Courtesy of Colleen Kassner
Colleen Kassner’s life story has the narrative arc of a Hollywood film of hardship and redemption. It begins when the stresses and sorrows of divorce are followed by the ravages of bipolar disorder. After a period of hospitalization, as a 41-year-old single mother living on disability, our protagonist enrolls as a college freshman studying social welfare. Kassner becomes a regular at Café Mélange’s “Poet’s Monday,” where she meets her future husband. Alcohol is a temptation and stumbling block, but eventually she quits drinking and takes up painting in earnest, finding that it has a mood-stabilizing effect. Interest grows and exhibitions accumulate. Cue the lights and there’s not a dry eye in the house.
“The Women behind the Paint: Colleen Kassner and Friends” documents Kassner’s recovery with 35 works, which range from her earliest efforts to seven of her newest works. The exhibition also includes works by other artists from the Grand Avenue Club, which tirelessly advocates for adults who have experienced mental illness.
“The Women behind the Paint” opens in the GAC’s Gallery Grand (210 E. Michigan St.) on March 6 with a reception from 5-8 p.m., featuring an artist and curator’s talk at 6:15 p.m. The show is on display until May 1.
“A Towering Achievement: Riverwest Radio Art Auction Fundraiser”
Polish Falcon
801 E. Center St.
Riverwest Radio is becoming a radio station proper. For the past three years, the non-profit platform for community voices has been broadcasting approximately 45 shows a week over the Internet. Now, the FCC has awarded RWR a permit to construct an FM station. On Sunday, March 8, from 5:30-11 p.m., there will be a Mardi Gras-themed fundraiser replete with an art auction of works by prominent local and regional artists, live music, food and drinks. A $5 donation at the door helps goes towards the costly task of making RWR FM-ready.
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“Illuminating the Word: The Saint John’s Bible”
The Chazen Museum of Art
750 University Ave.
It took a team of calligraphers more than 15 years to handwrite the Saint John’s Bible on 1,150 pages of calfskin vellum. As an indirect answer to the question “Why?,” three calligraphers will demonstrate the artistic delights, technical demands and spiritual significance of their practice. On March 7 and 8, from noon until 3 p.m., Wisconsin’s own Linda P. Hancock will discuss her English language graphic art. Torah scribe Rabbi Kevin Hale will demonstrate the ancient art of Hebrew calligraphy on Wednesday, March 11 from 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 1:30-4:30 p.m. On Thursday, March 12, from 1-5 p.m., the foremost practitioner of Arabic calligraphy in the U.S., Mohamed Zakariya, will show off his mastery of the Islamic art.
