CORNING, NY.- The Rockwell Museum announces the opening of Rockwell Refracted: Colorful Selections from the Permanent Collection, a vibrant and visually rich exhibition that explores the expressive and conceptual power of color in American art. On view from May 24 through September 8, 2025, the exhibition is part of the Museum’s year-long exploration of the theme Color!, which delves into how artists across cultures and time periods use color as both a formal and symbolic tool.
“At The Rockwell, we believe art has the power to ignite conversations, provoke emotions, and inspire new ways of seeing the world,” said Erin M. Coe, the Museum’s executive director. “With this special exhibition, we apply our annual theme of Color! to an investigation of some of the most brilliant and brightest works in the Museum’s collection of American art, many of which are making their public debut. The array of work on view will excite and delight the senses while providing visitors with an opportunity to reflect on how hue, shade, and tone shape our individual and collective experience.”
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.
“We wanted to lean into joy and playfulness in this summer exhibition to really celebrate color from many angles,” said Curator of Exhibitions and Collections Amanda Lett. “As the installation shifts from hue to hue, we hope visitors will ask themselves: What happens when color is not just an aesthetic decision, but a subject in its own right?”
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.
