ON VIEW

Painting of a woman in a patterned robe holding a seal, with a circular halo behind her head and icy mountains in the background.

Natchiq | Onkeehq | Isuwiq
Indigenous Artists Honor the Seal

April 4 – October 25, 2026

Ceramic sculpture of a boy standing upright with hands clasped behind his head, wearing black shorts, tank top, and sandals, his body rendered in solid black-and-white and stylized outlines.

A Shared Journey
The Barkan Contemporary Ceramic Collection at the RISD Museum

September 13, 2025 – March 5, 2028

Ways of Looking

March 22, 2026 – February 28, 2027

Woodblock print of a kingfisher diving toward blue water, framed by arching reeds and small flowering plants.

Shimmering Beauty
Kingfishers in Art and Poetry

December 20, 2025 – June 7, 2026

The Observer
Dorner Prize

March 29, 2026 – April 16, 2026

Section of purple textile depicting a bustling, embroidered maritime scene filled with ships, aquatic creatures, roiling waves, and soaring birds framed by a decorative border, all done in white thread.

The Flower, The Labor, and The Sea

September 27, 2025 – June 28, 2026

A sculptural piece of jewelry made up of a lime green cluster of shards and teal gems with vibrant orange accents, mounted on a slender, vertical, mint-green post.

Brighten Up!
Contemporary Enamels

June 1, 2024 – May 2, 2027

Multi-patterned, brightly colored, and tasseled shirt hanging on a wooden stick against a white background with machinery attached to its bottom. The floor is also shown.

Art & Design from 1900 to Now

June 4, 2022 – April 11, 2027

Sleek silver vessel with a curved body atop three pointed legs, featuring a black handle with a spiral detail and sharp ends which stretch above the vessel's top.

A Changing Reflection
Silver, Metalwork, and Jewelry in the 19th–21st Centuries

April 21, 2017 – December 20, 2028

Design carved into dark brown wood featuring a motif of radiating grooves fanned out in a shell shape from a central detail depicting a petal pattern with two symmetrical spirals.

18th and 19th-Century American Galleries

A carved wooden boat model with a sail tied on the mast manned by sailors with brown skin and white trousers holding oars and ropes.

Ancient Egyptian Galleries

Marble bust of a bearded man with realistic carved facial details. The head is centered on a gray backdrop and cut off below the chin and above the eyes.

Ancient Greek and Roman Galleries

Angular dark green slab ornamented by intricate golden embellishments which depict vertical rows of Chinese characters surrounded by dragons on a backdrop of dense interconnected clouds.

Asian Art Galleries

Green aquatic plants float on a translucent glass container centered on a gray backdrop. The glass reflects bright lights, and a slight green glow emanates from the bottom.

Decorative Arts and Design Galleries

An intricate tapestry which features floral and vine patterns in shades of blue, red and gold. To the center right is a cropped figure with wings and a lion's body.

European Galleries

Upcoming Exhibitions

Two-paneled illustration of figures in patterned robes, one threads a needle while another peers into a box, framed by clouds and curtains.

The Artistry and Reunion of Two Surimono Albums

May 23 – October 4, 2026

Cloth of the Earth
Indigo, Cape Verde, and West African Knowledge

August 1, 2026 – March 28, 2027

Black and white photograph of a male figure that could be flying or falling through the air, arms outspread and face in profile, dramatically contrast against a white sky.

In the Making
150 Years of Collecting at RISD Museum

November 21, 2026 – June 6, 2027

Rose B. Simpson
The Tenderfeet

January 23 – August 15, 2027

Past Exhibitions

A close-up photograph of the bottom half of a huma face with a large tongue sticking out and touching three wooden stamp blocks, held up by the person's hand on a totally black background.

This Is a Thing
Recent Gifts to Prints, Drawings, and Photographs, 2020–2025

August 23, 2025 – February 15, 2026

A vibrant textile artwork with a glowing spiral against a dark sky surrounded by large rainbows swooping down to large snow-covered mountains stretch below.

Liz Collins
Motherlode

July 19, 2025 - January 11, 2026

A small, delicate sailboat gliding across water beneath rocky cliffs and detailed trees carved in jade.

Mountain and Water 山水
Selections from Japan and China

May 10 – December 14, 2025

More Past Exhibitions ▸