Piece from “The World According to Federico Uribe” opening Saturday, June 2, 2018 at Wausau’s Woodson Art Museum.
Upcoming in the greater Milwaukee area’s visual art scene are “The World According to Federico Uribe” opening June 2 at Wausau’s Woodson Art Museum, “Crossing the Threshold” opening June 3 at the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center, and “Honoring Karen Johnson Boyd: Collecting In-Depth at Home and at RAM” (opened May 27) at the Racine Art Museum.
"The World According to Federico Uribe" Woodson Art Museum (Wausau) 700 N 12th St, Wausau
Colombian-born, Miami-based artist Federico Uribe is fêted for his use of atypical, yet appropriate, artistic materials. Uribe, for instance, shapes thousands of spent bullet casings into stunningly life-like animal trophies and repurposes everyday detritus such as screws into elaborate human forms. Wausau’s Woodson Art Museum has commissioned Uribe to create a site-specific, large-scale, walk-in environment, “The World According to Federico Uribe,” which opens to the public on Saturday, June 2.
Uribe’s childhood in war-torn Bogotá, Colombia, has had a lasting influence on his approach. “I have the hope,” says Uribe, “that people who relate to my sculptures and live with them, will see the love I put into them. I want people to feel that I do this with a lot of careful attention and the purpose of beauty. I give my life to my work and I want people to see it.” While his work is informed by art history and a distinctive aesthetic vision, Uribe is clear about his fundamental aim: “I’m more interested in making people smile, rather than telling them what to think.” Uribe will lead a gallery walk and speak about his work from 1-2 p.m. on opening day, Saturday, June 2.
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
“Crossing the Threshold” Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center 6255 N. Santa Monica Blvd.
For the past six years, the Milwaukee Jewish Artists’ Laboratory has selected a handful of artists and a theme ripe for Jewish thought and creativity. The current crop of artists has been reflecting on “Crossing the Threshold,” including, in the words of Jody Hirsh, JCC Director of Judaic Education, questions such as “What are thresholds that Jews have crossed throughout the centuries? How is this concept relevant to us today?” The artists’ answers will be unveiled at 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 3.
“Honoring Karen Johnson Boyd: Collecting In-Depth at Home and at RAM” Racine Art Museum 441 Main St.
Karen Johnson Boyd (1924-2016) was a major collector of contemporary American craft and, having donated nearly 1,700 works to the Racine Art Museum, helped create RAM’s reputation as the premier institution for such work. The museum is celebrating Boyd’s patronage with an exhibition drawn entirely from her gifts to RAM. “Honoring Karen Johnson Boyd” highlights fiber art, work from Japan, work from Perimeter Gallery (which Boyd founded in Chicago in 1982) and functional ceramics. The exhibition is on display through Dec. 30.
