‘Current Tendencies IV’ Presents Visual Artists in Visual Dialogue

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“Current Tendencies” is an ongoing series of exhibitions at Marquette University’s Haggerty Museum of Art that showcase the work of established and emerging regional artists. Instead of being a mere retrospective or debutante ball, “Current Tendencies” is more like a jam session for visual artists. Each installment asks the artists to engage in some sort of artistic dialogue in order to compose new site-specific works. “Current Tendencies III,” for instance, had artists select one work from the Haggerty’s permanent collection to incorporate into their own piece.

For “Current Tendencies IV: Topography Transformed,” the six artists are in conversation with Keith Haring’s 1983 “Construction Fence,” which was commissioned to confine the then-under-construction Haggerty Museum. The contributing artists are Derrick Buisch (Madison), bauenstudio (Marc Roehrle and Mo Zell, Milwaukee), Keith Nelson (Milwaukee), Shane McAdams (Cedarburg) and Joseph Mougel (Milwaukee). The media include painting, sculpture, photography and mixed-media installations. “Current Tendencies IV” opens June 18 and is on display until Aug. 30.

“Sculpture for the Urban Landscape”

Cedarburg Art Museum

W63 N675 Washington Ave.

“Sculpture for the Urban Landscape,” opening on June 17, features works by Wisconsin sculptors Nathan Hatch, Bruce Niemi and Teresa Lind. Although the works may be for an urban landscape, they are displayed in the comparatively bucolic outdoor setting of the Cedarburg Art Museum. Nevertheless, the sculptures have been wrought from stainless steel, steel plate and cast iron—materials without which the modern city would not have been possible. The exhibition also treats modern and metropolitan themes like the lyrical possibilities of metalwork, bio-mechanical life and the gendered qualities of building materials. There is an opening reception Saturday, June 20 from 1:30-4 p.m.