Beginning Jan. 24, 2026, pinkStardust will be on view in the Main Gallery of the Loveland Museum. Sparked by a tale of Las Vegas transforming from gambling mecca to atomic hot spot, Loveland artist Sharon Carlisle digs deep into our atomic history to reveal how scientific discovery defined an era.
Walk her star trail as she reveals how, and perhaps why, the development of atomic weapons from World War II to the Cold War became part of our pop culture, inspiring everything from interior design and product marketing to cocktails and tourism. Through her layered, visceral installation more than a decade in the making, Carlisle invites us to step inside this surreal chapter of our past, then ask ourselves, “How might remembering this event inform, and perhaps change, where we go from here?”
Sharon J. Carlisle is a visual artist who works in a wide variety of mediums with a focus on installations, large and small. Her approach is postmodern in both concept and practice. She explores a wide variety of subjects with one common thread of connection: energy, in all its forms, concepts, applications and expressions. When focusing on any one subject, she seeks to extract the essence of it, then rebuild it using mostly mundane materials found easily in both nature and shop.
Exhibition details
Exhibit title: pinkStardust
Where: Loveland Museum, Main Gallery
When: Jan. 24-April 11, 2026
Website: thelovelandmuseum.org/pinkstardust
Stories that Linger in the Dust, discussion facilitated by Sharon Carlisle | 1-3 p.m. Feb. 28 (free admission, but registration required)
This installation is not just a historical reflection; it’s a challenge. pinkStardust asks us to reconsider what we celebrate, what we remember or forget and how we process collective trauma when it’s wrapped in neon and novelty. Join Carlisle for a discussion of her years of research and, as a group, consider the exhibit’s tension between glamour and devastation, and nostalgia and reckoning. What does it mean to remember through spectacle? And what stories still linger in the dust? Register at thelovelandmuseum.org/guest-artist-workshops.
Artist tour: 2 p.m. March 14 (free admission)
Join Carlisle for an intimate walkthrough of pinkStardust, her installation inspired by a vintage Las Vegas casino sign. In this guided tour, Carlisle shares the decade-long journey behind the work, revealing how she used historical research and pop culture to explore America’s atomic legacy.
Inside NSF NCAR’s Science, Stories and Breakthroughs: 1-3 p.m. March 28 (free admission)
For more than 60 years, the U.S. National Science Foundation National Center for Atmospheric Research (NSF NCAR) has been at the forefront of Earth system science, providing cutting-edge resources such as supercomputers, research aircraft, advanced computer models and extensive datasets. Join NSF NCAR staff to learn about this remarkable six-decade journey and how NSF NCAR research is addressing our most pressing scientific challenges, protecting lives and strengthening our national security.
