Each week the three events discussed in the Art Preview column in the Shepherd's print edition are winnowed from a more comprehensive list of that week's happenings. This list occasionally consists of upwards of ten events. The decision concerning which events make the cut is more of an art than a science. For example, name-brand institutions are often preempted by out-of-the-way, mom and pop galleries. Prolific institutions are made to sit out a week or two to make space for the less profuse.
In short, many notable events are passed over each week. Here are a handful of this week's worthy contenders who would be more than happy to help you spend a few of your summer hours.
The Racine Art Museum's Community Art Exhibition opens its doors on June 5. This year's theme is "Telling Tales," which invites the artist to share a story by way of a medium other than language. From 6-8 p.m. on opening night there will be a reception and, at 6:30, the Curator's Choice Award Ceremony. "Telling Tales" is on display until August 16.
On June 6, Wauwatosa's Gallery 2622 opens an exhibition of paintings by local, self-taught painter Benjamin Fairly. Fairly favors portraiture but does so with a healthy disregard for strict representation. Instead, he injects his canvasses with doses of grotesquerie and abstraction.
An earlier post here at MKEart was devoted to the John Michael Kohler Art Center's long-standing Arts/Industry program. To celebrate its fortieth anniversary, the JMKAC is throwing an Anniversary Bash on June 6 from 7-10 p.m . Program alumni will be present, live music from MKE chamber-rock trio, Nineteen Thirteen, will be heard, and celebrated sculptor Robert Gober will give a featured speech. In case you feel obligated not to come empty handed, take note: the traditional fortieth anniversary gift is ruby.
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Door County's Hardy Gallery is Wisconsin's favorite dockside gallery. In fact - to my knowledge - it is Wisconsin's only dockside gallery. With an opening reception on June 6 at 5:30 p.m., the Hardy unveils its 52nd annual juried exhibition. So that the artists' aim is not lost in translation, each work is accompanied by a statement written by the artist. The exhibition is on display until July 13.