Current Exhibitions
Installation view, re: collections, Six Decades at the Rose Art Museum, Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, June 25, 2021–June 16, 2024. Photo by Mel Taing.
Since 1961, the Rose Art Museum has been at the forefront of modern and contemporary art, showcasing groundbreaking thematic exhibitions, surveys of leading artists, and innovative new commissions. As a champion of emerging talent, the Rose has also served as a launchpad for rising stars, offering many their first solo museum shows.
We invite you to explore the vibrant world of contemporary art at the Rose and discover something new!
Photorealism in Focus
February 11, 2026 - May 31, 2026
"Photorealism in Focus" brings together pioneering and contemporary artists who use meticulous detail and technical precision to blur the line between painting and photography, revealing how the movement continues to transform everyday subjects into striking reflections on perception, memory, and realism today.
Audrey Flack, Shiva Blue, 1972–1973 [DETAIL]. Oil and acrylic on canvas. Heiskell Family Collection. Courtesy of Louis K. Meisel Gallery. © Audrey Flack.
Yinka Shonibare: Sanctuary
February 11, 2026 - January 3, 2027
Yinka Shonibare's poignant installation, "Sanctuary City," explores the contested nature of refuge through illuminated miniature architectural models, tracing the historical and political complexities of sanctuary while confronting the moral imperatives of protection in an era of global displacement.
Yinka Shonibare CBE, Sanctuary City, 2024. An installation of 18 miniature buildings. Wood, paint, Dutch wax printed cotton textile, LED lights. Installation view, Suspended States, 2024 Serpentine South. Photo: © Jo Underhill. Courtesy Yinka Shonibare CBE and Serpentine. Courtesy Tia Collection. © Yinka Shonibare CBE. All rights reserved, DACS 2025.
Fred Wilson: The Flag Project
February 11, 2026 - May 31, 2026
Installed as a mural-like sequence in the Lois Foster Wing Stairwell, Fred Wilson’s flag paintings reimagine national emblems in stark black on raw cotton, offering a powerful meditation on Blackness, history, and the unfinished project of nationhood.
Installation view, Fred Wilson: The Flag Project, Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, February 11, 2026–May 31, 2026. Julia Featheringill Photography.
Fabricated Imaginaries: Crafting Art
August 20, 2025 - May 31, 2026
"Fabricated Imaginaries" explores artists who occupy a liminal space profoundly shaped by craft traditions, sewing, weaving, and fashion. The exhibition highlights how unconventional techniques and materials inform contemporary art, creating new meanings and connections.
El Anatsui, Avocado Coconut Egg (ACE), 2016 [DETAIL]. Aluminum (liquor bottle caps) and copper wire. Green Family Art Foundation; Courtesy Adam Green Art Advisory © El Anatsui. Image courtesy the Green Family Foundation. Photo by Evan Sheldon.
Mark Dion: The Undisciplined Collector
Permanent Installation
Wood paneled and furnished with the trappings of a 1961 collector's den, "The Undisciplined Collector" evokes the year of the Rose Art Museum's founding and serves as an introduction to the rich history of collecting at Brandeis University.
Mark Dion, The Undisciplined Collector, 2015. Rose Art Museum Special Fund, 2015.6. Charles Mayer Photography.
Chris Burden: Light of Reason
Permanent installation
An integral part of the image of the Rose Art Museum, the antique Victorian lampposts and concrete benches of Chris Burden's sculpture "Light of Reason" serves as an inviting gateway to the museum and a dynamic outdoor space for the Brandeis community.
Chris Burden, Light of Reason, 2014. 24 restored cast-iron street lamps. Rose Art Museum Acquisition Fund, Gift of Monroe and Edith Geller and Russian Sale Gift, 2014.3. © Chris Burden. Charles Mayer Photography.