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The Rollins Museum of Art (RMA) is pleased to announce its fall 2024 season, featuring six exhibitions highlighting work from the museum’s extensive collection as well as recent acquisitions and special presentations. This season’s offerings invite visitors to observe the evolution and meaning of portraiture through the centuries, reflect on the value of a liberal arts education in addressing human-driven climate change, immerse themselves in the beauty and charm of mundane subjects, and engage with books as vessels for sharing expertise and experience. Each of these exhibitions is sure to spark conversation and provoke introspection among guests, whether they be new visitors or seasoned patrons.

This season marks an important moment as RMA adds bilingual didactics to exhibitions providing broader accessibility to visitors. Visitors are also encouraged to stop into the The Alfond Inn to view the hotel’s latest installation featuring new works by artists such as Jeffrey Gibson who is representing the U.S. at the Venice Biennale this year.

Nostalgia for My Island: Puerto Rican Painting from the Museo de Arte de Ponce (1786–1962)

The exhibition presents together for the first time outside of Puerto Rico, a selection of works from the museum’s collection, including several works by José Campeche y Jordán and Francisco Oller y Cestero, among other towering figures in the history of Puerto Rican art. The selection highlights the production of a group of artists active during the first six decades of the 20th century, who were instrumental in the development of Puerto Rican painting. Organized around three main themes (My Island, My People, and My Home), the exhibition explores the notion of longing and the development of identity for those born in the diaspora. The exhibition is curated by Iraida Rodríguez-Negrón, curator of the Museo de Arte de Ponce, and is accompanied by a fully illustrated, bilingual catalog.

Beyond the Surface: Capturing Meaning Through Portraiture

How do portraits influence our perception of their sitters? What do they communicate about values and roles in society? For centuries, portraiture has been a fundamental form of art in the western world. From images of kings and queens to allegorical figures that embody moral values and convey symbolic meaning, portraits document social and political structures of times past. They tell stories, not only of the people represented, but also of their historical context and their unique function as objects. This exhibition brings together a selection of paintings and sculptures by European and American artists from the 16th to the early 20th century. Beyond the obvious visual indicators of social position, these artworks played an important role communicating information about the sitter, reinforcing social or moral values, and shaping perspectives about contemporary society.

Art Encounters: Rethinking My Relationship to the Land

How does a liberal arts education prepare students to consider their ethical responsibility to the environment? What are the affordances of the visual arts for shaping our understanding of climate change? This exhibition draws upon the knowledge and perspectives of Rollins faculty to highlight the value of a liberal arts education for addressing human-driven climate change. Quotes from faculty representing various disciplines are integrated with works from the collection to encourage dialogue and facilitate a deeper understanding of how they reflect our relationship to the environment. This presentation of Art Encounters is specifically designed for introducing first-year Rollins students to the core principles of a liberal arts education and how these principles may be applied to global challenges like climate change.

The Fantastical Mundane: Selections from the Grasset-Linares Collection

During the 17th century, booming Dutch trade enabled the rise of a powerful middle class. This, along with the waning patronage system, led to the emergence of an art market that catered to the tastes of the new social class, making art available for display in private homes. This economic prosperity and growing demand for relatable imagery gave way to the Dutch Golden Age of painting, where marvelous still lifes, landscapes, and genre scenes became widely popular as they reflected the preferences and daily life of the new bourgeois society. The works in this exhibition illustrate the captivating charm of mundane subjects like flowers, fruits, and the natural terrain. Themes of the inevitability of time passing, the moral goodness of moderation, and the abundance of the natural world emerge from these stunning representations. On long-term loan from The Grasset-Linares Collection, this selection of 11 paintings includes traditional Dutch floral arrangements, rich banquet scenes, and detailed landscapes. This exhibition is guest curated by Sophia Foster ’24, Fred W. Hicks Curatorial Fellow at RMA.

