Rose B. Simpson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rose B. Simpson
Simpson in 2008
Born	(1983-10-19)October 19, 1983
Nationality	Santa Clara Pueblo (Tewa)
Education	Institute of American Indian Arts (BFA, MFA), Rhode Island School of Design (MFA), Northern New Mexico College
Known for	sculpture, ceramics
Notable work	Maria

Rose B. Simpson, born in 1983, is a talented artist from the Tewa people of Khaʼpʼoe Ówîngeh (Santa Clara Pueblo). She creates art using many different materials, like clay, metal, fabric, paint, and even music. She is also a sculptor. Rose is the daughter of the famous Santa Clara Pueblo artist Roxanne Swentzell. She lives in Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico. Her art has been shown in many important museums and galleries across the United States.

Learning and Art School

Rose Simpson studied art at the University of New Mexico and the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. She earned her first art degree there in 2007. Later, she got a master's degree in ceramics from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2011. She also earned another master's degree in creative writing from the Institute of American Indian Arts in 2018. Interestingly, she also studied car mechanics at Northern New Mexico College in Española, New Mexico.

About Her Artwork

Rose Simpson is known for using many different materials in her art. Her work often explores ideas about the past, present, and future of people. She also looks at how humans live with nature. Some common themes in her art are identity, motherhood, and family history.

Even though Rose is an Indigenous artist, she wants her art to be seen in its own way. She doesn't want to be limited by what people expect "Native art" to be. Rose creates art that challenges traditional ideas about fine art. She uses cultural techniques and ideas passed down through her family. She comes from a long line of women who are ceramic artists. She still works with her mother, Roxanne Swentzell, and her young daughter when she creates. This sharing of knowledge from mother to daughter is important in her art.

Rose has a special way of working with clay called "slap-slab." She tears off thin pieces of clay and puts them together. She purposely leaves marks like fingerprints and brushstrokes visible. For her, these marks show the truth of how the art was made. Her style is also inspired by a Japanese art idea called kintsugi. This idea is about repairing broken pottery with gold, making the repairs beautiful. It represents self-love and forgiveness.

Rose also creates performance art. She calls these "transformances." Her goal is to change herself and her audience through these performances. In her transformances, she works with others to march in public places. They wear special clothing that looks like it's from a future world. This helps to change how people see things.

Art Shows and Exhibitions

Rose Simpson's art has been shown in many places.

In 2021, she had a big solo show called "Countdown" at the Savannah College of Art and Design.

From 2019 to 2020, her work was part of a traveling show called "Hearts of Our People." For this show, Rose created a sculpture called Maria. It was a tribute to the famous Native American ceramic artist, Maria Martinez. Rose changed a 1985 Chevy El Camino car. She decorated it with black pottery designs, just like Maria Martinez's famous "black-on-black" style.

From 2018 to 2019, Rose had a special solo exhibition at the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was called LIT: The Work of Rose B. Simpson. The museum also made a book about her art for this show.

In 2016, she had a solo show called Ground at the Pomona College Museum of Art in California. For this show, she was both the artist and the curator. She chose historical objects from the museum's collection and placed them with her own sculptures. She wanted to show that art can be both beautiful and useful. She believes that connecting with the earth helps us feel stronger.

Also in 2016, her work was in a show called Con Cariño: Artists Inspired by Lowriders at the New Mexico Museum of Art.

From 2024 to 2025, she has an upcoming solo exhibition called Strata at the Cleveland Museum of Art. This show will feature very tall sculptures, about 25 feet high. They are made of clay and metal.

Important Artworks

Maria (2014)

In 2014, Rose Simpson created Maria. This artwork is a changed 1985 Chevrolet El Camino car. The car sculpture is connected to her home in many ways. First, it was inspired by her time living in Española, New Mexico. This area is known as the "lowrider capital of the world." The name Maria also honors the potter Maria Martinez. Maria Martinez was famous for her "black-on-black style" pottery. Rose used matte black paint for the car's base and glossy black paint for traditional designs. Finally, choosing a car as her art medium shows her interest in cars from her studies at Northern New Mexico College.

Counterculture (2023)

In 2023, Rose Simpson made a special sculpture for Field Farm in Williamstown, Massachusetts. The sculpture has 12 human-like figures made of concrete. Each figure is 10 feet tall and has hollow eyes. They are decorated with ceramic pieces and other found objects. Counterculture is a "site-specific" sculpture. This means it was made especially for that place. Field Farm is on the old homeland of the Mohican people. These Indigenous people were forced to leave their land long ago. Rose created these figures to represent ancestors. They stand as witnesses to the land's history. They also help us remember the Indigenous people who once lived there.

Where Her Art is Kept

Awards and Fellowships

• 2021 – Joan Mitchell Fellowship from the Joan Mitchell Foundation
• 2021 – Production and Exhibition Grant, Via Art Fund, Boston, MA
• 2021 – Residency, The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, PA
• 2021 – Residency, Tamarind Institute, Albuquerque, NM
• 2020 – Residency, Anderson Ranch Arts Residency, Snowmass, CO
• 2020 – President's Award for Art and Activism, Women's Caucus for Art, Chicago, IL
• 2017 – Fellowship from the National Parks Foundation for a residency at Aztec Ruins National Monument
• 2013 – National Artist Fellowship, Native Arts & Cultures Foundation

Her Family Life

Rose Simpson comes from a long line of Santa Clara Pueblo ceramic artists. Her mother is Roxanne Swentzell. Her grandmother was Rina Swentzell. Her great-aunt was Nora Naranjo-Morse. Her great-grandmother was Rose Naranjo. Her great-uncle was Michael Naranjo. Her father, Patrick Simpson, is also a sculptor.

Music Career

For several years, Rose Simpson was the lead singer in a Native American punk band called Chocolate Helicopter. She also played in a hip-hop band called Garbage Pail Kidz.