West Town, Wicker Park, Ukrainian Village, Kinzie Corridor, Humboldt Park

West Town

Wisconsin

IL • MI • IN

West Loop, Fulton Market, East Garfield Park

West Loop and West Side

Evanston, The North Shore, Northern, Western and Southern Suburbs

Suburbs

Old Town, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Roscoe Village, Bucktown, Wicker Park, Logan Square, Lincoln Square, Ravenswood, Uptown, Edgewater, Andersonville, Rogers Park

North Side

Michigan Avenue, Streeterville, The Gold Coast, The Loop, and South Loop

Michigan Avenue

Pilsen, Bridgeport, Chinatown, plus Hyde Park, Jackson Park/Dorchester, and Bronzeville

South Side

Superior and Franklin streets, West Chicago Ave, and down to Merchandise Mart and the River

River North

While some institutions limit collection holdings to one or two pieces per artist, RAM is often interested in representing a career through multiple examples. Those whose works are collected in depth are referred to as “archive artists.” While the number of pieces needed to achieve this status is medium-specific, these holdings might also include things like personal records, sketchbooks, or studies made in preparation for a larger work.From The Archives&nbsp;showcases eight Wisconsin-based artists with recently established archives at RAM—Jerrold Belland, Lisa Englander, Caren Heft, Alex Mandli, Michael Nitsch, Bill Reid, Susan M. Sorenson, and Marc Wollman—each of whom have long-standing and impactful connections to RAM and Wustum. They are former staff members and RAMA Board members, regular juried exhibition participants, Artist Fellowship Award recipients, and longtime supporters of the Museum. Featuring a mixture of existing collection holdings and recent acquisitions, this exhibition offers a glimpse into the careers of these eight artists who have helped make RAM what it is todayArtists in the ExhibitionJerrold Belland, Lisa Englander, Caren Heft, Alex Mandli, Michael Nitsch, Bill Reid, Susan M. Sorenson, and Marc Wollman

From the Archives: Recently Established Artist Archives at RAM

Tandem Press is pleased to host&nbsp;Pathways, a Master of Fine Arts Qualifier Exhibition by Alexandra Riesco, University of Wisconsin-Madison MFA Candidate and 2025-2026 Tandem Press Studio Curatorial Project Assistant. Inspired by her experiences living in several disparate environments, Alexandra Riesco creates records of place and movement through printed and handmade paper pieces. In images that oscillate between abstract and representational, microscopic and macroscopic, she studies the ground closely through a scientific lens, exploring the idea of home in a time of uncertainty and the integral connection between humans and the environment.Exhibition StatementCentering the ground as subject,&nbsp;Pathways&nbsp;chronicles my movement within and among distinct environments through collected images, impressions, and samples. This body of work considers ideas of home and displacement, connection and disconnection, the traces left on us by place, and humanity’s impact on the environment.&nbsp;The ground is the physical point of connection between the body and the environment; it is the source of food and resources, and the foundation for the idea of home. We speak of roots as origins and of earth as a final resting place. Yet, despite humanity’s integral connection to the land, the ground is often overlooked, seen as a backdrop rather than a subject worthy of attention. In&nbsp;Pathways, the ground confronts the viewer in various forms: through images and corresponding soil samples, through objects evoking the materiality of the ground and impressions of its varied surfaces. Referencing the visual language of the sciences, these works reorient the viewer to the ground, asking them to look closely and contemplate their own relationship with their surroundings.&nbsp;This exhibition is a record of how I strive to physically connect to my own surroundings. I echo the processes that sculpt the landscape through etching, while my monoprints document ephemeral accumulations of material on the ground. Grappling with the tension between scientific objectivity and the emotional implications of home and exile, my meditative acts of close observation, collection, and recording serve both as acts of intimacy and attempts to understand place. The material qualities of handmade paper provide the organic feel of a natural object while the moment of contact between surfaces in printmaking parallels the contact between our bodies and the ground. Throughout these ruminations on my homes, past and present, the growing threat of environmental degradation lingers below the surface.Artist BiographyAlexandra Riesco is an artist and printmaker from Miami, Florida. Her work is heavily influenced by the natural world and the dynamic processes that drive it. After completing a semester-long geology field program, she discovered the parallels between the forces that shape the planet and the slow, physical processes of printmaking. Her interest in the sciences and deep love for the outdoors feeds her practice, which incorporates drawing, printmaking, and papermaking to explore the bodily experience of the landscape, mapping and the geologic record, and the possibilities of a reciprocal rather than controlling relationship with the environment.Riesco received her B.A. in Studio Art and Biology modified with Earth Sciences from Dartmouth College in 2017, where she won the Robert Read Prize&nbsp;and the Artist’s Book Prize. After spending a few years working in outdoor education, Riesco returned to printmaking and has worked as an assistant printer, workshop instructor, and manager of a fine art print publisher. She is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree in Printmaking from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where she received the Graduate Research Scholars Fellowship from the School of Education.This exhibition is supported by the Anonymous Fund.

Alexandra Riesco: Pathways

<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.jmkac.org/exhibition/familiar-texture/?utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz--3ltRN229IYW6amwf9BwlVoynj9P-wWQnCqcp7iqRNGTlfMqSkuurGL0gvDRvyto79NLfEDi-NC3vxrvl6oHLkgUth4KUD_YekpyhDAXRiMjpD1io&amp;_hsmi=343424237&amp;utm_content=343424237&amp;utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Details</a> Childhood memories of home are reconstructed in the form of textiles and fibers by artists Hangama Amiri, Keith Jackson, Yvette Mayorga, Tressa Prisbrey, and Dalila Sanabria. Each artist presents interior settings such as a bedroom inspired by fantasies, a living room of communal gatherings, or a storage space that marked the passage of time. Each of these sites memorialize social and environmental influences that shaped the future of an individual. The use of or reference to textiles and fibers, such as clothing, blankets, boxes, carpet, or upholstery, imbues memories and feelings with a tactile quality found in the rooms re-created by each artist. Importantly, they do not depict themselves or others in these scenes. This anonymity encourages imagined conversations, interactions, sounds, or scents of homeland to emerge from a variety of perspectives. By relying on textures—both literally and figuratively—the exhibition provides context for domestic spaces where an origin story is found, and a familiar emotional weight is recognized. Together, the works celebrate the right to choose from narratives of the past and how these stories inform and enrich the fiber of one’s being. Image: Yvette Mayorga, Bedroom After 15th (detail), 2022; acrylic piping on Disney TV, purses, shoes, lotion, wooden shelves, lamp, ceramic, bookbag, sneakers, Hello Kitty bubble blower, clock, faux books, mirrors, wood, pillows, wall paintings, nightstand, acrylic piping on bike, acrylic piping on canvas, and video; 9 x 9 x 10 ft. Courtesy of the artist.

Familiar Texture: The Fibers of Childhood and Home

Kim Storage Gallery is pleased to present Snack Shop, a solo exhibition featuring paintings created at a pivotal moment in Gabrielle Marie Stone's practice. At a time when continuing her painting practice felt uncertain, the artist considered converting the front exhibition space of her studio into a snack shop—a practical solution to keep the lights on and sustain her creative work. While the snack shop concept never came to fruition, the paintings in this exhibition are the first pieces that occupied that never-to-be retail space. Intimate and episodic, they offer entry points rather than resolutions, inviting viewers into a world that sits somewhere between necessity and indulgence. Like little snacks, these works provide sustenance inquieter ways—not essential, yet deeply nourishing. Snack Shop names both the space and practice as it almost was, honoring the conditions in which the work was made: adaptive, provisional, and hopeful. The paintings retain their inherent dreamlike and atmospheric qualities, yet the exhibition grounds them in the real economies and lived decisions of making art today—a reflection on vulnerability, resilience, and the creative impulse that persists even in uncertainty. Gabrielle Stone (b. 1990) is a contemporary abstract painter based in Chicago, IL. Her work explores the nature of place using color, form, and materiality to depict environments that are whimsical in their reimagining. Influenced by her deep attachment to physical spaces, Stone’s paintings communicate geometry and structure while embodying its very dissolution. Stone holds a Bachelor of Arts in studio art and creative writing from Carleton College where she studied under artists Fred Hagstrom and David Lefkowitz, art historian Ross Elfline, and curator Margaret Pezalla-Granlund. The late artist, Larry McKim, was also a significant mentor in her early years before leaving the east coast. On view: February 27 – April 10, 2026Opening Reception: Friday, February 27 from 5 to 8PM Image: Sound of Satin, Acrylic on canvas, 60 x 46”&nbsp;

