September 2019
“Body of Work” Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design Through Sept. 7
“Marc Chagall: Le Cirque” Jewish Museum Milwaukee Through Sept. 8
“2019 Members Show” Museum of Wisconsin Art Through Sept. 8
“Among the Wonders of the Dells: Photography, Place, Tourism” Museum of Wisconsin Art Through Sept. 8
“Processed Views: Surveying the Industrial Landscape” Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA on the Lake) Through Sept. 8
“Downtown” Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA DTN) Through Sept. 8
“Lisa Beck: Send and Receive” Saint Kate Arts Hotel (The Gallery) Through Sept. 8
“The John Riepenhoff Experience presents Yoohee Chang” Saint Kate Arts Hotel (The Closet) Through Sept. 8
“Downtown Ladies” Saint Kate Arts Hotel (The Space) Through Sept. 8
“MKE Generations: New Work by Willie G. and Michael Davidson” Union Art Gallery Through Sept. 13
For the first time, UWM alum Michael Davidson presents his paintings side by side with his dad’s. As vice-president of styling at Harley-Davidson, Willie G. Davidson helped shape 50 years of iconic designs for the company, but Michael’s childhood interest in painting was spurred by his father’s watercolors. Michael moved to New York and, like Willie, explored many styles and subjects, but both returned to their first love: abstract watercolors. This is recent work. (John Schneider)
“The Autotopographers” John Michael Kohler Arts Center Through Sept. 15
“David R. Harper: A Mouth-Shaped Room” Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum Through Sept. 15
David R. Harper turns Villa Terrace into a fantastical wonderland with sculpture, transformed objects and installations purposefully scattered about the house. Harper touches on the history of the decorative arts museum itself while intermingling different genres and eras of art in the same exhibit. Greco-Roman figures, 19th century plant and animal studies, stained glass; all curated to fit the contemporary with an homage to the past. (Genevieve Vahl)
“The League of Milwaukee Artists Juried Art Exhibition” Cardinal Stritch University Through Sept. 20
“The Point Being: Works by Thomas Gaudynski” Woodland Pattern Through Sept. 26
“OASD Art Teacher Show” Oconomowoc Arts Center Through Sept. 30
“Mary L. Nohl Suitcase Exhibition” Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design Through Oct. 5
“Annual Members Show” Walkers Point Center for the Arts Through Oct. 5
“Featured Member Exhibition: Madhavi Parek” Walkers Point Center for the Arts Through Oct. 5
“Nares: Moves” Milwaukee Art Museum Through Oct. 6
“Fusion: Contemporary Enamels from RAM’s Collection” and “From Nature: Contemporary Artists and Organic Materials” Racine Art Museum Through Oct. 6
RAM has two concurrent exhibits that explore the art of enameling and the use of organic materials in art. “Fusion: Contemporary Materials from RAM’s Collection” features contemporary jewelry and metal hollowware, incorporating a range of styles and techniques. “From Nature: Contemporary Artists and Organic Materials” focuses on organically based materials such as wood, paper and clay that maintains the originality of the materials while adding elements such as feathers, stones, shells, twigs and hair. (Harry Cherkinian)
“Jacqueline Surdell: Straight Laced” UW-Parkside (Foundation Gallery) Through Oct. 9
“Fragile Illusions: Fusing the Senses—Robin Jebavy” Alfons Gallery Through Oct. 13
“Fragile Illusions” exhibits Robin Jebavy’s interpretation of the fragile human condition in relation to the outside world. This personal yet innately human concept is translated into large-scale paintings and small-scale mixed media drawings inspired by intricate cathedral interiors, massive architectural supports and adornments, and stained-glass windows. Elaborate paintings and drawings focus on multiple images of glassware colored with liquid. Altogether, it’s a sensory experience of our human nature. (Genevieve Vahl)
“Postcards from Italy” UW-Parkside (Mathis Gallery) Through Oct. 23
