permanent collection upcoming exhibitions
student exhibits past exhibitions
Our collection is more than a sampling of traditional American artists – the pieces housed within our Museum walls convey the story of the American experience. A diverse and unique display, the artwork prompts us to think critically and challenge our conceptions of the great American West and the people who live there.
Our collections and rotating exhibits serve great purpose in the community. These works of art are functional teaching pieces – they present some of our best opportunities to connect with our audiences, young and old.
Here is what you’ll see at The Rockwell Museum right now:
From the Bed to the Wall: Quilts from a Private New York CollectionOn view: October 10, 2020 – January 10, 2021
This exhibition traces the evolution of American quilts from colonial objects of luxury, to utilitarian bedcovers providing warmth, to contemporary works of art intended to be hung on the wall. The majority of the quilts featured in this spotlight exhibition are pieced quilts, with compositions created by sewing small pieces of fabric together edge-to-edge. Quilts serve as markers of family memory, documenting special life events such as marriages and births. They were used collectively to record community events such as political elections and church fundraising. See examples of a Whig political quilt, a Mennonite wedding quilt, a tithing quilt from a church in Brewerton, New York and many more.
Martine Gutierrez TakeoverOn view: August 15 – December 13, 2020
Martine Gutierrez (b. 1989 Berkeley, CA) produces elaborate narrative scenes that employ pop culture tropes in order to reveal identity as a social construct. Gutierrez has long been interested in creating works that explore the complexity, fluidity and nuances of both personal and collective identity, in terms of race, gender, class, indigeneity and culture.
On view: July 1, 2020 – February 2022
ANTIGRAVITY is an endeavor premiered in 2018 to create an annual opportunity for emerging artists. Elaine K. Ng is an artist whose work explores the physical and psychological structures of site. Her practice includes material investigations and explorations of pattern, as well as writing and research to examine the various aspects that contribute to our collective knowledge of place.
Helen Hardin (Tsa-Sah-Wee-Eh), (1943-1984), Untitled: Robes, 1973. Acrylic on canvas. 2018.7.10.
On view: January 10, 2020 – January 2021
This exhibition supports that theme by recognizing the multi-generational work of one family of Santa Clara women: Pablita Velarde, Helen Hardin and Margarete Bagshaw. The works featured here were made possible through the generous donation of Keith and Martha Bryant.
On view: September 25 – October 25, 2020
The face mask has become a highly charged symbol of defiance/solidarity, self-expression/disguise, and beauty/functionality. All in all, it has become the symbol of the COVID era. In this special exhibition, artists have created a wearable fine art face mask as a means of expressing their view of these strange and intense times.
Ongoing
ArtRx is a response to the state of being human in America in 2020. ArtRx started as a way to process the COVID-19 pandemic. We quickly realized that if we’re talking about the unprecedented magnitude of loss and change, the awakening of the country to systemic racism needed to be part of the conversation as well. Throughout your visit, find staff responses to collection artworks through the lens of ArtRx.
Ongoing – October 2020
This selection of historic long arms and handguns is from the Robert F. “Bobby” Rockwell, III collection. From the American Revolution to the Hollywood cowboy, these historic firearms help tell the story of America and explores two and a half centuries of innovation in technology.
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