West Gallery
The West Gallery is located outside Schoitz River Rooms. Enjoy a hall lined in works from the collection.
Now Displaying
Cielo Y Tierra: Mexican Painting Traditions
On view September 4, 2025-April 19, 2026
The Waterloo Center for the Arts has a breathtaking collection of Mexican folk arts, from intricately patterned huipils and otomis to remarkable ceremonial masks, capes, retablos, and even forged iron grave markers. This exhibition centers on the numerous, ingenious painting media and techniques found in Mexico as well as a rich tradition that simultaneously celebrates cosmic forces and earthly delights. In addition to the more conventional compositions in oil, watercolor, and ceramic glazework, this exhibition includes stylized depictions of Aztec gods and goddesses utilizing popote fibers and meticulous portraits of gauchos using only feathers. Enjoy Cielo y Tierra then make your way to Viendo La Vida: Latino and Indigenous Art from the Americas in the Langlas Loft Gallery, located in WCA’s West Wing.
Darrell Taylor, Curator/Assistant Director
UpComing Exhibition
To Scale:
Architectural Motifs
On view beginning August 18th, 2026
A WCA collection exhibition featuring a wide range of media, all of which delights in the designs, patterns, and rhythms as well as the volumes and contours of the world’s great architecture. On view will
be an exquisite series of metal artworks by University of Iowa Professor Emeritus Kee-Ho Yuen, some miniature surrealist paintings by Des Moines-native Doug Shelton, a ceramic tile attributed to the Frank Lloyed Wright School, and some mixed media paintings by Waterloo cultural luminary Lavern Madlock.
Darrell Taylor, Curator/Assistant Director