Critical Reading: Book Arts in Dialogue with the Collection

This exhibition explores the ways in which text—whether literally or metaphorically—functions as image and vice versa. These works challenge our preconceptions about the act of reading by pushing experimental methods of communication and comprehension, asking viewers to take an active role in making sense of a text, even those that are designed to provoke and confound. Including works by contemporary artists in various media, Critical Reading proposes an alternative approach to objects that address social, political and cultural issues, memory, and storytelling. The synergy between this array of objects—paintings, drawings, videos, sculptures, and artists’ books—underscores the power of language in its multiple forms to challenge expectations about representation and content. These works are uniquely positioned to interrogate cultural assumptions about books and, by extension, our experiences with reading and knowledge through a critical lens. Critical Reading is co-curated by Gisela Carbonell, RMA curator, and art professor Rachel Simmons.

What’s New? Recent Acquisitions (Fall 2024 Edition)

This installation features recent acquisitions on a rotating basis, allowing the museum to share some of its new treasures soon after they’ve become part of the collection. Trevor Bell, Giorgia Fiorio, and Erica Lord, among others, continue to reflect the museum’s sustained commitment to acquiring works in various media, from different time periods, and by artists of diverse backgrounds in alignment with our teaching mission and the curriculum of a liberal arts education. You may see some of these objects in context as part of themed exhibitions in the future.

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Related Programming

Outdoor Walking Sculpture Tour
Start at the front steps of the museum and explore seven outdoor sculptures from the RMA collection with the beautiful Rollins College campus as a backdrop on this 1.6 mile audio tour.

Self-Guided Tours
Enjoy 360-degree virtual views of current and past exhibitions on your device.

Art Explorers Club | Ages 6-13
Sign up at the front desk to become an official art explorer. Engage in a series of art challenges and creative missions that expand your imagination and develop your art research skills, all while exploring the museum’s collection. Discover a world full of art as you earn prizes and collect stamps in your very own member’s passport.

Saturdays (September 21–December 14) | 1 & 3 p.m.
Museum Highlights Tours
Visit RMA on Saturday afternoons for docent-led museum tours that highlight works from our current exhibitions. There will be no tour November 30.

Sundays (September 22–December 15) | 1 p.m.
Tours at The Alfond Inn
Join us on Sundays in the lobby of The Alfond Inn for a guided tour of selections from The Alfond Collection. There will be no tour December 1. No registration required.

Tuesdays | Until 7 p.m.
RMA @ Nite
Visit after school or after work on Tuesdays for late nights at the museum until 7 p.m.

September 17 | 6 p.m.
Artist Talk with Denise Bookwalter
Visiting artist Denise Bookwalter will deliver an artist talk in connection with Critical Reading: Book Arts in Dialogue with the Collection, which includes one of her artworks. Bookwalter works in a range of print media including traditional and digital processes, artist’s books, installations, and dimensional prints. She is an associate professor of art at Florida State University and the founding director of FSU’s Small Craft Advisory Press.

September 20 | 11 a.m.
Exhibition Tour: Art Encounters: Rethinking My Relationship to the Land
Join David Matteson, associate curator of education, for a tour through a tour of the exhibition.

September 27 | 11 a.m.
The World Ahead: An interactive presentation
Join artist Rachel Simmons and writer Chrissy Kolaya for a presentation on The World Ahead, their collaborative artists’ book project about prediction, fortune-telling, and other ways of guessing the future! Simmons and Kolaya will share samples from this three-book series in progress and discuss the inspiration, process, and collaboration. They will also invite the audience to participate in an interactive prediction game. This program is in connection with the exhibition Critical Reading: Book Arts in Dialogue with the Collection, co-curated by Simmons.

October 8 | 6 p.m.
Lecture: Exploring the Origins of a Puerto Rican School of Painting Through the Collection of Museo de Arte de Ponce with Iraida Rodríguez Negrón
Through acquisitions and a robust program of temporary exhibitions, the Museo de Arte de Ponce has played an instrumental role in documenting the production of these artists. This lecture will showcase examples from the museum’s collection, including paintings from Nostalgia for My Island, to illustrate the Museo de Arte de Ponce’s significant role in the history of Puerto Rican Art.

