Category: Exhibitions

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Art Events Exhibitions

What’s Happening at the Milwaukee Art Museum: August 29-September 5

Looking for something to do as the kids head off to school this week? Come in to the Milwaukee Art Museum! The Museum is open seven days a week through Labor Day, and active military and their families receive FREE admission, thanks to Blue Star Museums.

But – on Thursday, September 1, admission is FREE for ALL individuals thanks to Target Free First Thursdays! The Museum is open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, and it will be your last chance to see The Emperor’s Private Paradise: Treasures from the Forbidden City for free before it closes on Sunday, September 11.

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Art Behind the Scenes Curatorial Exhibitions

Being an Intern: It’s not only Makin’ Copies

Prancing Horse with Head Turned, Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE), detail.
Prancing Horse with Head Turned, Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE), detail. James E. Conley, Jr. Collection. Photo by the author.

In 2005, as a senior Art History major at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, I worked as an intern for the Museum’s Curatorial Department in Earlier European Art. Working under the expert intern-wrangling leadership of Catherine Sawinski, Assistant Curator of Earlier European Art, I industriously contributed my research (compiling artist biographies for the 2006 Biedermeier: The Invention of Simplicity exhibition) and customer service (answering public inquiries) skills to the greater cause of making the Milwaukee Art Museum run.

Breaking my daily routine, Laurie Winters (now the Museum’s Director of Exhibitions) and Mary Weaver Chapin (now the Museum’s Associate Curator of Prints & Drawings) asked me if I could go to Chicago with Mary for the day to help with a cataloging project.  We would be visiting an Asian art collection to inventory, measure, and photograph all the objects.

As an intern, I was thrilled with this great opportunity, but I had no idea that this material would reappear in my life 6 years later!

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Art Events Exhibitions

What’s Happening at the Milwaukee Art Museum: July 11-July 17

Contemporary Chinese Warriors, Yue Minjun, 2006

Welcome to another sweltering week in Milwaukee, with big things happening at the Museum.

Have you seen the latest installation in the Summer of CHINA series? It’s called Contemporary Chinese Warriors and it’s by Chinese artist Yue Minjun. The 26 satirical statues are located in the Museum’s Contemporary Galleries, on the Main Level.

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Art Curatorial Exhibitions

Conversation with the Curator: Way of the Dragon

Chipstone curator Kate Smith standing in "Way of the Dragon" at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Photo by Claudia Mooney.
Chipstone curator Kate Smith standing in "Way of the Dragon: The Chinoiserie Style, 1710-1830" at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Photo by Claudia Mooney.

The Chipstone Foundation recently opened its Summer of China exhibition: Way of the Dragon: The Chinoiserie Style, 1710-1830, which will be on view until November 6.

I sat down with the show’s curator, Kate Smith, to discuss the concept of “chinoiserie” as well as the exhibition process.

Claudia Mooney: I know a lot of visitors are probably wondering this, What does chinoiserie mean?

Kate Smith: The term “chinoiserie” basically means “in the Chinese style”. It refers to objects that are made outside of China in imitation of Chinese objects and images.

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Art Events Exhibitions

What’s Happening at the Milwaukee Art Museum: July 4-July 10

Happy Fourth of July from the Milwaukee Art Museum. The Museum is open Monday, July 4 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission for active military and their families is free. We hope you include the Museum in your Independence Day plans.

Also happening this week, there’s a Gallery Talk on The Emperor’s Private Paradise at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 5, and an Express Talk on the feature exhibition on Thursday, July 7 at noon.

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Art Events Exhibitions

What’s Happening at the Milwaukee Art Museum: June 27-July 4

It’s another busy week at the Museum, with Gallery Talks, lectures, and the opening of a new exhibition. And don’t forget the Museum is open on Monday, July 4, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

On Tuesday, June 28, enjoy a Gallery Talk at 1:30 p.m. in The Emperor’s Private Paradise. There’s also a 30-minute Express Talk at noon on Thursday, June 30 for those looking for something different to do over the lunch hour.

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Art Curatorial Exhibitions

Object Lab 3.0

Ethan Lasser taking the group around the decorative arts galleries at the Milwaukee Art Museum
Ethan Lasser taking the Object Lab group around the decorative arts galleries at the Milwaukee Art Museum

It’s one of my favorite times of the year again: The Chipstone Foundation’s Object Lab 3.0 just took place last week. As always, we were incredibly impressed with the depth and creativity emanating from the participating students.

For those of you that haven’t heard about Object Lab, it is a student workshop focused on intense object study. Nine college juniors and seniors from all over the country are selected to participate. They spend four days in Milwaukee, alternating between the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Chipstone Foundation house in Fox Point and going on various field trips around the city. The Object Lab has been in existence for three years. Each year has a different focus, but is always centered around handling museum objects, something that even college students interested in the decorative arts might never have been allowed to do before.

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Art Events Exhibitions

What’s Happening at the Milwaukee Art Museum: June 13-June 19

Photo Courtesy of Front Room Photography

Welcome to the Summer of CHINA! This weekend marked the official opening of the Museum’s long-anticipated series of exhibitions celebrating 3,000 years of Chinese art and culture. If you haven’t seen it yet, make a point to stop in this week and experience these breathtaking objects.

The feature exhibition for the summer, The Emperor’s Private Paradise: Treasures from the Forbidden City is garnering much acclaim from the press. Check out with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Third Coast Digest, and the Business Journal had to say about it.

The Summer of CHINA includes a long list of programs, events, and lectures to complement the art, and a list of programming can be found here. We hope you will come and experience everything the Summer of CHINA has to offer.

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Art Exhibitions

“Summer of CHINA” Primer: Scholar’s Rocks

Zhan Wang, Artificial Rock No. 43, 2008 (detail). Stainless steel. Private collection. Photo by the author.

What do you think of when I say rocks? Probably not much of consequence. Rocks scattered on the ground, surrounded by grass and dirt. Perhaps lining a path somewhere. Maybe caught in your shoe. Rocks are not a huge part of daily American culture (unless, perhaps, you are a gardener).

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Art Events Exhibitions

What’s Happening at the Milwaukee Art Museum: May 30-June 5

Happy Summer to everyone! With Memorial Day marking the unofficial start to summer, the Museum will have expanded hours, and offer free admission to active duty military and their families.

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