Art Gaze

Door County takes pride in its artists

Written by Mike Muckian,
Contributing writer
May 31, 2013

For some artists, it’s the rustic solitude that has drawn them to Door County. For others, it’s the vibrant tourist trade that keeps them in business.

For out artist Ed Fenendael, it’s both – along with a lifelong love of the scenery.

Japanese architect Toyo Ito wins Pritzker Prize

Written by The Associated Press Mar 18, 2013

Japanese architect Toyo Ito, whose buildings have been praised for their fluid beauty and balance between the physical and virtual world, has won the 2013 Pritzker Architecture Prize, the prize’s jury announced earlier this week.

The 71-year-old architect joins such masters as Frank Gehry, I.M. Pei, Tadao Ando, Renzo Piano and Wang Su in receiving the honor that’s been called architecture’s Nobel Prize. Ito, the sixth Japanese architect to receive the prize, was recognized for the libraries, houses, theaters, offices and other buildings he has designed in Japan and beyond.

An exhibit at the Milwaukee Art Museum will look at the evolution of color photography in the 20th century.

It will explore the historical developments from 1907 to 1981 that led to color photography becoming the norm in popular culture and fine art.

Masters of the canvas
Kenwood House collection visits Milwaukee Art Museum

Written by Kat Murrell,
Contributing writer
Nov 2, 2012
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“Princess Henrietta of Lorraine Attended by a Page,” oil on canvas, by Anthony van Dyke. -PHOTO:Courtesy American Federation of Arts

The Milwaukee Art Museum is the second stop for a tour of 48 paintings from the historic Kenwood House outside of London. While the building, a masterpiece of neoclassical elegance, undergoes restoration, the art is taking a working vacation. It is an exquisitely charming guest in Milwaukee. 

Van Gogh Museum reopens with display on his craft

Written by The Associated Press May 4, 2013

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has reopened after a seven-month renovation, kicking off with “Van Gogh At Work,” an exhibition that shows the famously tortured artist’s working methods right down to his paints, brushes and other tools.

Appropriately, the final painting curators hung this week was a self-portrait in which Vincent Van Gogh painted himself behind a canvas, brushes and palette in hand. Nearby, on loan from the Musee d’Orsay in Paris, are an actual palette and paints that Van Gogh used.

Colorama
MAM exposes the evolution of color photography

Written by Peggy Sue Dunigan Mar 7, 2013

In William Eggleston’s photograph “Greenwood, Mississippi, 1973,” white electric cords travel to a dismal power source and a lone light bulb hangs from the ceiling – a decadent red ceiling.

'Real Pirates' offers insight into the swashbuckling life

Written by Mike Muckian,
Contributing writer
Jan 14, 2013

Who among us, at one time or another, hasn’t wanted to be a pirate – if only for the fashion statement?

Street to salon
Posters of Paris come alive in museums and homes

Written by Kat Murrell,
Contributing writer
Jul 27, 2012

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s posters captured the personalities of Parisian nightlife, as seen in his poster “Ambassadeurs:Aristide Bruant.”

Celebrities, dance halls, Champagne and bicycles. Those are some of the subjects of “Posters of Paris: Toulouse-Lautrec & His Contemporaries,” the marquee exhibition on view this summer at the Milwaukee Art Museum. These large works on paper from the late 19th and early 20th centuries were created more for commercial interests than as art for art’s sake.

Madison to host neon, light art show

Written by AP Apr 18, 2013

University of Wisconsin artists are joining artists from across the nation for an art exhibition on light in Madison.

The 2013 Biennial Neon and Light Exhibition will take place Friday and Saturday and is lit only by the art itself.

The Art Institute of Chicago has opened a major exhibition of works by Pablo Picasso.

The museum is celebrating the Spanish artist and his relationship with the city. “Picasso and Chicago” opened Feb. 20 and features 250 works.

Joe Pabst and MAM refine the art of AIDS awareness

Written by Debra Brehmer,
Contributing writer
Dec 3, 2012

Focusing attention on serious issues is a challenge in a culture that seems intent on distracting people from them.

Michels' art reflects a life lived large

Written by Kat Murrell,
Contributing writer
Jun 16, 2012

On view: “Lon Michels: Life Lived Large” continues through June 30 at Tory Folliard Gallery, 233 N. Milwaukee St., Milwaukee.

Lon Michels has a penchant for patterns and vivacious decoration – whether it’s on the surface of a canvas, on a chair in the shape of a high-heeled platform shoe, a fur coat, or a mounted deer head. “Life Lived Large,” the current exhibition of Michels’ work at Tory Folliard Gallery, gathers together all these disparate media.