Snack Shop

OS Projects is pleased to present “The Intelligentsia is at the Gates,” a solo exhibition of drawings, paintings and prints by Colin Matthes. The exhibition opens on February 21, 2026 and will be on view through April 11, 2026. The gallery will host a reception for the artist on Saturday, February 21 from 1 – 3 pm. Colin Matthes uses storytelling, anxiousness, research and humor to make art that solves problems or is about the idea of solving problems. He works on several projects simultaneously, each distinct but informing the others, while foregrounding the means of production: the process, the fingerprints and the mistakes. Juggling multiple responsibilities—as a father, husband, entrepreneur and university gallery director—Matthes has no room for indecision or aimlessness. He creates his work in the garage, basement or on the couch, wherever and whenever he can steal some time. Art matters, but the art world is an afterthought on this island. “The Intelligentsia is at the Gates” questions the certainty of our convictions and our confidence that we can arrive at the “right” conclusions about the world. Our belief systems are initially shaped by our parents, then modified and reinforced by friends and the media we choose to pay attention to: the “right” books, the “right” feeds, the “right” podcasts. Yet we rarely ask ourselves the core question of epistemology: how do we know what we know? What is the source of our knowledge, and how reliable is the source? And why are we so certain that our sources and interpretations are the right ones? As Matthes points out in his incisive, unorthodox and at times hilariously absurd exhibition, we should be suspicious of anyone who claims to have it all figured out, including ourselves. About the Artist: Colin Matthes grew up on a gravel road near a village with three bars, a post office and the World’s Greatest Junk Parade. Before he became an artist, he installed temporary electric at small town county fairs and wired trailer parks. Matthes’ current practice encompasses drawing, painting, sculpture, installation, zine and graphic production, and public art projects. He has exhibited his work nationally and internationally in Milwaukee, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Quebec and Dublin, among other cities. Recent solo exhibitions include “Free Bird” at Invisible Unlimited (Milwaukee), “What is Right about the Right?” at St. Kate Arts Hotel (Milwaukee), “It’s My Fault; It’s Free,” at The Alice Wilds (Milwaukee), and “The Days Go By Like Wildness,” at James Watrous Gallery (Madison, WI.) Matthes is the director of the art galleries at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.

Colin Matthes: The Intelligentsia is at the Gates

Intermission at the Riverside Theater, $2800, 12x18, watercolor and acrylicIn this exhibition, Michael Guinane transforms past and current observation into art. His paintings don't merely depict scenes—they preserve the emotional temperature of specific moments in time.&nbsp;&nbsp;His work depicts figures caught in contemplation and action, and the collective energy of crowds set in often historical settings. These works ask us to remember a place long out of time, creating an intimate dialogue between the artist's memory and our own.The emotional capture of a single moment in time is what motivates Michael Guinane to paint. Michael creates an atmosphere for the viewer to feel. Whether it be a moment in history, the artist's personal experience, a lake scene, a trip to Cuba, or a busy city street, these works capture the feeling and mood of being present in a certain place or time.&nbsp;Everyone experiences the world uniquely. Michael's work creates the opening to read a scene in our own way and see and connect with the characters and places caught in a moment of suspension, sparking the imagination of what has happened and what is to come next.&nbsp;Michael's distinctive artistic approach sets his work apart. His paintings are created with watercolor and water-based paints using a reduction technique involving multiple washes of paint to create layering and depth in a work. This meticulous process is able to show the subtleties in layers of a painting and allows the viewer to see deeper into the piece. Through this technique, light and shadow, atmosphere and emotion emerge gradually, building complexity with each successive layer.&nbsp;Originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Michael Guinane moved to Columbus, Ohio, in 1996 to attend the Columbus College of Art and Design. He graduated with a BFA majoring in illustration in 2000. For over two decades, Michael built a successful career in Columbus, showing in galleries and public venues, creating privately commissioned works displayed throughout the country, and teaching courses in painting at the Columbus Cultural Arts Center. He has recently returned to his Milwaukee roots, bringing with him an artistic vision shaped by history, place, and years of dedication to his craft and his students.

That Feeling of a Place and Time: Featuring Artist Michael Guinane     

Now in its 59th year,&nbsp;Watercolor Wisconsin&nbsp;was started in 1966 to honor the depth and breadth of watercolor in the state.Jurors Jessica Cochran and Peggy Macnamara will select work for the 2025 exhibition. Jessica Cochran is the Deputy Director of the Renaissance Society, an independent contemporary art museum on the University of Chicago campus. She has worked as a curator, administrator, consultant, and educator in the realm of contemporary art for 20 years. Peggy Macnamara has served as the Artist-in-Residence at Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History since 1990 and as an Adjunct Professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago since 2001. Image: Carlotta Miller, Soaring Renovation, 2024, Watercolor, 34 1/4 x 23 1/4 inches, Racine Art Museum, Helen Rusk Memorial Purchase Award from&nbsp;Watercolor Wisconsin 2024, Photography: Tyler Potter

