The A.V. Club's fall Gallery Night preview
Where we're headed this weekend for art with a side of free wine and cheese
Paradise Lost? Climate Change in the Northwoods
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Whether it’s the shorter days, the dipping thermometer, or Halloween’s approach, this weekend’s Gallery Night has a bleak feel to it. Maybe we should all wrap ourselves in heavy wool scarves and tuck a flask of whiskey-spiked cider in our pockets before heading out to the galleries, because it’s going to be a cold, dreary night. We mean that in the best way possible, of course: If there’s a stereotype we love, it’s the tortured artist in a black beret with a scowl on his face and a long list of things he finds disgusting. Lots of that this Gallery Night, and a lot of very serious looks at cultural problems tonight and Saturday.
The Green Gallery East promises to be transformed into “a den of ennui and neglect” with the opening reception of Tony Matelli’s show, Yesterday, which includes sculptures made from playing cards, cigarette butts, beer cans, and cold pizza. At The Walker’s Point Center For The Arts, Paradise Lost? Climate Change In The Northwoods takes a look at how Wisconsin’s fabled Northwoods might be affected by global warming. Works from the show’s 18 or so artists span a variety of media and include paintings and quilts. Both shows feature receptions Friday night from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Activism is on the schedule this weekend, too. It might be that the holidays are approaching (they really are!), or it might be that we’re turning into a caring, loving society (doubtful), but if you want to combine art with social consciousness, you’re in luck. At Cuvée, colorful paintings by Chicago artist Erik Sosa will be for sale, with proceeds benefiting AIDS Resources Center Of Wisconsin. Also head to Impromptu Gallery at Jefferson Block Apartments, where proceeds from a silent auction will benefit RedLine Milwaukee. Four local, contemporary artists are showing paintings and prints that will remind you how vibrant Milwaukee’s art scene really is. (RedLine itself has a show this weekend, too, featuring prints by Tomas Vu-Daniel and a video installation by Portia Cobb.) Finally, Guildess: Contemporary Women’s Art Collective hosts Bittersweet at Hide House in Bay View featuring the juried works of 12 local artists. A portion of all sales will be donated to The Leukemia/Lymphoma Society.
Local colleges also present some fantastic shows this Gallery Night. UW-Milwaukee’s Peck School Of The Arts INOVA Gallery features Mary L. Nohl Fund Fellowships for Individual Artists 2008 Exhibition; Milwaukee Institute Of Art & Design is hosting Reconnections, a curated alumni show, and Marquette University’s Haggerty Museum features Persian Visions: Contemporary Photography From Iran, where the works address social and political concern while giving a glimpse of today’s Iran.
You’ll also want to check out Masters of Surrealism at David Barnett Gallery, which will play home to sculptures, etchings, woodcuts and lithographs by Salvador Dali as well as lithographs by Andre Masson until January 9. If that’s not fun enough for you, how about Into The Feminine: An Exploration Of Female Desire at Tool Shed, which features the desire-exposing portraits of 12 women by Nico Bennett? That ought to warm you up on a cold night.
