Leaders of the Museum of Wisconsin Art (MWA) eagerly anticipate a new building in 2012. The museum also raised its profile recently with the gallery space of MWA on the Lake (1800 N. Prospect Ave.).
MWA on the Lake marks a collaborative effort between the museum and St. John's on the Lake, which now serves as a satellite location on Milwaukee's culturally rich East Side. MWA Assistant Director Graeme Reid says the museum considers the space at St. John's on the Lake a perfect blend of "who we are and what we do."
The lakeside gallery will host four shows a year, coinciding with Milwaukee's quarterly Gallery Night. In January, drawings by American-born German artist Carl von Marr (1858-1936) will be featured, including several he completed as a teenager. In the future, the gallery will display works by contemporary Wisconsin artists.
At the museum's space in West Bend, a January exhibition will highlight a selection from hundreds of paintings discovered in the basement of a Milwaukee home. The works, created by self-taught artist Bernard Gilardi, will be shown in the exhibit "Bernard Gilardi: Into the Light." Portrait Society Gallery owner Debra Brehmer co-curated the exhibition, which will include more than 35 paintings by an artist whose prodigious collection and talent remained hidden during his lifetime. As Reid explains, the museum is shining a light on a man "who had a personal passion for painting, and never showed it for 40 years."
In the exhibition "All Purpose," in MWA's One From Wisconsin Gallery, Alison Stehlik's sculptural paintings explore consumer branding.
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Both exhibitions open Jan. 11. The museum offers a Sneak Peek on Friday, Jan. 13, at 10:30 a.m. and hosts an opening reception with a gallery talk by Brehmer on Sunday, Jan. 22, 1:30-4:30 p.m.
Art Happenings
KE Craft Fair
Kunzelmann-Esser Lofts
710 W. Historic Mitchell St.
Shoppers can select from unique handmade gifts created by local artists while enjoying a fashion show and performance art by Danceworks and Wild Space Dance Company. The fair takes place 6-10 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9, and 1-5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10.
"Watercolor Wisconsin"
Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts
2519 Northwestern Ave., Racine
"Watercolor Wisconsin," an annual juried event, features more than 75 artists presenting a contemporary take on watercolors. The popular exhibition opens Sunday, Dec. 11, with a formal reception and awards presentation from 2-4 p.m.