Watercolor Wisconsin 2025

This spring, the Racine Art Museum (RAM) will combine creativity, color, and candy in an elevated event series centered around the&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=u001.lVpDCVeqdBsS0YynwBNnWsI6uzjI-2B9jc-2BcioV3sOeK-2FsyW4rBIlNVg2ZPWYx1RjQK5xOMzw94ZvySwK0-2FFvGjg-3D-3D-vyb_a1zzESVdmgLIQ4rlql6kbXT9QXaGGWYBxHAPtO1QqWO5GLp4idxebnEhHBD62PapFGhVibvX636tV4VNXI9Yc1fC3t6I93nvs128KylNuVSG4w8b6TD-2BSQhnOlpvnvnpxwz-2B8rcz040BRL5o8xdyp7iJRjIk45RUTB6i9TPfLUsyUY9NxseZ2akW-2Folzs6n2ooCnzEE-2BuRhIoQd-2BwieuM4u-2BJHvMsytc9cfbzfpWeOl9SzXpCJOkdhPthAHSBNZyj33IZ153awqhClhlUgFt-2FBOYBoz2W0ntYHNsp5kFmLq21Lx8BQiuEfRzhqEPyj0z9jZcCOsVraHDDjwkKlDSGlNCBpHzhDSHLdCN3GAtRVPKbGGm-2BseUleEIt7fhDFN4QachmpwcgSPh-2F8eBlPd4lQ-3D-3D" target="_blank">RAM PEEPS® Brand Art Exhibition 2026</a>. This unexpected yet beloved annual art exhibition returns in 2026 bigger, bolder, and more immersive than ever—transforming the museum into a space of connection, confection, and artistry for all.Open April 1–18,&nbsp;RAM&nbsp;PEEPS® Brand Art Exhibition 2026&nbsp;is the 17th edition of a community exhibition featuring art made from or inspired by colorful PEEPS® Brand marshmallow candy. Since its inception in 2010, the exhibition has captured worldwide attention by inviting artists of all ages and skill levels to work with a new creative medium or subject matter. Inspired by pop culture, famous artists, sports, and everything in between, artists throughout the years have creatively combined PEEPS® with painting, ceramics, screen printing, woodworking, papier mâché, glass fusing, 3-D printing, and more."Every year, I am convinced that I have assuredly seen all possible manners in which an artist can utilize PEEPS®, yet every year, participants continue to prove me wrong," said RAM Marketing and Communications Specialist Tyler Potter. "The creativity on display in our annual exhibition is truly astounding and brings genuine joy to so many people."New in 2026, the&nbsp;RAM PEEPS® Brand Art Exhibition&nbsp;expands into a larger gallery—offering additional space to feature a specially commissioned installation by a Chicago-based artist that accompanies the exhibition.&nbsp;Andrea Jablonski: Enjoy the PEEPS® Show&nbsp;is a playful and irreverent body of work that reimagines iconic sculptures through the unmistakable form of the PEEPS® Bunny shape. Drawing from art history, public monuments, and personal memory, the artist transforms well-known masterpieces into approachable, humorous objects. By filtering celebrated works through a candy-colored lens, Jablonski's reinterpretations pay homage to artists such as Alexander Calder, Pablo Picasso, Louise Bourgeois, Jeff Koons, and the anonymous creator of the&nbsp;Venus de Milo, while also reflecting her own background as a muralist, fabricator, and public artist.In addition to physically expanding the exhibition, RAM and its second campus, RAM’s Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts (Wustum), are offering several new opportunities for visitors to celebrate their love of this springtime staple. Together, these events create a dynamic—and delectable—journey through art that reflects a commitment to welcoming creativity in all forms while reimagining how audiences engage with the museums.<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=u001.lVpDCVeqdBsS0YynwBNnWsI6uzjI-2B9jc-2BcioV3sOeK8xTCmA2jY414RDtYlFOzl4FURZ5bdfEued0cIs5Txg8Q-3D-3Dt2F1_a1zzESVdmgLIQ4rlql6kbXT9QXaGGWYBxHAPtO1QqWO5GLp4idxebnEhHBD62PapFGhVibvX636tV4VNXI9Yc1fC3t6I93nvs128KylNuVSG4w8b6TD-2BSQhnOlpvnvnpxwz-2B8rcz040BRL5o8xdyp7iJRjIk45RUTB6i9TPfLUsyUY9NxseZ2akW-2Folzs6n2ooCnzEE-2BuRhIoQd-2BwieuM4u-2BJHvMsytc9cfbzfpWeOkKnpBHKkkCoxgB7zw2NxDmMNakb3A4Q-2BGFnAP9k79js62nM-2FEhYHJ9Z2cb2dBiOQ0DpOhOL7441Nb5LvabPaBmsfim75rN-2B3Yh7gX9BsvqqDbcm5BvLX6XKb299G-2Bo876hh0MNOMjCPKkyN-2F1w0pY3bhXt9RRwQKZo0PEkRSbTYg-3D-3D" target="_blank">The Golden PEEPS® Awards</a>Tuesday, March 31, 5:00 – 7:00 pm, at RAMA touch of glitz and glamour in Downtown Racine that rolls out the orange carpet exclusively for participating artists and their families. Attendees can step into the spotlight with an exclusive after-hours preview of&nbsp;RAM PEEPS® Brand Art Exhibition 2026&nbsp;before a live awards ceremony.Free for participating artists and their guests.<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=u001.lVpDCVeqdBsS0YynwBNnWsI6uzjI-2B9jc-2BcioV3sOeK-2FUk6HDbIzM9bBlGTN6KVe3qOK3D2fW42-2FfO3Q-2FaXmfSQ-3D-3D61B9_a1zzESVdmgLIQ4rlql6kbXT9QXaGGWYBxHAPtO1QqWO5GLp4idxebnEhHBD62PapFGhVibvX636tV4VNXI9Yc1fC3t6I93nvs128KylNuVSG4w8b6TD-2BSQhnOlpvnvnpxwz-2B8rcz040BRL5o8xdyp7iJRjIk45RUTB6i9TPfLUsyUY9NxseZ2akW-2Folzs6n2ooCnzEE-2BuRhIoQd-2BwieuM4u-2BJHvMsytc9cfbzfpWeOmazOOe8klBBKGpXRXTNPCqWV2dhFA5di-2B-2B3u3p9ICXlPel43A9M0smqvKrGrvss-2FgnzqPT93EqwXjjrkXcigUtL4GvNLk1U-2B8NNE2PxssLC-2FW3M19s-2FCtDBy2mLJVYSt8lJw4sDfA3pD3kI1NvsaNlS7itpz9kuUVixXlhIuIC2g-3D-3D" target="_blank">Pop-Up PEEPS® Painting</a>Tuesday, April 7, 6:00 – 8:30 pm, at RAM and Hotel VerdantA ticketed entertainment package for PEEPS® enthusiasts ages 21 and older. Attendees start the evening with an after-hours tour of&nbsp;RAM PEEPS® Brand Art Exhibition 2026,&nbsp;then head across the street to&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=u001.lVpDCVeqdBsS0YynwBNnWiyUTcZjUzlOMerJUGXMl9cvPt04k-2BrQvQCdVB36QUGluwqf8qTHpDQ1iN4Z35RZug-3D-3DEUSE_a1zzESVdmgLIQ4rlql6kbXT9QXaGGWYBxHAPtO1QqWO5GLp4idxebnEhHBD62PapFGhVibvX636tV4VNXI9Yc1fC3t6I93nvs128KylNuVSG4w8b6TD-2BSQhnOlpvnvnpxwz-2B8rcz040BRL5o8xdyp7iJRjIk45RUTB6i9TPfLUsyUY9NxseZ2akW-2Folzs6n2ooCnzEE-2BuRhIoQd-2BwieuM4u-2BJHvMsytc9cfbzfpWeOk5qM9sqikGxZOjxF0RNYoZJkhwq1mbi-2F8VA7bvKxf5CL5iuo6l4bWZ4y6LYcNfk69MlbQ8ZHxrNZmSoBWJDw-2B-2BgUXM52XPnew0MwAvdBi0yVWhDfYfo1FKqUbTQNLfbcmkr18iXi8dXrWDQIkx1uAisRrrMwgMnB-2F8ClH9qOp27A-3D-3D" target="_blank">Eave</a>—a lush, contemporary rooftop bar inside&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=u001.lVpDCVeqdBsS0YynwBNnWiyUTcZjUzlOMerJUGXMl9eSmbAPIlrzFRODwVoiV-2Bn1A1oA_a1zzESVdmgLIQ4rlql6kbXT9QXaGGWYBxHAPtO1QqWO5GLp4idxebnEhHBD62PapFGhVibvX636tV4VNXI9Yc1fC3t6I93nvs128KylNuVSG4w8b6TD-2BSQhnOlpvnvnpxwz-2B8rcz040BRL5o8xdyp7iJRjIk45RUTB6i9TPfLUsyUY9NxseZ2akW-2Folzs6n2ooCnzEE-2BuRhIoQd-2BwieuM4u-2BJHvMsytc9cfbzfpWeOnIILlkE6z-2BNOrWSNcLqh-2ByolFkYppUkiyGwuEiH5p-2BqmAthydkqoThGzxgS7x-2FRtfaoWYPyGJWLqU4jv2wdTDVR8-2FK7fVA79RRdOC3Mb0HnPKzFnw1BcsxXV2Wsqjn5EyciU-2FA2kiZOPYVah-2F6XZOzW7tTZMWfsYURK0NS3yk2jg-3D-3D" target="_blank">Hotel Verdant</a>—for an artist-guided painting project and a PEEPS®-inspired cocktail.