Selections From Our Collections

Curated by Kaitlyn Walsh, Collections Manager

On View March 25 - October 4, 2026

Reception: Saturday, April 18, 1-3pm

About the Exhibition

Rochester Art Center is proud to present the first public display of its permanent collection since its 75 year anniversary exhibition in 2021. Prior to that, the collection had been resting since the museum relocated to its current building in 2004, when an emphasis was placed on attracting contemporary exhibitions to Rochester. 

Executive Director Pamela Hugdahl feels strongly that permanent collections are critical to the function and mission of museums, by providing educational opportunities and preserving stories for the community. Collections are critical assets for museums to draw upon as part of robust exhibition schedules because scholarship and research around permanent collection works can evolve and deepen, whereas each temporary work on loan presents a finite opportunity for a museum to engage its audience with loaned artwork. As such, Rochester Art Center has prioritized its collection practices in recent years in order to make the collection more accessible for presentation and research. 

Making the collection available to the public is not simply a matter of pulling artworks from storage. It requires careful handling, research and preparation. Through the support of the Rochester Art Center Board of Directors and effective leadership, the staff has been cultivated around improving collection management practices. A 2025 General Preservation Assessment by the Midwest Art Conservation Center, made possible through a grant from the Minnesota Historical Society, described Rochester Art Center as having “dedicated staff and engaged leadership” who have the “expectation of best practice collections care.”

Collections Manager Kaitlyn Walsh holds an MA in Modern and Contemporary Asian Art from Sotheby's Institute of Art, London. Curatorial Technician Theoren Sheppard studied photojournalism at Kansas State University and worked at the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming prior to moving to Rochester. Together, Walsh and Sheppard have been working diligently to elevate the museum’s collection management practices. Thanks in large part to the Carl and Verna Schmidt Foundation, they have updated storage solutions, completed an inventory of works on paper and made other improvements to collections care. 

Selections from our Collections is a beacon for many future permanent collection exhibitions at Rochester Art Center. Walsh selected 17 works for this exhibition in order to showcase a broad cross section, with special attention to works from East Asia and works that can only be fully appreciated in person. 

One such work is Khanh Cong Le’s Forbidden City. The level of detail in the print is extraordinary and can take the viewer on a journey, like playing “Where's Waldo”. A photographic reproduction does not do it justice. Similarly, the gold in George Morrison’s untitled print of wood blocks does not resonate when photographed, but when viewed in person, the eye follows the gold grains of wood as if in meditation. These are artworks that demand to be viewed in real life.  

Featured Artists: Nicholas Africano, Gail W. Bamber, Khanh Cong Le, Winifred Godfrey, Gary Johnson, Eiichi Kotozuka, Alan Larkin, Keith A. Leaman, Mike Lynch, Bernard McNally, George Morrison, Louise Nevelson, William Saltzman, Carol Slade, Tomikichiro Tokuriki.

About Collections Management Funding 

Rochester Art Center is a nonprofit organization with an annual budget under one million dollars. Collection stewardship is a relatively new area of development for our organization and we are grateful to the Carl and Verna Schmidt Foundation for their support in helping us prioritize and improve our collections management practices. Please consider contributing to our continued stewardship and success by becoming a member or making a contribution today. https://www.rochesterartcenter.org/join

Support for this exhibition is made possible by the Carl and Verna Schmidt Foundation and Minnesota State Arts Board.