Northwestern Mutual has acquired New York-based artist Roxy Paine’s “Cleft,” from the “Dendroids” series, for its permanent collection.
The 37-foot-tall stainless steel structure was installed in the Northwestern Mutual Gardens, east of the tower, as part of Sculpture Milwaukee in 2019. It will be located to a new permanent site in the gardens this year.
“Sculpture Milwaukee shares Northwestern Mutual’s belief that we can build stronger communities by leveraging the power of art to create connections and inspire imagination,” said Steve Radke, president of the Northwestern Mutual Foundation.
“Milwaukee is home to a thriving arts environment, and bringing these unique pieces to our city will create more opportunities to spark meaningful conversations within the community.”
Northwestern Mutual’s grounds also hosts Maren Hassinger’s “Pyramid” as part of the 2022 Sculpture Milwaukee exhibit. It will be assembled on site by the artist and a group of UWM Peck School of the Arts students.
The work will be created with sustainable materials sourced locally in partnership with Great Lakes Community Conservation Corps, which uses Great Lakes natural resources to help train and educate underserved youth, close the opportunity gap, as well as improve water quality and build habitats.
“Maren Hassinger’s new sculpture is the perfect symbol of the intersection of art, community, and nature as it was installed and fabricated with the help of our community partners at the Great Lakes Community Conservation Corps and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee,” said Sculpture Milwaukee board chairman Wayne Morgan.
“We look forward to welcoming the many employees and visitors to Northwestern Mutual’s campus to experience both works this summer and beyond.”
Northwestern Mutual has been presenting sponsor of Sculpture Milwaukee for five years.
“We are deeply grateful for the support of Northwestern Mutual, which has been our strongest partner since the inception of Sculpture Milwaukee,” “We are thrilled ‘Cleft’ will permanently remain on Northwestern Mutual’s campus for all who visit and live in downtown to enjoy.”
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