$65 Members / $80 General<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=u001.lVpDCVeqdBsS0YynwBNnWsI6uzjI-2B9jc-2BcioV3sOeK-2Fo-2FGZywQu0EGGf-2BYEM-2B1mKYuhQI3enoI9osuOsgH2tkQ-3D-3DuF0a_a1zzESVdmgLIQ4rlql6kbXT9QXaGGWYBxHAPtO1QqWO5GLp4idxebnEhHBD62PapFGhVibvX636tV4VNXI9Yc1fC3t6I93nvs128KylNuVSG4w8b6TD-2BSQhnOlpvnvnpxwz-2B8rcz040BRL5o8xdyp7iJRjIk45RUTB6i9TPfLUsyUY9NxseZ2akW-2Folzs6n2ooCnzEE-2BuRhIoQd-2BwieuM4u-2BJHvMsytc9cfbzfpWeOmQt5I8l5tdptdqr2hdR2f1LXWfFHfQzdC3rTOvFrUR0Pf7Vzngmeme3ctRCczsbAjxof7Pp2g93e0v7jeggVAgWAUyeymlW4TE4fzxeIDHo459iAe25sxDnXQ7IlQwxqruNxAMdQOAEcU4MgzyM-2FaUBg34W8-2Fv7VDRuuTecvyQVg-3D-3D" target="_blank">Spring Break Art Camp: Camp PEEPS® Day</a>Wednesday, April 8, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm, at WustumKids ages 7–13 will create several PEEPS®-inspired mixed media art projects, befitting the seasons and the sweet reason why people love the iconic candy. Students can expect a full day of colorful creativity, sweets, and treats.$60 Members / $72 General<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=u001.lVpDCVeqdBsS0YynwBNnWsI6uzjI-2B9jc-2BcioV3sOeK9IZhSm7pCKvklad1Oi5DeYDaHB94ty-2BDZVK4XxhO5oFQ-3D-3Dzz3v_a1zzESVdmgLIQ4rlql6kbXT9QXaGGWYBxHAPtO1QqWO5GLp4idxebnEhHBD62PapFGhVibvX636tV4VNXI9Yc1fC3t6I93nvs128KylNuVSG4w8b6TD-2BSQhnOlpvnvnpxwz-2B8rcz040BRL5o8xdyp7iJRjIk45RUTB6i9TPfLUsyUY9NxseZ2akW-2Folzs6n2ooCnzEE-2BuRhIoQd-2BwieuM4u-2BJHvMsytc9cfbzfpWeOk9gtorFfxDbuTqNfQ8mAP6YHSGShMkR6-2Bn-2BRJKAE1-2FrT1RYf7e1CSezdDDVocQMfXpDf-2F3eC6rt2Jr3gqqcLXDw4OZyQC-2FOnt-2Fu7EkWVu4gSiSS-2BocKEjf7PzrjEq4EWUrPP64gdMgAtom07OSD4fmdVe2Ez02Z-2FYIEIGqwfx4Mg-3D-3D" target="_blank">PEEPS® Play Sensory Day</a>Saturday, April 11, Noon – 4:00 pm, at RAMA welcoming, low-pressure way for families to explore&nbsp;RAM PEEPS® Brand Art Exhibition 2026&nbsp;through touch, sound, color, and movement. Designed with sensory accessibility in mind, the program encourages playful exploration with make-and-take art activities, touch samples, and more, while also providing calm spaces for regulation and breaks.Free with RAM admission.<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=u001.lVpDCVeqdBsS0YynwBNnWsI6uzjI-2B9jc-2BcioV3sOeK9-2Fw41C3jG7e3B7nB51MDRYX9DRyY9Ch06KB6YW04Y5HuId-2Fq2Q8tlFpFw-2BfAldIUU-3DjZz0_a1zzESVdmgLIQ4rlql6kbXT9QXaGGWYBxHAPtO1QqWO5GLp4idxebnEhHBD62PapFGhVibvX636tV4VNXI9Yc1fC3t6I93nvs128KylNuVSG4w8b6TD-2BSQhnOlpvnvnpxwz-2B8rcz040BRL5o8xdyp7iJRjIk45RUTB6i9TPfLUsyUY9NxseZ2akW-2Folzs6n2ooCnzEE-2BuRhIoQd-2BwieuM4u-2BJHvMsytc9cfbzfpWeOl5vm27YF3hnLosjtAwJ0y06u1e4h5NeOBHkCat9uyOsY7mMBPsOPe1P1UXqPAYPAAHGPyM5OS2rLdP2jCLpoqoEfS9pCBsnDKQ9a3nBSZ6m1ZBUvULVQlSJN0MEyS-2B384-2BWZsKE1QtYOx1lq7wypnHjRZT-2Fe70F19IU-2BHQfmM8Qg-3D-3D" target="_blank">Marshmallow Tales: PEEPS® Story Time</a>Friday, April 17, 10:00 – 11:00 am, at RAMPresented in partnership with the&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=u001.lVpDCVeqdBsS0YynwBNnWovJ-2Bua7kAthmCXA-2FRPQ6iU1YGcphMw0uv02WeM1Jga0Vm2p_a1zzESVdmgLIQ4rlql6kbXT9QXaGGWYBxHAPtO1QqWO5GLp4idxebnEhHBD62PapFGhVibvX636tV4VNXI9Yc1fC3t6I93nvs128KylNuVSG4w8b6TD-2BSQhnOlpvnvnpxwz-2B8rcz040BRL5o8xdyp7iJRjIk45RUTB6i9TPfLUsyUY9NxseZ2akW-2Folzs6n2ooCnzEE-2BuRhIoQd-2BwieuM4u-2BJHvMsytc9cfbzfpWeOnWxWFTAuGdQR-2FY-2B-2FIJOxkuvdZH694vVkSO5-2B71e4pi1xvHyNbykr0bEUtb-2ByOZJFSM6lwEQ6-2Bo003rwmmQbV51XDn5191Hzbc1dhfrJr1zzwtneFiZ85ArOgXhW4THXzzOZMp389DWaPYeFLbpKXPkeLigNWyyw4I3gzhiEXrodw-3D-3D" target="_blank">Racine Public Library</a>, RAM Docent and storyteller extraordinaire Gail Navratil will be in the RAM galleries to share a few springtime stories—perfect for children ages 2–5. Attendees can also create a sweet make-and-take art project inspired by&nbsp;RAM PEEPS® Brand Art Exhibition 2026&nbsp;while listening to the stories.Free with RAM admission.<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=u001.lVpDCVeqdBsS0YynwBNnWsI6uzjI-2B9jc-2BcioV3sOeK8UxR-2FUc-2BXrDZDo1LcgHY71WGu0qLi6o0zb6yky5LxjgA-3D-3Drc3x_a1zzESVdmgLIQ4rlql6kbXT9QXaGGWYBxHAPtO1QqWO5GLp4idxebnEhHBD62PapFGhVibvX636tV4VNXI9Yc1fC3t6I93nvs128KylNuVSG4w8b6TD-2BSQhnOlpvnvnpxwz-2B8rcz040BRL5o8xdyp7iJRjIk45RUTB6i9TPfLUsyUY9NxseZ2akW-2Folzs6n2ooCnzEE-2BuRhIoQd-2BwieuM4u-2BJHvMsytc9cfbzfpWeOlHuBVO3gLTBkGBPmEe5ElwXpqjWQSeGcNPpiPmNCii0qG-2B5iJjDwBleYeTLxCNvuJYVfYnxKKqgpcEah3N8EXYHUBqpmgY94LZY-2B573VSNJ-2BcbHSRzEnk03sY6MYRuQP740Kg3JA2FKrgRw4sgyeDcUBbJShtQeOWOIA1L-2F0ROMA-3D-3D" target="_blank">Eye Candy:&nbsp;</a><a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=u001.lVpDCVeqdBsS0YynwBNnWsI6uzjI-2B9jc-2BcioV3sOeK8UxR-2FUc-2BXrDZDo1LcgHY71WGu0qLi6o0zb6yky5LxjgA-3D-3Dj6f4_a1zzESVdmgLIQ4rlql6kbXT9QXaGGWYBxHAPtO1QqWO5GLp4idxebnEhHBD62PapFGhVibvX636tV4VNXI9Yc1fC3t6I93nvs128KylNuVSG4w8b6TD-2BSQhnOlpvnvnpxwz-2B8rcz040BRL5o8xdyp7iJRjIk45RUTB6i9TPfLUsyUY9NxseZ2akW-2Folzs6n2ooCnzEE-2BuRhIoQd-2BwieuM4u-2BJHvMsytc9cfbzfpWeOl7KvmcClq-2BvJAwWimqGdKB3PkIdgbmy6Dh-2FXQJTGiiXZnWE932kgmalZht89kMNnptgiXejT3n4FZJ2AwW7DvCXvm1Ql0jWMoJ8n89z2l-2F3J-2BMXoA15RI6rQIbK-2F0ZCpjF4jRwiD8VRXwAofNQS0SJMeD0tRR3h4gQlssQw7wKGA-3D-3D" target="_blank">Bunny Big Top</a>Saturday, April 18, 6:00 – 10:00 pm, at RAMThe first iteration of RAM's new closing-weekend fundraiser and community celebration. The Bunny Big Top offers an unforgettable night of magic, masterpieces, and a little bit of mischief as the museum comes alive with roaming performers, carnival games, signature treats, a PEEPS® Eating Contest, and more. Including free entertainment and activities alongside paid experiences, this vintage-inspired circus welcomes families early in the evening, then transforms into a grown-up funhouse after dark.$10 Members / $20 Adults / $5 Kids 12 and under&nbsp;“We’re thrilled to share this year’s expanded lineup of PEEPS®-related activities,” said RAM Executive Director Robb Woulfe. “This growing series expands opportunities for connection—offering compelling experiences that spark creativity, invite people in, and fill our spaces with joy.”Further information about&nbsp;RAM PEEPS® Brand Art Exhibition 2026&nbsp;and other relevant programming is available on RAM’s website,&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=u001.lVpDCVeqdBsS0YynwBNnWsI6uzjI-2B9jc-2BcioV3sOeK-2FsyW4rBIlNVg2ZPWYx1RjQK5xOMzw94ZvySwK0-2FFvGjg-3D-3DrKUB_a1zzESVdmgLIQ4rlql6kbXT9QXaGGWYBxHAPtO1QqWO5GLp4idxebnEhHBD62PapFGhVibvX636tV4VNXI9Yc1fC3t6I93nvs128KylNuVSG4w8b6TD-2BSQhnOlpvnvnpxwz-2B8rcz040BRL5o8xdyp7iJRjIk45RUTB6i9TPfLUsyUY9NxseZ2akW-2Folzs6n2ooCnzEE-2BuRhIoQd-2BwieuM4u-2BJHvMsytc9cfbzfpWeOnyC-2BCobkTRtU-2B7IlBHN79UIjVTanlh-2B4oE4-2BFvHD07nRaAbic42agU1x-2BoBpm58SWaKlKK4HH-2BamPSUbXqxnjtuY-2BHeUqTBfI9x9icaKULC16RUG2KKLsNbRQCs5dU0zwfdjCBtwZhJ9Bl0S31sYW8-2BPB3TzS13ctnjmX3inzddw-3D-3D" target="_blank">ramart.org</a>.RAM PEEPS®&nbsp;Brand Art Exhibition 2026&nbsp;is made possible in part by:&nbsp;PEEPS®&nbsp;Patrons—Action Law Offices, S.C., Bruce and Barbara Chrisman, Charles Constantine, Design Partners, Erv Keller Guide Service, Boulder Jct. WI, Karen and Mark Fairbanks, Tom and Cheryl Foley, Jill and Bob Hartmann, Ann and Peter Henkes, Laura Kapitan, Landmark Title of Racine, Connie Lelivelt, Neil and Ashley Staeck, Sandra Simon in honor of Patricia and Wes Fallon, Charlie B. Thorne, and Janna M. Waldeck