October 11 | 11 a.m.
Exhibition Tour: What’s New? Recent Acquisitions
Join Gisela Carbonell, curator, for a tour through the exhibition.

November 1 | 11 a.m.
Exhibition Tour: Nostalgia for My Island: Puerto Rican Painting from the Museo de Arte de Ponce (1786–1962)
Join Gisela Carbonell, curator, for a tour through the exhibition.

November 6 and December 4 | 6 p.m.
Happy Hour Tours
Join us in the lobby of The Alfond Inn in Winter Park for a 60-minute guided tour of selections from the Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art. Beverages are available for purchase before, during, and after the tour from the Hamilton’s Kitchen Bar and The Café. Pre-registration required. Registration opens 14 days prior to each event.

November 22 | 11 a.m.
Exhibition Tour: The Fantastical Mundane: Selections from the Grasset-Linares Collection
Join Ena Heller, Bruce A. Beal Director, for a tour through a tour of the exhibition.

December 3–8
Holiday Shop Sale
Enjoy shopping and artful gift wrapping at the museum while exploring the season’s exhibitions. Museum members receive doubled discounts on museum shop purchases.

December 6 | 11 a.m.
Exhibition Tour: Beyond the Surface: Capturing Meaning Through Portraiture
Join Gisela Carbonell, curator, for a tour through the exhibition.

Member Events

September 13 | 5:30 p.m.
Fall Exhibition Preview
Celebrate the opening of the fall season at Rollins Museum of Art with a sneak peek at the newly installed exhibitions. Open to all RMA members and special guests. Registration required. For details and to RSVP, contact dmack@rollins.edu.

October 2 | 6 p.m.
Happy Hour Tour at The Alfond Inn
Gather with fellow Rollins Museum of Art Founders Square members at The Alfond Inn for an inside look at select works from the museum’s collection with Ena Heller, Bruce A. Beal Director. Open to all RMA Founders Square members and special guests. For details and to RSVP, contact dmack@rollins.edu.

October 9 | 6 p.m.
Fiat Lux Society Tour with the Director at The Alfond Inn
Gather with fellow Rollins Fiat Lux Society members at The Alfond Inn for an inside look at select works from the museum’s collection with Ena Heller, Bruce A. Beal Director. Meet President Grant Cornwell while enjoying light appetizers and drinks in the company of fellow art enthusiasts. Open to Fiat Lux Society members, including RMA Founders Square, Terrace, Penthouse, and Rooftop members. For details and to RSVP, contact kgoodrum@rollins.edu.

November 14 | 6:30–8:30 p.m.
Dinner with the Director at The Alfond Inn
Join Ena Heller, Bruce A. Beal Director, RMA for an intimate dinner gathering at The Alfond Inn. Open to RMA Founders Square, Penthouse, and Rooftop members and special guests. For details and to RSVP, contact dmack@rollins.edu.

December 11 | 6 p.m.
Happy Hour Tour with the Director at The Alfond Inn
Gather with fellow Rollins Museum of Art Founders Square members at The Alfond Inn for an inside look at select works from the museum’s collection with Ena Heller, Bruce A. Beal Director. Open to all RMA Founders Square members and special guests. For details and to RSVP, contact dmack@rollins.edu.

Family Programs

October 5, November 2, and December 7 | 10 a.m.
Family Studio
Join us for a memorable morning of art and exploration. Family Studio engages young children and their favorite adults in fun, interactive experiences inspired by our current exhibitions. Each program includes an exclusive tour, story time, and art activity.

November 23 | 12-4 p.m.
Fall Fling Family Day
Join us for a day of family fun inside and outside Rollins Museum of Art. Engage with current exhibitions through art activities, performances, and docent-led tours.

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