Gallery Night just keeps getting bigger and better. From nationally known artists to local favorites, the creative seed of Gallery Night has blown from the Eastside to Bay View and Brewer's Hill to Downtown.
But with so many shows, galleries and parties, you'll have to make some tough choices and carefully construct a list of places to hit on Friday night and others then again on Saturday. To help ease the decision making, here are 10 shows not to be missed.
Combining local talent with renowned international artistry, these galleries are mixing it up and re-introducing Milwaukee to the ever changing art world.
Dean Jensen Gallery
759 N. Water St., 414-278-7100
www.deanjensengallery.com
Susana Raab, formerly of The New York Times and currently residing in Washington D.C., has spent years specializing in documentarian, travel and portrait photographer. Her collection, "Rank Strangers: Photographs by Susana Raab" comes to the Dean Jensen gallery revealing her experiences dropping into small town America as a travelling stranger. The photographer explains she had become burnt out on politics and left her positions with both The New York Times and Washington Post to re-discover the work she loves. This is a nationally honored exhibit not to be missed. The exhibit opens Gallery Night and runs through Aug. 29.
DeLind Gallery of Fine Art
450 E. Mason St., 414-271-8525
Just a couple weeks after Milwaukee's "Bastille Days," we get another taste of something French. "Everything French" explores French painting, drawing and antique posers through the impressionist paintings of Japanese artist Kazuki Yoshioka and the Parisian scenery of American artist Chuck Weber.
Haggerty Museum of Art
530 N. 12th St., (414) 288-7290
www.marquette.edu/haggerty
"Jump Cut Pop" combines the work of six artists: Eduardo Paolozzi, Tadanori Yokoo and Jane Hammond from the museum's permenant collection as well as visiting works from Cliff Evans, Nobu Fukui, and Martha Rosler. The included works span from the mid 1960s to 2008 as artists confront contemporary social, political, and historical issues utilizing poster design, printmaking, painting, photography, collage and video. Juxtaposing pop-culture images with seemingly unrelated images or photos, artists attempt to remove the image's inherent meaning by showing them in close proximity to other completely unrelated images. The exhibition runs through October 4 and opens July 22 with a talk by Martha Rosler.
Katie Gingrass Gallery
241 N. Broadway St., (414) 289-0855
www.gingrassgallery.com
The Katie Gingrass Gallery is a Gallery Night veteran, opening in the Third Ward in 1980. This season, view "Abstract Perspectives," an exhibit of individual interpretations of natural patterns, textures and forms recreated in a variety of media including furniture, photography, oil painting and sculpture. Featured artists include Trenton Baylor, John Mominee, David Schaefer, Suzanne Donazette, Leslie Emery, Rusty Wolfe, Jeffrey Kenney, Twisp River Glass and Steve Immerman.
Milwaukee Insitute of Art & Design (MIAD)
273 E. Erie St.,(414) 847-3200
www.miad.edu
Always on the presenting Milwaukee with student work and esteemed exhibits, MIAD takes a look at the culture of the kitchen in this season's Gallery Night show, "The Great American Kitchen." Using the kitchen as a reflection of societal attitudes towards women over time, "The Great American Kitchen" displays a multitude of products and other artifacts in period kitchen environments. While you're there, check out MIAD's 2009 Juried Senior Exhibition.
Peltz Gallery
1119 E. Knapp St., (414) 223-4278
www.artnet.com/gallery/851/peltz-gallery.html
Celebrate the Petlz Gallery's 20th anniversary Friday night with a new show. The annually shown "Remarkable Women Show" illuminates contemporary prints from more than 40 femal artists. This year's participants include Judy Chicago, Lesley Dill, Squeak Carnwath, Kara Walker and Judy Pfaff among others. Check out the gallery Friday night for an opening and reception from 6- 9:30 p.m. or stop in Saturday for French breakfast from 11 a.m.- 1 p.m. followed by artist's panel "Old Friends and New" from 1-2:30 p.m.
Walker's Point Center for the Arts
911 W. National Ave., (414) 672-2787
www.wpca-milwaukee.org
Walker's Point Center for the Arts fresh show, "Decorative Directive," combines the interests of Jennifer Harris, a metal-smith and industrial designer, and Regan Golden, a visual artist trained in drawing and painting. Their interest and perspective converge where art and design, the domestic and the public, the hand-made and the industrial, the orderly and the chaotic intersect. In the center's large space, both artists to explore how different notions of femininity manifest themselves in our material culture. Working with labor-intensive processes traditionally associated with feminine craft work, such as cutting, pinning and sewing, both artists create highly elaborate and ornamental works.
Intercontinental Milwaukee
139 E. Kilbourn Ave., (414)276-8686
www.intercontinentalmilwaukee.com
Several artists are on-hand to talk with visitors during Gallery Night events but Jason Fricke at the Intercontinental is taking it a step further. Known for a minimalist style inspired by dances and musicians, Frick will be drawing live Friday night from 6-8 p.m. Located in Gallerie M in the Intercontinental Hotel, this is a one night show not to be missed. s capturing the vitality and essence of the subject during their performances. The artist will be drawing live during Gallery Night from 6-8 p.m.
it Gallery
1326 N. Jackson St., (414)271-1333
www.itgallerymilwaukee.com
Gallery Night proudly focuses on local artists but they don't lose out on nationally and internationally acclaimed works. It Gallery features works from three of the most acclaimed artists of Malaysia: Yusof Ghani, Khalil Ibrahim and Raja Azhar Idris. Evoking elements of strength, unity and harmony, these three artists use oils, watercolors, etchings and ink.
CR Davidson Art
207 E. Buffalo St., #210, (414) 220-9389
www.crdavidsonart.com
This gallery went just a county away to find incredible artistry. Creating "From the Land of OZ- A Journey to the Historic Third Ward," this show looks at artworks created by Ozaukee County artists in the form of painting, drawing, photography and sculpture. The show runs through the end of August with separate July and August showings. July's artists include Wallis Coffman, Robin M. Fleming, Susan Hale and Sandra Pape. Go back in August for works by Bob Hagan, Kitty Sturrock, Helen Waldschmidt and Kyle Zubatsky.
OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Maureen Post grew up in Wauwatosa. A lover of international and urban culture, Maureen received a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
After living on the east side of Madison for several years, Maureen returned to Milwaukee in 2006.
After a brief stint of travel, Maureen joined OnMilwaukee.com as the city’s oldest intern and has been hooked ever since. Combining her three key infatuations, Milwaukee’s great music, incredible food and inspiring art (and yes, in that order), Maureen’s job just about fits her perfectly.
Residing in Bay View, Maureen vehemently believes the city can become fresh and new with a simple move across town.