RAM PEEPS® Brand Art Exhibition 2026

The exhibition&nbsp;Pao Houa Her: Seeds of History&nbsp;presents a newly completed photographic series by Pao Houa Her that brings together her long-standing practices of portraiture and landscape photography. The work reflects Her’s deep commitment to building relationships and thoughtfully representing the people and cultural traditions of the HMong diaspora. Developed alongside&nbsp;Pao Houa Her: The Imaginative Landscape&nbsp;at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center,&nbsp;Seeds of History&nbsp;grew from the artist’s vision to photograph HMong Americans from the Sheboygan area posed in a field of poppies. Created in the summer of 2025, the black-and-white series includes more than a dozen portraits, thirteen of which were acquired by JMKAC. Each image depicts a member of Sheboygan’s local HMong American community. More than a historical record,&nbsp;Seeds of History&nbsp;honors the enduring presence and vitality of the HMong diaspora in Sheboygan more than fifty years after HMong refugees first arrived in the region. By naming each individual portrayed, the series centers dignity, care, and connection—affirming that history is shaped by real people and relationships, not anonymous figures or statistics. * HMong is written with a capital H and M to be inclusive of White HMong and Green Mong dialects. Speakers of the White dialect pronounce “HMong” with a silent “H,” indicating a nasal aspiration or puff of air out of the nose. Speakers of the Green dialect pronounce “Mong” without. <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.jmkac.org/exhibition/pao-houa-her-seeds-of-history/" target="_blank">Discover Seeds of History</a>&nbsp;

Pao Houa Her:  Seeds of History

Since 1964, The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art has collected and preserved modern and contemporary art in order to exhibit it and provide transformative experiences. These objects, MMoCA holds in trust for everyone to learn from and be inspired by all for free.&nbsp;In 2025, MMoCA added over 80 artworks to the permanent collection, including works on paper, large-scale paintings, and sculptures from both local and international artists.&nbsp;Recent Acquisitions&nbsp;displays some of these art objects, showcasing the breadth of contemporary art practice and connecting Madison to the global dialogue through visual art.&nbsp;

Recent Acquisitions

more information coming soon

Kate Goodvin: MFA Qualifier Exhibition

<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.jmkac.org/exhibition/a-beautiful-experience/?utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_TAgiwr9CcUCqp8PARBnetZDmy4oA4M6rKVEblEJGj0fYaKmL0n8Naot67z_PVofiAcW7Sb0wnbX5AHJQODsWXa0U2UYeyKUnYSDhaHXxDMn2lHxQ&amp;_hsmi=343424237&amp;utm_content=343424237&amp;utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Details</a> A Beautiful Experience: The Midwest Grotto Tradition&nbsp;takes its title from a slogan found on years of brochures, maps, and swag from the Dickeyville Grotto in Wisconsin. It is one of several grottoes found throughout the region. These sites began to inspire pilgrimage, tourism, reflection, and community gathering during the 1910s. This exhibition looks at their continuing influence on artists and visitors alike. Materially, midwestern grottoes often reflect local industries, decorative trends, and an area’s geological makeup. Grotto architecture mainly comprises concrete embellished with objects including shells, marbles, colored glass, toys, figurines, fossils, and geodes. This accumulation, as well as the objects incorporated, creates a documentation of the maker’s life, faith, and home. Madeline Buol is one of the few known women grotto builders. The materials she utilized include figurines and stones gathered during her travels. She had a special affinity for shells of all shapes and sizes. The exhibition is the first public showing of Buol’s monumental thirteen-piece grotto since it was saved from the artist’s yard in 2011 by the Kohler Foundation, Inc. It was then gifted to the John Michael Kohler Arts Center. In addition to Buol’s grotto,&nbsp;A Beautiful Experience&nbsp;includes objects related to the Midwest grottoes that directly inspired her, such as the Dickeyville Grotto, Jacob Baker’s “dream houses,” the Rudolph Grotto, and the Wegner Grotto. The exhibition illustrates the material histories of these grottoes and strategies for their conservation. Visitors are offered opportunities to learn about the legacy and care of Midwest grotto sites. A Beautiful Experience&nbsp;also includes new work by Stephanie Shih and E. Saffronia Downing, each responding to the grotto tradition. Shih presents a work inspired by Jacob Baker and Chinese immigration in the U.S. Downing shares her explorations of clay and material foraging throughout the Midwest, providing insight into material studies for the concrete and construction materials often invented and improvised upon by grotto builders. Image: Madeline Buol, Buol Grotto and Sculptures (site view, n.d.), Dubuque, IA, 1946–c. 1960. Photo courtesy of Pam Mendenhall.

