Opening Reception for Vanitas: The Palermo Portraits at ArtCenter College of Design
Date: Saturday, September 20, 2025
Time: 6PM
Venue: ArtCenter College of Design (South Campus), Oculus Space, 2nd Floor Mullin Transportation Design Center
Address: 950 S. Raymond Ave Pasadena, CA
Exhibition Dates:
Gallery Hours: Open daily 8AM – 7PM
Link: https://www.artcenter.edu/about/exhibitions/vanitas-the-palermo-portraits.html
RSVP Required: https://host.nxt.blackbaud.com/registration-form/?formId=0047d51b-706b-486c-ba68-816656cd2e4d&envId=p-UUgWgWJ5E0iS5GKQpW2kCg&zone=usa
Matthew Rolston’s Vanitas: The Palermo Portraits, on view in ArtCenter’s South Campus Oculus Space – at the apex of the new Mullin Transportation Design Center – is conceived of as not just an homage to the accomplished mid-career artist, but also as the introduction of an evocative new body of work, one that addresses intertwined narratives of human existence, beauty and the grotesque, and the power of art to connect with the beyond.
Created in the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo, Sicily, the three photographs presented at ArtCenter comprise the artist’s triptych, which depicts two mummified children flanking an elderly adult, representing the dichotomies of sacred and secular, youth and age, life and death. Vanitas furthers Rolston’s exploration of beauty, mortality, and the cultural histories embedded in portraiture.
ArtCenter’s presentation of Vanitas marks the launch of a multi-venue series of exhibitions across the city of Los Angeles showcasing Rolston’s Vanitas project and coincides with the release of a limited-edition monograph published by Nazraeli Press.