Betsabeé Romero: A Field with Roots

On view April 30 through December 6, 2026

Join us at the Nerman Museum for an artist talk and reception with Betsabeé Romero on April 29, 2026. Learn more about this event on our calendar.

a grouping of backlit mirrors in a similar pattern to a soccer ball

Betsabeé Romero, The Reflection and the Trace: Around the Globe, 2026, security mirrors, LED, and stainless steel, 112 1/2 x 112 1/2 in. Courtesy the Artist

Betsabeé Romero, a Mexican visual artist known for her installations, will have three site-specific works installed in the Nerman Museum lobby, coming together to create A Field with Roots (Un campo con raíces).

A Field with Roots is comprised of three works: The Soccer Endless Resistance Column (Columna a la resistencia interminable del fútbol), The Reflection and the Trace: Around the Globe (El reflejo y la huella: Alrededor del globo), and The Serpent’s Egg (El huevo de la serpiente).

Romero’s works at the Nerman Museum engage with ideas of mobility, cycles, and the dynamism of cultures throughout history – a history where migration and cultural blending have enriched humanity creativity and expression around the globe. Sport is a vital part of culture, and for Romero, soccer (fútbol) specifically represents social fabric and resistance. People may not speak the same language, but they speak fútbol, finding identity and refuge through sport wherever they go.

Betsabeé Romero lives and works in Mexico City. For more than 20 years, her work has focused on creating critical discourse about issues like migration and mobility through the re-contextualization of symbols and daily rituals of global consumer culture, such as cars, tattoos, and urban signage.

She has had more than 100 solo exhibitions on five continents, has participated in numerous residencies and international exhibitions, and her work is part of several museum collections around the world.

Betsabeé Romero’s works in Kansas City, spanning both sides of the state line, are part of a collaboration between the Consulate of Mexico in Kansas City, Belger Arts, the Kansas City Convention Center, Mattie Rhodes, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, and the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art at Johnson County Community College.