“Vedale Hill, Nicolas Lampert, Dylan Miner, and Marcela Torres: Triple Double—Artists Using Sport to Influence Culture” UW-Parkside (Fine Arts Gallery) Through Oct. 25
2019 Wisconsin Avenue Exhibition Sculpture Milwaukee Through Oct. 27
“The Bonsai Exhibit at Lynden” Lynden Sculpture Garden Through Oct. 31
“RAM Artist Fellowship Exhibition 2019” Wustum Museum of Fine Arts Through Nov. 16
“Get the Picture: The Arthur P. Haas Wisconsin Photography Collection” Wustum Museum Through Nov. 16
Arthur P. Haas was a Racine native and an award-winning photographer who spent a lifetime visually chronicling life in Racine in his role as staff photographer for the Journal Times, the city’s daily paper. Haas also served as a mentor to younger photographers during his career. The 40 works shown here are just a sample of over 100 pieces within the museum’s collection focusing on the work of regional photographers. (Harry Cherkinian)
“Petite Posters: Jules Chéret and Le Courrier francais” Milwaukee Art Museum Through Nov. 17
“Word and Image” Haggerty Museum of Art Through Dec. 2
“Rosemary Ollison: Prosperity in a Million Scraps” Lynden Sculpture Garden Through Dec. 8
For the grounds and house on the Lynden Sculpture Garden, Milwaukee’s self-taught multi-media artist Rosemary Ollison created “an immersive space, spilling out of the gallery and into some of the more domestic spaces,” including place settings, runners and leather “food” for Lynden’s dining room. (Genevieve Vahl)
“Ben Shahn: For the Sake of a Single Verse” and “The Ariel Poems” Haggerty Museum of Art Through Dec. 15
The Haggerty is running two shows concurrently worthy of note: “Ben Shahn: For the Sake of a Single Verse” features 22 lithographs from the Haggerty collection created by artist Ben Shahn. The prints illustrate select passages from Rainer Maria Rilke’s only novel, The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge (1910). “The Ariel Poems” features 38 poems from the Faber and Faber publishing house as a collaboration between poets and artists. Each pamphlet was authored and illustrated by different individuals. The most significant of these is T. S. Eliot who joined the publisher as an editor in 1925 and remained there for the rest of his career. (Harry Cherkinian)
“Autofocus” John Michael Kohler Arts Center Through Jan. 12
“Laura Tawney: Cloud Labyrinth” John Michael Kohler Arts Center Through Jan. 19
Showing for the first time since 1999, “Cloud Labyrinth” documents Lenore Tawney’s relationship with weaving, even after the loom’s relevance had faded in modern society. The massive installation hangs thousands of hand-knotted threads from a ceiling piece, delicately mobilized by any shift in the air. (Genevieve Vahl)
“OBJECTS REDUX: Clay, Glass and Metal, 1960-1985” Racine Art Museum Through Jan. 26
“Laura Tawney: Even thread [has] speech” John Michael Kohler Arts Center Through Feb. 2
“Delight, Inspire, Educate: The Allis Collection as Catalyst” Charles Allis Museum Through April 12
The museum has an ongoing exhibit featuring paintings and sculptures, decorative arts objects and print materials that highlight the art collection, as well as objects in the Foyer Gallery that look at how collections are put together today. The Milwaukee Women’s Art Gallery is slated to open in 2020 and will get its start in the museum’s South Gallery, showcasing work by local non-binary and women artists in an effort to archive and preserve their stories. (Harry Cherkinian)
“Dr. Charles Smith: Aurora” John Michael Kohler Arts Center Through May 17
“Beauty Surplus: Serra Victoria Bothwell Fels” John Michael Kohler Arts Center Through May 24
“Sum Total 2019” (Faculty Exhibition) UWM Peck School of the Arts Sept. 4-21
“Interrupted Underpinning” Carthage College H. F. Johnson Gallery of Art Sept. 4-Oct. 18
“Jason Carter Photography Exhibit” Inspiration Studios Sept. 6-29
“Magnificent Machines of Milwaukee” Grohmann Museum Sept. 6-Dec. 29