A Beautiful Experience: The Midwest Grotto Tradition

Opening Reception: Friday, April 17 from 5 to 8PM Artist Talk: Saturday, April 18 starting at 1PM 207 E Buffalo St, Suite 404, Milwaukee, WI 53202 (Marshall Building, 4th floor) Kim Storage Gallery is pleased to present Reflections and Undercurrents, a solo exhibition of new&nbsp;paintings by Katherine Steichen Rosing that immerses viewers in the invisible forces shaping forests and watersheds amid&nbsp;climate disruption. Rosing’s work reveals both the resilience and fragile balance of ecosystems under stress, asking what&nbsp;persists—and what quietly disappears—beneath the surface of the landscapes we love. In this body of work, she abstracts hidden ecological processes into vividly hued, densely layered surfaces, merging the&nbsp;visible and invisible through inscribed marks that are later veiled by color, like root systems and currents we cannot fully&nbsp;see. Reflections and Undercurrents introduces submerged forests of yellow-green trunks rising through ultramarine&nbsp;floodwaters, holding the tension between visual allure and the unsettling question of whether we witness temporary&nbsp;inundation or irreversible transformation. Grounded in long-term observation, environmental research, and collaborations with scientists, Rosing’s practice&nbsp;addresses extreme weather cycles—drought, deluge, and intensifying storms—that leave forests stressed and&nbsp;vulnerable, from local neighborhoods to distant northern ecosystems. She understands painting as a way to convey the&nbsp;felt experience of environmental change, creating a contemplative space where beauty and unease coexist and where&nbsp;subtle shifts in color, light, and texture echo broader ecological transformations. Born in Appleton, Wisconsin, Rosing is known for environmentally engaged paintings and immersive installations&nbsp;exploring relationships among forests, watersheds, and climate. She has exhibited in over one hundred solo and group&nbsp;shows in museums and galleries, including the Rockford Art Museum, Amos Eno Gallery (New York), the Arts Club&nbsp;(Washington, DC), and the Museum of Wisconsin Art. Her work is held in numerous public and private collections, and she holds an MFA from Northern Illinois University. She received the 2022 Forward Art Prize. Image: Blue Damselflies Flitting About My Kayak, Acrylic on canvas, 44 x 55"

Reflections and Undercurrents

The Door County Contemporary Art Fair will be held at the Peninsula School of Art in Fish Creek, Wisconsin from June 4 to June 6, 2026. For the second year the three-day program will introduce art to art enthusiasts in an event yet unseen in Wisconsin. It was born from the desire to address a lack of contemporary art in an otherwise culturally enriched and dynamic destination. And to do it with an enthusiasm that embraces the energy, vision, and welcoming spirit of the region. DCC will host 14 art galleries from Wisconsin and beyond while welcoming thousands of art lovers from around the United States. It will also feature a wealth of site-specific art works and projects, plenty of Wisconsin-centric food and drink, and curated events and art-related projects. Door County Contemporary will be more than an art fair, it will be a three-day celebration of art and ideas. All of it set against the backdrop of one of the America’s greatest geographical settings–a brilliant contrast of perspectives that will make it a truly memorable and unique occasion. DCC hopes to leave visitors feeling they’ve married the best of fine art with the idiosyncratic swagger of the region, meant to resonate long after its visitors exit State Highway 42/57. The events, the setting, the tastes and smells, and of course the world class art will create something far greater than the sum of its eclectic parts: woodsy tradition and bleeding-edge cultural objects; Spotted Cows and conceptual art; and all the best things talented humans can deliver to the world to make it worth inhabiting.<a style="color: rgb(255, 254, 252);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.doorcountycontemporary.com/application" target="_blank">Application</a> Door County Contemporary<a style="color: inherit;" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="mailto:info@doorcountycontemporary.com" target="_blank">info@doorcountycontemporary.com</a>

Door County Contemporary 2026

The John Michael Kohler Arts Center (JMKAC) will debut&nbsp;Emily Endo: Estuary, a new exhibition by artist Emily Endo (they/them), on view from February 7 through August 16, 2026.Endo’s largest exhibition to date,&nbsp;Estuary&nbsp;marks JMKAC’s first scent-focused exhibition, inviting visitors into a multisensory experience that explores the body and perception. Endo is known for intricate glass sculptures that reference vascular systems, organic structures, and the porous boundaries between bodies and environment. In&nbsp;Estuary, they expand this practice by integrating scentwith sculptural forms, engaging visitors through both sight and smell. The exhibition challenges conventional modes of looking, encouraging audiences to experience art through embodied and sensory awareness. “Emily Endo’s work asks us to reconsider how meaning is formed through the senses,” said&nbsp;Chava.Krivchenia, Assistant Curator at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center. “By aligning scent alongside sculpture,&nbsp;Estuary&nbsp;creates intuitive ways of engaging with art.”Smell plays a central role in the exhibition. Closely tied to memory and emotion, scent has the power to transport, influence mood, and reshape perception. Rather than functioning as an accessory, curated fragrances throughout the gallery act as an extension of the sculptural works themselves. Drawn from minerals, seawater, metal, glass, and organic compounds, these scents reference both natural environments and industrial processes, serving as connective tissue between material, memory, and the body. Estuary&nbsp;also considers how perception differs across species. While humans tend to prioritize vision, many animals rely on smell or sound to navigate the world. Featured works incorporate a turtle shell, highlighting the overlapping and divergent ways animal and human bodies experience their environments. Through this lens, the exhibition invites reflection on the boundaries—both physical and perceptual—that shape how we understand and navigate the world.In addition to their artistic practice, Endo is an educator whose teaching background in glass, scent, and sculpture informs their approach to making. Their studio practice is grounded in curiosity, experimentation, and care, viewing the studio as a site of discovery and learning.Endo will also serve as the first 2026 artist-in-residence for ExAir, JMKAC’s residency program. Their time on- site will support deeper community engagement through public events and offer visitors insight into their evolving creative process.About Emily Endo Emily Endo works across sculpture, scent, and installation, pursuing a research-driven practice grounded in material experimentation and sensory experience. They hold an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art (2010) and a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art (2006). Endo’s work has been exhibited at Somerset House (London); Massey Klein (New York); Marta, Harkawik, and the Neutra VDL House (Los Angeles); LVL3 (Chicago); and Bullseye Projects (Portland). Recent press includes: The New York Times Style Magazine, Wallpaper, and Architectural Digest. Endo lives and works in Joshua Tree, California. Emily Endo. Photo courtesy of the artist.About the John Michael Kohler Arts CenterFounded in 1967, the John Michael Kohler Arts Center (JMKAC) is a nonprofit creative hub that supports the work of contemporary artists through original exhibitions, commissions, residencies, publications, and community programming across visual and performing arts. The only institution in the world that collects artist- built and artist home-based environments, JMKAC is a leading center for the research, preservation, and presentation of artists with wide-ranging practices and backgrounds from academically trained to self-taught and folk traditions, championing long-term relationships with artists and elevating work that has often been overlooked or under-recognized. JMKAC is a vital cultural resource that responds to the needs of its local and regional communities, preserving artistic heritage by uplifting contemporary voices and empowering future generations.HoursTuesday, Wednesday, Friday: 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.Thursday: 10:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m.Saturday, Sunday: 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. Image: Emily Endo,&nbsp;Orphic Diadem, 2024; glass, stainless steel, and fragrance; 22 x 22 x 10 in. Photo: Margeaux Walter.

