January 4, 2024—The Miller Art Museum will debut its first exhibitions of 2024, Vestiges of the Tide featured in the Museum’s first-floor main galleries and Charles L. Peterson in the Permanent Collection on the Ruth Morton Miller Mezzanine. The exhibits open to the public at 10 am on Saturday, January 20, 2024, and feature the work of Mary Porterfield, Ellen Holtzblatt, and the late celebrated Door County artist Charles L. Peterson (1927-2022). A free artist reception with Porterfield and Holtzblatt will be held later on Fri., March 1, 2024, in conjunction with The Studio Door, a curator/artist conversation. The exhibition will be on view for the public through April 6, 2024.
Vestiges of the Tide features drawings and paintings by Chicago-based artists Mary Porterfield and Ellen Holtzblatt. Porterfield works in the medical field as an occupational therapist and is also a talented portraitist committed to rendering her elderly, infirm subjects with images that address recurring struggles in healthcare. In unison, Ellen Holtzblatt presents works from her Song of Songs series, a collection of portraits of her elderly mother that convey that love, desire, and the need for human contact are universal.
“Together, the two create an emotionally charged exhibit that will offer viewers a powerful, poetic experience in the reality that many of us in Door County are facing,” says Helen del Guidice, Miller Art Museum curator.
Mary Porterfield, Support that Remains, oil on Dura-Lar film, 2023.Porterfield’s figure drawings on transparent Dura-Lar and glassine papers are progressively layered creating images that address the internal struggles experienced by patients and caregivers that are outwardly hidden or forgotten. Using family members as models, she conveys the loss of identity that can occur as degenerative illnesses affect one’s ability to complete self-care and functional movement. The underlying layers represent the obscured sense of self that attempts to overcome those difficulties. The life-sized images, which are cut out and mounted to the wall, represent the substantiality of hardship and resilience.
October 19, 2023—The Miller Art Museum debuts its two final exhibitions of 2023, Newfangled: Modernism in the Permanent Collection and the Wildlife Biennial XXI, both opening to the public on November 4, 2023. An opening reception, free and open to the public, is scheduled for Friday, November 3 from 5:30 – 7:00pm. Light refreshments will be served and music will be provided by Craig Schultz. The exhibition will be on view through December 30, 2023.
Newfangled, presented in the museum’s first-floor main galleries, includes 34 works from the museum’s permanent collection that illustrate the modern art period and define particular characteristics and influences.
The modern art period, enduring between the 18th and 20th centuries, was marked by the gargantuan effects of the Age of Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution, and two world wars. This combination of revolutionary social changes served as a catalyst, prompting artists to reject traditional values in search of innovation. Modernism looked to the future with newfangled individualism, imagining an idealized society with a belief in universal truths.
September 29, 2023—On Friday, September 16, the Miller Art Museum unveiled its 48th Juried Annual—a survey and celebration of contemporary work by Wisconsin visual artists—to a reception of more than 200 attendees. Eight regional visual artists were recognized during the awards ceremony for their works exuding excellence and originality and were experimental. All total, $1,950 was presented to the following recipients:
Aaron Boyd (Milwaukee) was awarded a $250 Juror’s Choice Award (Jinkins) for his work titled The Tadpoles.
Kimberly Burnett (Milwaukee) was awarded a $200 Special Merit Award for her work titled The Rearrangement.
Bethann Moran Handzlik (Fort Atkinson) was awarded a $200 Special Merit Award for her work titled A Mind of Winter.
Thomas Jordan (Sturgeon Bay) was awarded a $200 Special Merit Award for his work titled Alone, But Not Alone.
August 31, 2023—The Miller Art Museum is pleased to announce the opening of its 48th Juried Annual on Friday, September 15, 2023. Eight award winners, including the recipient of the Gerhard CF Miller Award of Excellence, will be announced at a free public celebration, which will be held from 5:30 – 7pm. Light refreshments will be served and music will be provided by Craig Schultz and Mike Miller. The exhibition will be on view through October 28, 2023.
The Juried Annual, a nearly fifty-year tradition of the Miller Art Museum and a pillar of the annual exhibition calendar, has broadened in geographic scope in recent years to include representation by artists from across the state. The exhibit highlights the tremendous talent and exceptional work of both emerging and established artists across the region who contribute to the vibrant and robust arts landscape.
August 18, 2023—The Miller Art Museum in downtown Sturgeon Bay has announced it will host its fall fundraising event, Dinner á la Art, on Saturday, September 23 at the Donald and Carol Press Pavilion in Egg Harbor. The community is invited to attend this signature event celebrating the visual arts and the work of the Miller Art Museum.
The event is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m., where guests will be warmly welcomed with champagne and the music of Harpist Tammy Kazmierczak. Following, the evening will include a farm-to-table seated dinner by Chives of Baileys Harbor, opportunities to connect with and engage and support visual artists, and a lively after-party featuring a curated selection of music from DJ David Watkins of Analog Entertainment and his extensive (and secret) record vault.