Milwaukee was once known as “the machine shop of the world”—an industrial hub that produced much more than beer. “Magnificent Machines of Milwaukee” explores the innovation that occurred here in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The exhibit will include photographs and artifacts of the Cream City’s industrial creativity, including motorcycles, typewriters, thermostats, cameras and outboard motors. With “Magnificent Machines,” the Grohmann lives up to its reputation as the world’s great museum of industrial art and design. (David Luhrssen)
“Building A Milwaukee Icon: Harley-Davidson’s Juneau Avenue Factory” Harley-Davidson Museum Opens Sept. 6
According to a press release, this new exhibit provides a snapshot of Harley-Davidson from 1910-1920. A recently discovered cache of architectural drawings, including archival photographs and sketches of the original Juneau Avenue facility, demonstrates the whirlwind pace of the company’s growth as the factory expanded from producing just over 1,000 motorcycles in 1909 to 27,000 motorcycles in 1920. Today the building serves as the company’s headquarters and as an active tie to Milwaukee’s industrial heritage. (John Schneider)
“Portrait of Milwaukee” Milwaukee Art Museum Sept. 6-March 1
“James Benning and Sharon Lockhart” Milwaukee Art Museum Sept. 6-March 1
“Masters of Catalonia, Central and South America” Latino Arts with David Barnett Gallery Sept. 13-Oct. 11
“Woven Images” (Student Exhibition) UWM Peck School of the Arts Sept. 13-Oct. 31
Donna Lexa Oconomowoc Arts Center Sept. 13-Nov. 4
“A Painter’s Photographs of India” The Warehouse Sept. 13-Dec. 13
Milwaukee painter and printmaker Jan Serr has exhibited internationally for decades. This is her first solo show as a photographer. Her landscapes, portraits and still lifes of India were taken with a painter’s eye for color and composition. Serr founded The Warehouse at 1635 W. St. Paul Ave with her husband John Shannon. They’ve presented wonderful works by Milwaukee visual and performing artists and from their own collection and now, excitingly, from Serr’s own hand. (John Schneider)
“Ephemeral and Eternal: The Archive of Lenore Tawney” John Michael Kohler Arts Center Sept. 15-Feb. 29
“10 Wisconsin Sculptors: Not Just a Boy’s Club” UWM Union Art Gallery Sept. 20-Oct. 11
“Society of Photographic Editors Juried Exhibition” Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design Sept. 20-Oct. 27
“OBJECTS REDUX: 50 Years After OBJECTS: USA Defined American Craft” Racine Art Museum Sept. 21-Jan. 5
“Inescapable: The Life and Legacy of Harry Houdini” Jewish Museum Milwaukee Sept. 27-Jan. 5
Born Erik Weisz, Harry Houdini (1874-1926) grew up in Appleton. The rabbi’s son became the world’s greatest illusionist and escape artist. He freed himself from handcuffs, locked trunks—even a strait jacket under water. No cell could hold him for long. Curated by magician David London, “Inescapable” explores the magic, the technology and the marketing that turned Houdini into one of the most publicized figures of his era. (David Luhrssen)
“Tom Uttech: Into the Woods” Museum of Wisconsin Art Sept. 28-Jan. 12
This autumn, painter and Wisconsin native Tom Uttech will be featured in his first full-career retrospective at the Museum of Wisconsin Art. Often cited as one of the top landscape painters in the United States, Uttech’s work celebrates the beautiful forests, lakes, and creatures of our state, Northern Minnesota, and Canada. The retrospective will include never-been-shown early works, as well as Uttech’s later career large-scale migration paintings. (Susan Harpt Grimes)
October 2019
“Heidi Hallett, John Hallett, Anne Raskopf: Studies of Light and Form” Oconomowoc Arts Center Oct. 3-Nov. 25
“Landfall Press: Five Decades of Printmaking” Milwaukee Art Museum Oct. 4-Feb. 9
“Chains of Events: Tyanna Buie” Woodland Pattern Oct. 5-Nov. 24
“In Poetry and Silence: The Work and Studio of Lenore Tawney” John Michael Kohler Arts Center Oct. 6-Mar. 7
Covered Bridge Art Studio Tour Cedarburg Artists Guild Oct. 11-13
“Kristin Bartel: Landscapes” UW-Parkside (Foundation Gallery) Oct. 15-Nov. 14
“Photographic Reflections: Documenting Community” UWM Union Art Gallery Oct. 17-Nov. 8
“27th Annual Día de los Muertos Exhibition” Walkers Point Center for the Arts Oct. 18-Nov. 16
