Before 2016 ends, make time to see these exhibits
As the year winds to a close, so follow exhibitions of painting, drawing and video. Temperatures are dropping, making time spent inside gazing at inspiring works of art even more appealing. Here’s some of the exhibitions to see before the year ends.
Wisconsin Triennial
The Wisconsin Triennial at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art is a once-every-three-year showcase of art in the state. Onehundred works from 34 individual artists and three pairs of collaborators comprise the exhibit. “(The Triennial) exposes the raw vitality of what’s taking place in the state,” said museum director Stephen Fleischman. “It’s a way of coming into the museum and having a good sense of what’s going on in your own backyard.” The cross-disciplinary show explores themes of social identity, environmental destruction and play. This statewide survey closes Jan. 8, 2017. Admission to the museum is free. Info: mmoca.org.
Gendron Jensen: Series on Resurrection in Nature
When Gendron Jensen lived at a monastery just south of Milwaukee 50 years ago, he drew his “Series on Resurrection in Nature”: 16 pencil and paper drawings that magnify nature’s smallest wonders to monumental proportions. The drawings are on display through Dec. 23 at the Haggerty Museum of Art on Marquette University’s campus. Jensen says he finds purpose in documenting the grandeur of tiny objects like a walnut or dragonfly wing. “I wanted to capture something of its existence that was so ephemeral — fleeting,” he said. Admission to the museum is free. Info: marquette .edu/haggerty.
Alice’s Tea Party and Other Musings of a Little Colored Girl
Della Wells crafted 150 handpainted fabric dolls for this roomsized exhibition at Portrait Society Gallery in the Third Ward. The dolls, arranged to be engaged in a tea party, range in size from 6 inches to 5 feet tall. Wells dedicated the project to her mother, a schizophrenic, who gave the artist her first doll (blonde with blue eyes). “Sometimes I think of my mother as ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and would have loved to have had a tea party with her if I could have — if she could have been normal. But she wasn’t,” she said. Wells was named 2016 Artist of the Year by the City of Milwaukee. The work will be on view through Dec. 23. Info:
Sensory Overload: Clothing and the Body
Contemplate the message your clothing sends at “Sensory Overload: Clothing and the Body,” on display through Jan. 1 at the Racine Art Museum. “Clothing can be a metaphor for a lot of other thoughts,” said curator Lena Vigna. “(The artists are) trying to help people understand the relationship between clothing and the body — what it might feel like to wear it but also what it would mean when you aren’t the one wearing it, but you are the one perceiving it.” The avantgarde fashions make a statement about how clothing communicates. The exhibition was named to the Smithsonian.com seasonal list of “must-sees.” Info: www.ramart.org.
David Lenz: People on the Periphery
“David Lenz: People on the Periphery” is a retrospective of the hyper-realistic painter’s work at the Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend. A University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee graduate who lives in Shorewood, Lenz paints the unpowerful – elderly farmers, inner-city African-American children, people with cognitive disabilities. The show spans his career from 1990 to 2016 featuring some rarely seen works, with a few making their public debut. The paintings are on display through Jan. 15. Info: wisconsinart.org.
Rineke Dijkstra: Rehearsals
“Rineke Dijkstra: Rehearosals” and “The Lives of Others: Portraits from the Photography Collection” pair Dijkstra’s art with photographs from the Milwaukee Art Museum collection. Dijkstra’s two video installations document the process and preparation of young girls in Russia training for dance performances. Portraits from the museum’s photography collection and Dijkstra’s striking 11-part series “Almerisa” that follows a young Bosnian refugee as she grows into a woman. The exhibit is on view through Jan. 1. Info: mam.org.
CultureJam MKE — Revolution
“Revolution,” the fifth installment in the CultureJam MKE series at Redline Gallery, responds to the political climate, addressing issues of the environment, sexism and racism. After selecting more than 30 artists to feature in the show, Jeff Redmond turned them loose with the revolution theme, calling it a “chaotic formula for success.” It’s the first time a CultureJam MKE show is more than just a one-night event. The exhibition at Redline Gallery will be on view through Dec. 17. Info: redline artmke.org.
(Re)Housing the American Dream
Reflect on democratic ideals at Kirsten Leenaars’ “(Re) Housing the American Dream ” at the Haggerty Museum. Leenaars’ work is the product of months spent studying housing issues in Milwaukee and hosting a three-week summer camp with 12-year-olds from two schools on the near west side. “Twelve is a pretty remarkable age,” Leenaars said. “They are both still kids with openness but also get larger things in life and can talk with them about more complex ideas.” A three-channel video installation and related works will be shown through Dec. 23. Admission is free. Info: mar quette.edu/haggerty.