Drawing from the Museum’s permanent collection, Rockwell Refracted presents more than thirty works that span painting, printmaking, drawing, glass, mixed media, and objects of Native American culture—united through a shared exploration of color’s formal properties, emotional resonance, and cultural meanings.
Organized chromatically, the exhibition invites visitors to consider how artists manipulate hue, saturation, and contrast to guide the eye, evoke emotion, and shape narrative. Certain media, such as watercolors, etchings, and woodblock prints, demonstrate how layering and removing pigment produces both subtlety and intensity. In contrast, screenprints and mixed-media works often use color to demand attention, disrupt assumptions, or elicit visceral responses.
Rockwell Refracted highlights a diverse range of artists, including Andy Warhol, Kara Walker, Abraham Walkowitz, Tiffany Alfonseca, Fritz Scholder, Blanche Lazzell, Helen Hardin, George Catlin, and Glenn Ligon, among others. Several objects, including contemporary works by Shazia Sikander and Sheila Pinkel, will make their public debut through this special exhibition. The array of artists offers a multifaceted view of how color is used to express identity, history, spirituality, politics, and innovation.
The exhibition emphasizes inclusivity and representation, with works by Indigenous, Latinx, African American, Asian American, and LGBTQ+ artists. By highlighting a range of voices and perspectives, Rockwell Refracted celebrates color not only as a visual element, but as a metaphor for cultural richness and diversity.
Beyond the exhibition, visitors will find Color! themed labels beside many works throughout the Museum’s three floors of galleries. These interpretations and insights were written by staff members from all departments who were prompted to choose a favorite work of art and write about the impact of color from a personal perspective.
Colorblind visitors need not miss out on the experience. EnChroma Glasses, which allow people with red-green color blindness to see an expanded range of visible colors, are available at The Rockwell’s admission desk, free of charge.
The Rockwell Museum invites all visitors to engage with this radiant exhibition and experience the infinite ways color informs the stories American artists tell.