Step Inside the Art of Make-Believe at Newport Art Museum

What if growing up never meant giving up make-believe? This spring, the Newport Art Museum invites visitors to lean back into imagination with Play / Pretend, a cross-generational exhibition opening May 7 that traces how play shapes identity long after childhood ends.

From dollhouses to dynamic mixed media installations, the exhibition moves fluidly between past and present. Historic dolls, automata, and miniature environments share space with contemporary works by artists who challenge how identity is constructed, performed, and perceived. The result feels less like a static gallery and more like a living conversation across time.

“Play is how people first learn to engage with the world around them,” says Danielle Ogden, artistic director of the Newport Art Museum. “It remains a powerful tool for experimentation and possibility.”

That sense of experimentation is felt throughout. Rhode Island artist Tom Deininger’s Big Catch draws viewers in with realism, only to unravel up close into fragments of discarded toys, revealing the illusion beneath. Nearby, Gerry Perrino’s hyperreal paintings weave toy figurines into layered compositions that blur narrative and scale, while Eric Telfort’s portraits interrogate power and representation through a contemporary lens.

Elsewhere, Entang Wiharso’s newly exhibited puppets reinterpret traditional shadow play, bridging cultural storytelling with modern form. Christina Pell brings a deeply personal perspective, layering materials like resin, glitter, and paper to explore motherhood and its ties to imagination.

The exhibition extends beyond the expected. Libby Schoettle, known as PhoebeNewYork, threads a site-specific installation through hallways and corners, creating moments that feel intimate, playful, and slightly surreal. In the Museum Shop, Sam Heydt’s immersive pop-up transforms retail into an experience, blending art and design in unexpected ways.

Together, the works suggest that play is not something we outgrow. It is something we refine, revisit, and carry forward. Play / Pretend opens May 7 with a free public reception from 5-7pm and runs through January 31, 2027. For more information, visit NewportArtMuseum.org.