MONO WEIGHT invites viewers to witness Justin Kemerling’s artistic journey—a path from crafting meticulous, purpose-driven pixels to arranging expressive, painted forms on canvas. In this distinctive series, Kemerling moved from the world of service-inspired graphic design to pure, passionate artistic expression, exploring new possibilities in dimension and direction. Through layers of loose color encased in deceptively simple, uniform shapes, these 14 pieces explore the interplay of space and structure, gradient and uniformity, precision and ambiguity. Having spent his career giving voice and form to ideas and movements, through this work, Kemerling posed the question: what does it mean to move forward without the need for an underlying message?
Alongside MONO WEIGHT, TRAJECTORY celebrates Kemerling’s remarkable career as an Omaha-based activist, designer, and collaborator. Selected by family and friends, this intimate retrospective highlights his dedication to making the world more beautiful and moving people to action. The works reveal how one creator’s vision helped shape communities, amplify movements, and prove that good design can ignite positive change.
Justin Kemerling
Justin Kemerling (1979-2024), an independent designer, activist, and collaborator, lived in Omaha, Nebraska. He worked primarily with community organizations, political campaigns, and changemaking entities in need of branding, graphic design, web design, and art direction. His self-initiated projects and collaborations explored ways to move forward important causes and ideas with design, art, and other forms of creative expression.
Justin’s artwork has been exhibited in New York City, Los Angeles, Washington DC, and regularly in Omaha. His poster design has been published in several design books including Design for Obama, 100 Days of Active Resistance, and Green Patriot Posters, which is now part of the permanent collection at the RISD Museum in Rhode Island. Several of his campaign designs for Bold Nebraska’s Keystone XL pipeline resistance have been acquired by The Obama Presidential Center Museum. His projects have also been featured by HOW Magazine, Communication Arts, Design Observer, and Behance. Additionally, Justin has won numerous statewide design awards over his 20+-year career including several judge’s citations for branding and poster design.
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