Rose B. Simpson: Journeys of Clay
Rose B. Simpson is an artist, a mother, and the daughter of a matrilineal line of ceramicists and potters spanning nearly 70 generations. The exhibition presents a comprehensive survey of the last decade of Rose B. Simpson’s artistic career. The show positions Simpson’s work in the greater context of family and womanhood, exploring the relationships between the artist and her maternal relatives and their influences on her work. A member of the Santa Clara Pueblo (Tewa: Kha-'Po Owingeh) in New Mexico, Simpson combines her ancestral and contemporary knowledge to create mixed media sculptures using clay, organic found items, and mechanical hardware.
Featured alongside Simpson's work will be sculptures by her mother, Roxanne Swentzell, a prolific artist whose expressive figures inspired Simpson; her grandmother, Rina Swentzell, who was a well-known academic, activist, and architect; and her great-grandmother, the artist Rose Naranjo, who was the center of gravity that connected Simpson’s many talented and successful relatives.
Organized by the Norton Museum of Art.
This is the ninth exhibition of RAW — Recognition of Art by Women.
Major support was provided by the Leonard and Sophie Davis Fund/MLDauray Arts Initiative. Additional support was provided by the Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation, the Hartfield Foundation, Morgan Stanley, and the Diane Belfer Endowment for Sculpture. Support for the accompanying publication was made possible by the generosity of the Girlfriend Fund.