Her practice pushes against established hierarchies and considers who holds the right of possession, how power is retained through objects such as paintings, and whose perspectives shape the stories we tell about place.

"Andrea Carlson's artworks are as visually compelling as they are intellectually provocative," said Marshall N. Price, Chief Curator and Nancy A. Nasher and David J. Haemisegger Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Nasher Museum. "We're delighted to present A Constant Sky at the Nasher. Her carefully layered paintings and sculptures offer a timely opportunity to reflect on whose stories museums tell, how we interpret the past, and how those histories resonate in the present."

Known for her meticulous approach to materials and composition, the exhibition will also highlight Carlson's expanding sculptural practice. In Columns for a Horizon, a large-scale sculptural installation commissioned by the Denver Art Museum, individual wooden poles of varying lengths stand before the artist's painted landscapes, interrupting the viewer's access to the scenes beyond. Together, these works spark new ways of seeing, as the horizon-a recurring motif in Carlson's work-becomes something less certain: an imagined line that organizes our perception of space while remaining forever out of reach. The agency of a constructed environment extends beyond the landscape and may be understood within the context of the museum gallery, shaping how viewers move, look, and understand what is presented before them.

By bringing painted environments and sculptural interruptions into conversation, Carlson invites viewers to consider the invisible structures that influence how we navigate and interpret the spaces around us. At the Nasher Museum, the exhibition invites audiences to engage with Carlson's reexamination of histories. Through the artist's distinctive visual language, the exhibition opens up questions that extend beyond any single landscape or historical narrative, encouraging us to reflect on the relationship between perception, memory, and the worlds we construct.

Exhibition Information

Andrea Carlson: A Constant Sky

Dec. 12, 2026-June 27, 2027

Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina

The exhibition is organized by the Denver Art Museum. At the Nasher Museum, it is made possible by the Trent A. Carmichael Exhibitions Fund, Wallace Fowlie Endowment, Frank Edward Hanscom Endowment, Prakash & Anjali Melwani Fund for the Nasher Museum of Art, J. Horst & Ruth Mary Meyer Fund for the Nasher Museum, Nancy A. Nasher & David J. Haemisegger Family Fund for Exhibitions, A. Courtney Shives Endowment, K. Brantley & Maxine E. Watson Endowment, and The Derek & Christen Wilson Fund for the Nasher Museum of Art.

Plan Your Visit

The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University is located at 2001 Campus Drive in Durham, North Carolina. Admission is free for all visitors.

For more exhibition details, museum hours, directions, parking and accessibility information, visit nasher.duke.edu .

About the Nasher Museum of Art

The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University is a leading center for the arts in Durham, North Carolina, and a vital resource for both the Duke campus and the surrounding region. Designed by acclaimed architect Rafael Viñoly, the 65,000-square-foot museum has organized more than 125 cutting-edge exhibitions since its opening in 2005, many of which have traveled nationally and internationally. With a strong commitment to contemporary art, the Nasher's collection emphasizes work by artists who have been historically underrepresented, reflecting its mission to shape a more inclusive art historical narrative. Deeply integrated into Duke's academic life, the museum fosters interdisciplinary research, supports innovative teaching, and engages students and faculty in critical dialogue. The Nasher also welcomes broader audiences through vibrant community and K-12 programs, and has offered free admission to all visitors since 2022, thanks to the generosity of Jennifer McCracken New and Jason New. To date, more than 1.6 million people have experienced the museum's exhibitions and programs. Guests can enjoy local fare at the Nasher Museum Café and shop art-inspired gifts at Parker & Otis. Learn more at nasher.duke.edu .

For more information on the Nasher, please contact:

Allison Elbl , Alexa Price , and Dakota Rosen