Throughout the formal rooms of the early American Stick Style mansion that houses the Newport Art Museum, a distinctly contemporary exhibition of visceral, experiential works by the late Bobby Anspach creates a memorable and multidisciplinary feast for the senses. Titled “Everything is Change,” it is the first solo exhibition for the artist who, in just 34 years of life, devoted over 18 to the study of consciousness through artistic mediums.
Curated by Taylor Baldwin, Anspach’s former professor at Rhode Island School of Design, the multi-room experience comprises studies and sculptures, experiential installations, a video in Anspach’s own voice spliced together by filmmaker Julia Barrett Mitchell, and a dedicated restorative space designed by New York- and Austin-based architect, Lauren Rottet. Powerfully juxtaposed against its Gilded Age setting, the multifaceted curation draws viewers directly into the whimsical, chromatic, and profound creative universe of the late artist.
Transcendence and Stillness from Bobby Anspach
Photography by Pernille Loof. Courtesy of the photographer and Newport Art Museum.
Photography by Pernille Loof. Courtesy of the photographer and Newport Art Museum.
At the heart of “Everything is Change” are two immersive sculptures from Anspach’s Place for Continuous Eye Contact series. Upon first inspection, the works emit a particularly DIY sensibility: tangles of electrical wires, long-tailed zip ties, and the familiar fuzz of rainbow pom poms and sparkling glitter. The experiences these seemingly makeshift assemblages deliver, however, are anything but. In pursuit of Anspach’s conviction that meditation and art can heal, the sculptures–one for individual reflection and one for shared–deliver a transcendental experience.
On a hospital bed draped in a graphic white tiger blanket, viewers are invited to an intimate experience of personal reflection. Above them, a suspended canopy of rainbow pompoms sets the stage for a sensory journey. The viewer’s focus is drawn to a kidney-shaped mirror, just large enough to reflect one eye, while the other is covered by an eyepatch. With noise-cancelling headphones blocking ambient noise, a meditative soundscape by Eluvium, or Anspach’s longtime musical collaborator, Matthew Robert Cooper, guides the experience, accompanied by a meticulously choreographed play of light. In the adjacent former dining room, a camping tent draped in intricate jacquard fabric by one of Queen Elizabeth II‘s favorite textile artists hosts a second, shared experience for two viewers. Both encounters encourage profound stillness and heightened awareness. Visitors often describe it as a perceptual shift, a fleeting suspension of time and distraction. Appropriately set within a domestic space, these intimate moments invite a unique mode of connection, grounded in presence, attunement, and the quiet power of gaze.
Photography by Pernille Loof. Courtesy of the photographer and Newport Art Museum.
Photography by Pernille Loof. Courtesy of the photographer and Newport Art Museum.
Surrounding these core works is a constellation of supporting pieces: process sketches, amorphous sculptures, raw assemblages of pompoms, and paintings drenched in glitter. The exhibition also marks the debut of a new 10-minute documentary, compiled by Julia Barrett Mitchell from archival recordings by Anspach himself. “Bobby recorded everything,” remarked Paula Baldoni, Director of River House Arts and Executive Director of the Anspach Foundation. Through his own videos and voice recordings, the film offers a poignant glimpse into the artist’s working process and the thoughts, rituals, and enduring questions that fueled his practice.
Developed specifically for this show, an additional, meditative Eluvium soundscape beckons visitors to an adjacent restorative space. Designed by architect Lauren Rottet as an extension of the exhibition’s core themes, the room is enveloped in soft light and sculptural furnishings from Rottet’s own collection. Tactile objects, such as a bowl filled with 10,000 pennies and another with crochet needles and yarn, invite soothing engagement as visitors reflect upon the exhibition.
A Meditative Space for Reflection and Connection in Newport
Photography by Pernille Loof. Courtesy of the photographer and Newport Art Museum.
Baldwin’s curatorial approach imbues the show with a sense of reverence. This is not simply a posthumous survey, but an interpretive act: a collaboration across disciplines, timelines, and sensibilities. The Newport Art Museum has responded in kind, layering the exhibition with programming designed to spark further conversation and connection—sound baths, design talks, guided meditations, and discussions on art’s role in mental health.
“Bobby Anspach had an unfailing belief that art was capable of creating a sense of unity, empathy, and understanding in viewers,” said Baldwin. “That is the kind of optimism and faith in creative expression that the art world – and indeed the world beyond it – really needs more of in this exact moment.”
“Bobby recorded everything,”
-Paula Baldoni
Anspach believed in the accessibility of beauty. His installations once appeared in public parks, Walmart parking lots, and unassuming corners of the everyday. Through the work of the Bobby Anspach Foundation, this legacy lives on. Within this landmark exhibition, his conviction that art can serve as a medium for connection, renewal, and shared understanding is palpable: in the rooms he now inhabits, in the voices of those he worked with, and in the quiet exchanges between viewers who sit across from one another, seeing and being seen.
“Everything is Change” is on view at the Newport Art Museum through September 28.
Photography by Pernille Loof. Courtesy of the photographer and Newport Art Museum.
Photography by Pernille Loof. Courtesy of the photographer and Newport Art Museum.
