Newfields Reawakens the Rococo with Queer Contemporary Vision in Resplendent Dreams

Starting June 6, the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields invites visitors into a world of opulence, fantasy, and self-expression with Resplendent Dreams: Reawakening the Rococo. This groundbreaking exhibition brings together the work of three celebrated queer contemporary artists—Robert Horvath, Anthony Sonnenberg, and Diego Montoya—who reimagine the lush elegance and theatricality of the 18th-century Rococo era through modern lenses.

Blending painting, sculpture, performance, video, installation, fashion, and costuming, the artists explore Rococo’s historical ties to sensuality, artifice, and excess—revealing the era’s latent queerness and its power to challenge norms. Their vivid, immersive works are presented alongside ten Rococo masterpieces from the IMA’s permanent collection, including porcelain figurines and paintings by Boucher and Fragonard, selected by the artists themselves to create a striking dialogue between past and present.

“This exhibition reclaims a historically devalued aesthetic of maximalist decoration as a form of subversion, self-expression, and visibility,” said Michael Vetter, PhD, Associate Curator of Contemporary Art at Newfields. “Through contemporary practices, these artists expose how beauty, identity, and resistance have always been deeply connected.”

Featured Artists and Commissions

Anthony Sonnenberg, a multidisciplinary artist from Arkansas, uses Rococo and Baroque influences to explore themes of desire, mortality, and time. His practice—spanning ceramics, performance, and video—honors the decorative arts and their associations with femininity and queer culture. For Resplendent Dreams, Sonnenberg debuts Epergne with Candelabra and Vases, a towering ceramic sculpture nearly four feet tall, created from found objects like silk flowers, figurines, and fringe, all layered under rich, luminous glaze.

Diego Montoya, a Peruvian-born, Miami-raised artist and Emmy-winning costume designer, is known for his dramatic, historically inspired fashion creations. Drawing from Rococo opulence and Miami flamboyance, his designs question fixed notions of gender and embrace drag culture’s bold reinvention of the body. For this exhibition, Montoya was commissioned to create Rocaille, a dazzling gown for Indianapolis drag icon Blair St. Clair that merges Rococo motifs with showgirl glamour.

Robert Horvath, a Slovakian American artist and associate professor at the Herron School of Art + Design, presents Room for the Lost Paradise—an intricately constructed installation that reimagines a Rococo palace interior using hand- and laser-cut watercolor paintings. This immersive room invites viewers into a fantasy realm filled with mirrors, romantic landscapes, and ornate decorative flourishes, reclaiming a kinship with the often-dismissed aesthetics of 18th-century artists.

Expanding Beyond the Gallery

Resplendent Dreams also extends outdoors into The Garden at Newfields. Throughout the summer, guests can wander through flower beds inspired by the exhibition’s artworks. Designed by Newfields’ horticulture team, these vibrant plantings offer a living continuation of the visual and emotional richness found inside the galleries.

“We are honored to present the deeply imaginative work of Diego Montoya, Anthony Sonnenberg, and Robert Horvath,” said Belinda Tate, the Melvin & Simon Director of the Indianapolis Museum of Art. “This exhibition invites our community into a reimagined Rococo—one that is inclusive, expressive, and radically transformative.”

Opening Events

• Panel Discussion - Friday, June 6 at 7 p.m. | Tobias TheaterJoin exhibition curator Michael Vetter alongside artist Robert Horvath and esteemed scholars Ayana Smith and Rebecca L. Spang from Indiana University for a thought-provoking conversation on the art, music, and culture of the 18th century.

• Artful Party: Summer - Friday, June 27 from 8–10 p.m.Celebrate the opening of Resplendent Dreams and five other new exhibitions at Newfields’ Artful Party. Dress to impress in your summer best and enjoy live DJ sets, art-inspired cocktails, and curated hors d’oeuvres across the IMA galleries and gardens.

Resplendent Dreams: Reawakening the Rococo is curated by Michael Vetter, PhD, Associate Curator of Contemporary Art at Newfields. The exhibition will be on view in the Gerald and Dorit Paul Galleries from June 6, 2025, through March 2026.

For more information, visit discovernewfields.org.

Image Credit: Anthony Sonnenberg (American, b. 1986), Epergne with Candelabra and Vases (for the IMA), 2024, porcelain over stoneware and found ceramic tchotchkes with glaze, 48 × 18 × 18 in. Commissioned by the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields. © Anthony Sonnenberg.