Kimberlee Rocca

Rocca studied Design, Foil Printmaking, and Fiber Art at The University of Iowa before completing her BFA in Metal Smithing in 1991. Alongside her artistic practice, Rocca is the founder and lead project manager of Rocca Custom Homes, where she designs and builds custom residences throughout Iowa. Her parallel careers in both construction and art have given her a unique perspective on materials, sustainability, and transformation.

Drawing on her professional experience as a home builder, Rocca began incorporating salvaged construction materials into her artwork, merging them with foils, paints, and pastels. Over the past three plus decades, her practice has developed into a distinctive exploration of collage and assemblage, informed by her early fascination with puzzles, mosaics, and patterns.

Rocca has exhibited widely in the Midwest, nationally and internationally. In 2025, she presented Shaping Perspectives, a solo exhibition at Gilded Pear Gallery in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Her work was also awarded in ACA 2024 & 2025 at ADC Fine Art in Cincinnati, Ohio, and in the Octagon Center for the Arts Member Show in Ames, Iowa. Previous highlights include group and juried exhibitions at the Figge Art Museum, Cedar Rapids Museum of Art...

BFA University of Iowa 1991
Major: Metal Smithing
Minor: Fiber Arts
Minor: Graphic Design
Personal Study: Foil Imaging

Select Solo Exhibitions
2025
Shaping Perspectives, Gilded Pear Gallery, Cedar Rapids, IA
2024
From Waste to Wonder, Burlington Art Center, Burlington IA
Syzygy, Peoria Art Guild, Peoria, Illinois
Play Sculpture Table, Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids, IA
2023
Plethora of Art & Play, Maquoketa Art Experience, Maquoketa IA
Walls of Whimsy, UIHC Project Art, Iowa City, IA
Art at the James, Iowa City, Iowa
Women United, Exhibition & Artist Talk, International
2022
Pivot, Interactive Exhibition & Artist Talk, The Artifactory, Iowa City, IA
2021
Picking Up the Pieces Wall Sculptures. Gilded Pear Gallery, Cedar Rapids, IA
2014
Pioneer In Foil Imaging: Polk County Heritage Gallery, Des Moines, IA
2013
Gallery Walk Featured Artist. Chait Galleries Downtown Iowa City, IA
1994
New Works Foil Imaging. The Cottage. Iowa City, Iowa
1992
New Works Foil Imaging. Curtin University. Perth, Western Australia
1991
Select Group Exhibitions
2025
Love & Revolution, Akwi Nji Studio Cherry Building, Cedar Rapids IA
Art Comes Alive, ADC Fine Art Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio
Affordable Art Fair, Studio 84 Gallery, Battersea, UK
Radiant 2025, ADC Fine Art Gallery, Cincinna...