The 27th annual “Día De Los Muertos” exhibit will include colorful ofrendas, or colorful displays of flowers, candles, sugar skulls and more that pay tribute to loved ones who have passed away. The exhibition will also feature sculpture and 2-D work related to the holiday as well. “Not only do we celebrate the lives of the dead, Día also is a time to reflect on the precious lives that are still with us. After all, death is a part of the cycle of life, as is living,” the WPCA website says. (Evan Casey)
“In This Body of Mine” Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design Oct. 18-Dec. 7
Critiquing contemporary social constructs, the group exhibit by Strange Fire Collective seeks to challenge the status quo. “In This Body of Mine” features art from underrepresented groups, including women, people of color, queer and transgender artists. A multimedia exhibit features works from 14 artists. The Strange Fire Collective will be at MIAD at 6 p.m. on Oct. 25 for a public talk. (Genevieve Vahl)
“OBJECTS REDUX: Small Scale Studio Crafts of the 1950s and 1960s” Racine Art Museum Oct. 20-Feb. 2
“Día de los Muertos Ofrendas” Latino Arts Oct. 23-Nov. 22
“The Women of Carthage Alumni Exhibition” Carthage College H. F. Johnson Gallery of Art Oct. 30-Dec. 14
November 2019
“Kevin Miyasaki: Kuroshio” UW-Parkside (Fine Arts Gallery) Nov. 5-Jan. 24
“Esther Pearl Watson: Dream Believer” UW-Parkside (Fine Arts Gallery) Nov. 5-Jan. 24
“Bloomin’ Holidays” Museum of Wisconsin Art Nov. 8-10
“Story & Craft—A Magic: The Gathering Exhibition” Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design Nov. 11-Jan. 11
“Crossing Over” UWM Union Art Gallery (Student Exhibition) Nov. 15-Dec. 12
The Union Art Gallery opens its space to UWM Peck School of the Arts undergraduate students. The works on display, by students receiving scholarships this academic year, span media, genres and topics. “Crossing Over” offers insights into the day-to-day doings of students and their socialization to the world through art. (Genevieve Vahl)
“A Modern Vision: European Masterworks from The Phillips Collection” Milwaukee Art Museum Nov. 15-March 22
The Phillips collection was the first museum of modern art founded in the United States. With over 3,000 works of American and European impressionist and modernist works, MAM will highlight 50 masterworks by renowned artists of the European modernist movement, including Edouard Manet, Gustave Caillebotte, Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, Edgar Degas, Pierre Bonnard, Wassily Kandinsky, Amedeo Modigliani and Pablo Picasso. (Harry Cherkinian)
Deanna Antony: What Remains” UW-Parkside (Mathis Gallery) Nov. 20-Dec. 17
“D.K. Palachek, Lynn Rix, Pam Ruschman, Wendie Thompson: The Gift of White” Oconomowoc Arts Center Nov. 27-Jan. 6
December 2019
“To Sight’s Limit” Woodland Pattern Dec. 5-Jan. 26
According to Woodland Pattern’s art director Maria Sanvick, this is “a group exhibition of work by poets who extend their art with complementary or parallel photographic practices. Included are selections from daybooks, formal interventions, landscapes, abstractions, and depictions of rural life, all of which speak to poetry’s fascinating relationship to observation and memory.” The exhibit features photography by Suzanne Doppelt, Joshua Edwards, Jibade-Khalil Huffman, Kate Ingold, Eileen Myles, Tom Pickard, Anthony Robinson and Andrew Zawacki. (John Schneider)
“Brianna L. Hernandez Baurichter: Reconstructing Reality” Latino Arts Dec. 6-Feb. 21
January 2020
“Pewaukee Area Arts Council: Nostalgia” Oconomowoc Arts Center Jan. 10-March 2
“Ossuary: A Project by Laurie Beth Clark” Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design Jan. 13-March 7
“The Girl in the Diary: Searching for Rywka from the Lodz Ghetto” Jewish Museum Milwaukee Jan. 24-May 17
“2020 Wisconsin Artists Biennial” Museum of Wisconsin Art Jan. 25-March 29
“Dual Documentary Exhibit” Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design Jan. 27-May 13
Artists Now: Portia Cobb (Lecture) UWM Peck School of the Arts Jan. 29