Emily Endo: Estuary

Opening January 31, 2026, at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center (JMKAC),&nbsp;Lenka Clayton and Phillip Andrew Lewis: Rock Fade (~45&nbsp;Billion&nbsp;Years)&nbsp;is a large-scale installation by artist-collaborators Lenka Clayton and Phillip Andrew Lewis. Inviting viewers into an encounter with deep geological time, human perception, and our impulse to order the natural world, the work consists of a carefully selected sequence of stones arranged in a perfect line, gradually diminishing in size. This deceptively simple gesture becomes a profound meditation on material, meaning, and scale, prompting visitors to consider how aesthetic experience is shaped not only by material form, but also by embodied perception and collective engagement.&nbsp;&nbsp;“Rock&nbsp;Fade&nbsp;takes something deeply familiar, a stone, and asks us to encounter it in a new light. As the sequence shifts from boulder to sand, the work reveals how perception, movement, and shared experience shape what we understand as art,” states&nbsp;Jodi Throckmorton, Chief Curator at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center. “Relocating the installation across phases challenges us to reflect on our own role in ordering, witnessing, and ultimately returning these materials to the world.”&nbsp;&nbsp;On view through August 16,&nbsp;Rock Fade (~45&nbsp;Billion&nbsp;Years)&nbsp;references local and global rituals of marking time and space with stones, through collection, spirituality, and boundary setting. The work engages a deep human tradition to collect, order, control, and define the natural world against the backdrop of the slow transformation of rocks across ancient seas, volcanic flows, and glacial drifts; always in motion, even in their stillness. This juxtaposition highlights the tension between the human impulse to order and the inevitable processes of erosion and transformation that characterize geological time, revealing the work’s core inquiry: that the act of arranging the stones is both fleeting and monumental. Over time, the artwork will erode, scatter, and reintegrate with the earth, resulting not in failure, but in fulfillment.&nbsp;&nbsp;Rock&nbsp;Fade&nbsp;(~45&nbsp;Billion&nbsp;Years)&nbsp;builds on the conceptual framework of an earlier gesture of stone placement found in the artist environment of pioneer fiber artist Lenore G. Tawney (1907-2007) at JMKAC’s Art Preserve, in which Tawney arranged a subtle gradient of rocks from large to small. The work becomes a form of intergenerational dialogue—artists speaking to one another across time not by replicating but by amplifying, through matter, order, and attention. Clayton and Lewis will be Lenore G. Tawney Fellows at JMKAC in 2026, a fellowship that fosters new engagement with Tawney’s art environment, made possible with support from the Lenore G. Tawney Foundation. Candidates are encouraged to apply with projects that study overlooked aspects of works and movements related to Tawney or discuss previously unexplored connections between those works and art from other disciplines.&nbsp;&nbsp;“Rock Fade&nbsp;engages with the tradition of artist-built environments and the Arts Center’s work to preserve them while embracing the processes that shape them, offering a rare opportunity to witness an artwork that lives, changes, and integrates back into the environment over time. We’re proud to collaborate with Lenka Clayton and Phillip Andrew Lewis as this project unfolds with our community,” adds&nbsp;Amy Horst,&nbsp;Executive&nbsp;Director of the John Michael Kohler Arts Center.&nbsp;&nbsp;Rock Fade&nbsp;is designed to shift the audience’s relationship to material, scale, and time as it unfolds through multiple phases starting with the exhibition at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center (January 31-August 16, 2026). The linear installation in a white-cube space depicts the stones removed from their natural setting, placed in a controlled environment that invites close-looking and contemplation.&nbsp;&nbsp;On September 19, 2026, a community procession will follow, inviting participants of all ages and ability to help transport the stones from the gallery to an outdoor site. The procession is logistical and symbolic: an act of communal labor, care, and transformation that becomes a form of glaciation and procession through movement, merging geologic time with collective human effort. The procession will conclude at the Art Preserve where Lenka Clayton and Phillip Andrew Lewis will utilize the rocks for a long-term outdoor installation. The procession will be documented in a film to extend its impact and reach.&nbsp;&nbsp;For its final phase,&nbsp;Rock Fade&nbsp;will come to rest where, for years to come, environmental forces will erode and reshape the installation. Visitors will encounter the work embedded in the land, part as sculpture, part as earthwork, with accessibility top of mind to ensure a wide range of bodies are able to experience the piece.&nbsp;The project, through all the stages, reminds visitors to slow down, notice matter, and share responsibility for how they move through time and space, particularly potent during a global moment of political and climate crisis and shortened attention spans.&nbsp;&nbsp;About&nbsp;Lenka&nbsp;Clayton&nbsp;Lenka Clayton is an interdisciplinary artist whose work considers, exaggerates, and alters the accepted rules of everyday life, extending the familiar into the realms of the poetic and absurd. Clayton is the founder of&nbsp;An Artist Residency in Motherhood, a self-directed, open-source artist residency program that takes place inside the homes and lives of artists who are also parents.&nbsp;&nbsp;Recent exhibitions include&nbsp;Rising Sun&nbsp;(2023) at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia,&nbsp;Day Jobs&nbsp;(2023) at the Blanton Museum of Art,&nbsp;The Museum Collects Itself&nbsp;(2023) at the Mattress Factory Museum in Pittsburgh,&nbsp;and&nbsp;To Begin Again&nbsp;(2022) at ICA Boston. Clayton’s work has been supported by The Warhol Foundation and The National Endowment for the Arts. She has received an Art&nbsp;Matters Award, a Carol R. Brown Award for Creative Achievement, and a Creative Development Grant from Heinz/Pittsburgh Foundation. She has been an artist-in-residence at The Fabric Workshop and Museum, PA and Headlands Center for the Arts, CA and was a Sabrina Merage Fellow with Black Cube Nomadic Art Museum.&nbsp;&nbsp;Clayton’s work is held in the permanent collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, SFMoMA in California, Hamburger Kunsthalle in Germany, Mount Holyoke College Art Museum in Massachusetts, and The Carnegie Museum of Art, The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and The Philadelphia Art Museum in Pennsylvania. Permanent public artworks include Darkhouse Lighthouse, and Historic Site, both made with collaborator Phillip Andrew Lewis.&nbsp;&nbsp;About&nbsp;Phillip&nbsp;Andrew&nbsp;Lewis&nbsp;Phillip Andrew Lewis is a Philadelphia-based artist who works in a variety of media including photography, video, objects, and sound. His creative research often responds to historical events, psychology, and phenomenology. This work consistently examines duration, perceptual limits, and attentive observation. Lewis is actively involved in collaboration with artists and various groups.&nbsp;&nbsp;Phillip has exhibited his work both nationally and internationally. He received a 2012 Creative Capital Grant in Visual Art for his ongoing long-term project entitled SYNONYM. He has also received generous support for his research from Black Cube, Headlands Center for the Arts, Culture and Animals Foundation, Center for Creative Photography, Foundation for Contemporary Arts in New York, Fathomers, Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Midway Contemporary Arts Fund, Tennessee Arts Commission, University of Tennessee, UrbanArt Commission, The Heinz Endowments, The Pittsburgh Foundation, and Sabrina Merage Foundation. In collaboration with his wife, Lenka Clayton, he runs a project space in Pittsburgh called Gallery Closed, which is open 24/7 via two street-facing windows.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Lenka Clayton and Phillip Andrew Lewis: Rock Fade (~45 Billion Years)

David R. Harper: Good Morning Sweetheart&nbsp;brings together sculpture, textiles, ceramics, stained glass, and found imagery to explore how memory takes shape in objects. Couches, perfume bottles, motel soaps, detergents, birds, flowers, fragments of figurative sculpture, and everyday household items appear throughout the exhibition. Familiar at first glance, these things are carefully handmade, altered, and recombined—becoming intimate, uncanny, and quietly charged.The exhibition unfolds across two connected spaces. In the MMoCA Icon, Harper creates a suspended environment centered on a lightweight mid-century couch upholstered in handwoven tones of pink, sherbet, melon, and honey. Embedded with domestic cleaning products, the couch becomes a floating “memory bank”—a meditation on home, care, and repose—surrounded by a mobile featuring a summer patio umbrella and garlands of cast-ceramic Froot Loops.In the State Street Gallery, the exhibition pivots around&nbsp;She Drank the Water That Was Meant for the Orchids&nbsp;(2019), a recent addition to MMoCA’s collection. New large-scale embroideries, stuffed horses with embedded objects, shelves of ceramic vases covered in cast cicadas, and ceramic flower bouquets extend the exhibition’s domestic and emotional terrain.Across both spaces, memory functions as a material. Objects act as containers of experience—holding care, pleasure, grief, desire, and loss. Rather than telling a single story, Harper creates environments where meaning emerges through movement and attention. Looking becomes an active process, shaped by proximity, perspective, and the viewer’s own lived experience.About the ArtistDavid R. Harper (b. Toronto, Canada / Lives and Works in the American Midwest), received his BFA from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, and his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Fiber and Material Studies. He currently teaches in the Painting and Drawing department at the Art Institute of Chicago and the New Studio Practice department at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design.&nbsp;Harper’s work employs both traditional and non-traditional materials such as embroidery, ceramic, and casting materials such as salt and charcoal in a cross-disciplinary manner to create objects installations that grapple with notions of loss, love, feelings of belonging and how we use objects to inform our notions of self.&nbsp;Harper has been included in group shows at museums in the US and Canada, including MASS MoCA, National Gallery of Canada and the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art and has participated in numerous solo exhibitions including&nbsp;My Own Personal Ghost&nbsp;(The John Michael Kohler Art Center),&nbsp;Plateau&nbsp;(South Bend Museum of Art)&nbsp;Skin and Bone&nbsp;(Textile Museum of Canada), A solo touring exhibition of Harper’s work titled&nbsp;Entre Le Chien et Le Loup&nbsp;was organized by the University of Toronto in 2013&nbsp;He has participated in several residencies, including the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Residency (2016), Bemis Center for Contemporary Art (2014), and the Kohler Arts Industry (2012/2014)&nbsp;&nbsp;His work can be found in a number of notable collections, including The Museum of Arts and Design (NYC), The John Michael Kohler Art Center, The Museum of Wisconsin Art, The National Gallery of Canada, the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation (Los Angeles), and the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.

