MAM’s Thoroughly Modern Makeover

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The Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM) reopens on Nov. 24 with new galleries, exhibition spaces and a reinstallation of the permanent collection that goes far beyond adding some additional square footage. The curatorial staff has designed a place that often eschews the traditional trot through the chronological pages of art history. Works are invigorated by their ability to play off striking visual and thematic juxtapositions. It is like the rules have been relaxed and there is far more fun in the museum playhouse. 

A case in point is one gallery where sculptures by Rachel Whiteread are joined by pieces by Kehinde Wiley. Both are contemporary artists, but what works so well are varieties of interpretations that arise. Whiteread’s work frames presence and transformation, materialized in the curtain of chalky white rocks suspended in her monumental Edge of England. Wiley’s painting, St. Dionysus, shows a youthful black man in a blue puffy coat, posed in front of and behind a skein of decorative pattern, characteristic of Wiley’s insertions of contemporary urban culture into historically influenced painting. Each artist addresses changes in perception, though they take routes that are geologically and socially paved, respectively.

A new dedication to various artistic forms is apparent in many other galleries. The Herzfeld Center for Photography and Media Arts provides a home for digital, light-based and other types of contemporary practices. The galleries of folk and self-taught art are greatly expanded, allowing for more display of work originating outside of traditional realms. The reinstallation of the permanent collection of historical work is also commendable, with distinctive atmospheres created through dramatic lighting, varied wall color and even unique surface textures. More opportunities for touring exhibitions are possible with the Bradley Family Gallery, which opens with “Sam Francis: Master Printmaker.