This fall marks the first-ever solo exhibitions of St. Louis-born artist Juanita McNeely in her hometown. The exhibitions are curated by Raphael Fonseca, Counterpublic 2026 co-curator and curator-at-large at the Denver Art Museum.

Opening September 9 at the Saint Louis Art Museum and September 10 at Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, the exhibitions bring together more than five decades of McNeely’s bold, deeply personal work. Born in Ferguson and raised in the St. Louis area, McNeely went on to build a celebrated career in New York, making this a full-circle return to where her story began.

At CAM, the exhibition features Triskaidekaptych (1986), McNeely’s monumental 13-panel painting, which brings human and animal forms together in a vivid chromatic palette animated by rapid, expressive brushstrokes, alongside works spanning her career, with assistance from Dean Daderko, Ferring Foundation Chief Curator at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis. On view through February 7, 2027.

Juanita McNeely. Balancing, 2010. Oil on linen. 72 x 50 x 2 inches;

At the Saint Louis Art Museum, the exhibition explores McNeely’s fearless engagement with pain, sacrifice, and desire — the female body rendered in twisted, contorted forms suggesting suffering, pleasure, and vulnerability — with assistance from Simon Kelly, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Saint Louis Art Museum. On view through February 28, 2027.

Counterpublic 2026 runs September 12–December 12 across St. Louis, bringing artists and audiences together throughout the city.

McNeely’s work has also recently entered the collection of the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Red Velvet (1968–69) was acquired by the museum in 2026, marking an important new chapter in the recognition of McNeely’s work within major international collections.

Juanita McNeely. Red Velvet, Late 1960s. Oil on linen. 54 x 74 x 2 inches.

For further inquiries
James Fuentes at james@jamesfuentes.com
Katrin Lewinsky at kl@jamesfuentes.com
Patty Nam at pn@jamesfuentes.com
Charlotte Dozier at cd@jamesfuentes.com
Matthew Salazar at ms@jamesfuentes.com

Juanita McNeely lived at Westbeth with her husband, sculptor Jeremy Lebensohn, from about 1980 to her death in 2023.
Hauser and Wirth Interview.

Her work was also featured at October 2022 Print Paint Show art Westbeth Gallery. https://westbeth.org/event/print-paint-at-westbeth-gallery/