David R. Harper: Good Morning Sweetheart

Gelsy Verna (1962–2008) was a Haitian-Canadian artist, educator, and collaborator who taught at UW–Madison and left a lasting impact on students and colleagues. Working primarily in collage and drawing, Verna used symbols, text, and layered images to explore how meaning is never fixed, but constantly shifting.Throughout her work, Verna often challenged familiar cultural icons. In one series, she reimagined Martin Luther King Jr. with different hairstyles, patterns, and even Mickey Mouse ears. In another, she portrayed Marilyn Monroe with brown skin. With wit, courage, and imagination, these works invite viewers to question how identity, history, and power are constructed.Mother, Father, Please Help Me&nbsp;was drawn and redrawn over several years in collaboration with artist and frequent collaborator David Dunlap. Built through many layers of images and marks, it functions as a palimpsest—a surface that holds traces of earlier versions beneath what we see now. The work embodies Verna’s belief that images and symbols change over time, and that new meanings emerge through revision, proximity, and combination.This artwork has both a front and a back, and both are essential to fully experiencing the piece. To allow visitors to encounter the complete work, the reverse side has been carefully reproduced and printed for display.Recently acquired by MMoCA from the artist’s estate,&nbsp;Mother, Father, Please Help Me&nbsp;is among the last major works available from Verna’s studio. Verna died suddenly in 2008 at just 46, leaving behind a rich artistic legacy that her sister, Mahalia Verna now works to preserve.&nbsp;

Gelsy Verna: Mother, Father, Please Help Me

Papercutting as a creative handcraft has roots in many cultures, including centuries-old examples from China, the Polish tradition of&nbsp;wycinanki,&nbsp;and the Mexican history of&nbsp;papel picado. Celebrating handwork and recognizing its potential to connect across time, space, and geography, this exhibition combines various forms of papercutting.&nbsp;Through large- and small-scale works, contemporary makers expand upon tradition, adding their voices to rich creative lineages. To further illustrate this concept, shadow puppet theater utilizing paper silhouettes will be performed throughout the run of the show.Cut It Out&nbsp;is part of&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.handwork2026.org/" target="_blank">Handwork 2026</a>, Craft in America’s nationwide semiquincentennial collaboration showcasing the importance of the handmade and celebrating the diversity of craft that defines America.

Cut It Out: Papercutting Traditions and Beyond

Italian immigrant Silvio Barile spent decades converting his pizzeria into a museum to honor his heritage. The Italian American Historic Artistic Museum in Redford Charter Township, Michigan, was once enormous. The interior walls of the restaurant were covered with murals, photos, and postcards of iconic Italian imagery such as statues of Julius Caesar, Roman ruins, Renaissance-era paintings, olive trees, and Italian and American pop culture figures. In addition to two-dimensional adornments, Barile fabricated large-scale concrete statues depicting events and characters renowned in Italian and American history. His sculptures filled the pizzeria, then the patio behind it, then the acre of woodland behind the patio. Even after the restaurant closed in 2002, the museum remained and continued to grow.After Barile’s death in February 2019, increasing costs and pressure from the community resulted in the destruction of the site in 2020. In May 2021, the John Michael Kohler Arts Center acquired three large painted concrete works by Barile that were believed to be the last remaining components of the museum. In the early months of 2022, a grouping of eight additional works was found and acquired by the Arts Center. This is the first time these works are being shown outside of the Michigan site.

Silvio Barile

New England…has recently posited itself as a grand signifier in my existence as a jewelry artist. It is learning about New England’s seminal history as the seat of the American Industrial Revolution, the undeniable gravity to the founding of this nation, its growth and ultimate dissolution, and the remnants and detritus that are informing my current work. My formative years were spent in southern California where cultural imprints positioned me in a liminal existence between prejudice and privilege. I am half Black and half White. Living in a middle-class suburb of Los Angeles and visiting my father in socio-economically and racially divided South Central Los Angeles impacted my identity as a young person searching for which culture to occupy and how. Ultimately, I realized the choice itself provided me with a tool of social leverage.&nbsp;—Tanya CraneResponding to her own biracial background, Tanya Crane imbues her enamel, metal, and found object jewelry with reflections on history, resiliency, migration, community, adornment, humanity, identity, family, and heritage.&nbsp;As she considers how traditions shift across space or through time, Crane creates patterns that echo designs of global Indigenous makers. This exhibition features jewelry inspired by historical adornment in RAM’s permanent collection—specifically, incised metal bracelets and neckpieces from West Africa that were used as currency. Objects like this were exchanged within trade or barter networks, not only for local agricultural and luxury products but also in transatlantic slave trade negotiations. This potential compelled Crane to cautiously move forward with her explorations.As she states, “The research for my jewelry encompasses both a response to my immediate landscape and my family stories relative to the impacts of the Great Migration. It is through this lens that I interact with and respond to the museum’s collection, contextualizing that historical work through a contemporary lens and providing a dynamic framework to investigate the past in the present.”Crane’s artwork metaphorically embodies the many layers of human existence—specifically, history, race, class, and culture. Through her practice, she reaches into the past to better understand the present and, potentially, the future. As a contemporary jeweler, Crane centers mark-making, patterns, and material choice to build the content in her individual pieces, and doesn’t shy away from using scale to create bold statements. The sgraffito technique she often employs means she carves through one layer of information to get to another—literally uncovering and exposing what has come before.In 2022, RAM invited Crane—who was teaching at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, and has since moved back to her home state of California—to consider making work in response to a small selection of historical African pieces in the museum’s collection. Crane’s personal investment in using jewelry to make connections and her stated interest in the history of adornment made her a good candidate for this provocative project—she was ready to consider tackling the metaphorical weight of these metal historical objects that once functioned very differently than they do in a museum collection.<h5> </h5>Tanya Crane received her MFA in Metalsmithing + Jewelry from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and her BFA in Metal from the State University of New York at New Paltz. Crane is an Assistant Professor of 3D Foundations, Jewelry and Sculpture at Long Beach City College. Named a 2024 United States Artist Fellow in Craft, she was selected in 2023 to be an inaugural recipient of the Center for Craft’s Teaching Artist Cohort. Crane was also a recipient of The Doris Prouty Foundation Artist Grant—offered to BIPOC/AAPI women artists in Massachusetts and North Carolina to further their artistic activity and practice. She was the 2018 Society of North American Goldsmith’s Emerging Artist and selected to present at SOFA Chicago, as well as the 2017 winner of the Society of Arts and Crafts–Boston Artist Award.Crane’s work is in the collections of the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, Little Rock, AR; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; National Ornamental Metal Museum, Memphis, TN; Philadelphia Art Museum; Springfield Museum of Art, Springfield, OH; Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT; and Racine Art Museum.

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