The Milwaukee 2024 – 2025 art season was simply remarkable. I was continually surprised and challenged by the art, music, dance, and theater events that I was fortunate to experience. And I hope that it also helped me to improve my understanding of the arts and increase my ability to see. I know that I was able to expand my coverage of theater as the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre and Next Act Theatre invited me to participate in their seasons. And I want to thank the artists, performers, directors, art admins, and university professors who encouraged and supported me in 2024 – 2025. It let me know that I was adding value and moving in the right direction with my efforts at An Intuitive Perspective.
So I felt a great deal of excitement and anticipation as the 2025 – 2026 season got underway. And I was off to a great start with Next Act’s Sanctuary City and Vanguard Milwaukee’s Presentation of Lungs. And then I was called away for a family emergency and missed a few other season openers and felt a profound sense of loss. And it just reinforced in me that art is important: to the individual and to the community. I am home now and intend to jump back into the season with both feet this weekend. So for those readers looking forward to a review of your favorite theater company, I am sorry. And to those organizations looking forward to my support, I am sorry. I may get called away again, so if I seem to be missing in action, please bear with me.
So this seems like a good place to add these thoughts. Milwaukee’s arts scene is incredibly vibrant and diverse and the level of professionalism is truly remarkable. But please don’t take it for granted. As Wisconsin has slipped to 50th place in public support of the arts, please support your favorite art groups by attending every event that interests you. And donate to them in any manner and any means that you can. It is important.
Everyone who has spent any time enjoying the visual arts is familiar with woodcuts. They are often very warm and tactile and inviting prints traditionally printed in black ink but often done in color in the last hundred years or so. Woodcuts are made by carving away the parts of a wood block that the artist wants to show as white, the negative spaces in the image. And the carving is done with any number of different knives or gouges or chisels in the plank grain or long grain of the wood…the softer side. And then the ink is applied to the remaining raised surface, a sheet of paper is laid over the block, and the entire thing is run through a press to transfer the ink from block to paper.
But now the Emil H. Mathis gallery at UWM is featuring the Wood Engravers’ Network’s Fifth Triennial exhibition. So this is a real opportunity to delve into wood engravings which are similar but they are not the same as a woodcut. A wood engraving is carved in the end grain of a piece of wood, the cross cut side for those carpenters out there. And then that piece is finished to a very fine surface and tinted before the drawing is transferred to the block or in some cases actually drawn on the block. The tools used in engraving are far smaller, far sharper, and very fine compared to those used in woodcuts. That is required because of the harder surface in the end grain wood. But the advantage of these fine tools and the harder wood surface is a medium that exhibits far more detail and far more possibilities for tints, shading, and other subtleties. Once completed the block is printed a similar fashion to a woodcut but the prints will generally be smaller because the end grain pieces of wood are smaller to start with.
The Wood Engravers’ Network’s Fifth Triennial exhibition was juried by Max Yela, the Head of Special Collections at the Golda Meir Library at UWM. He has selected a marvelous collection of 60 engravers from an international array of artists. So subject matter and technique and genre run the gamut of the possibilities of wood engraving. Now let’s step into the 21st Century a bit and realize that the woods most sought after for engraving have become more scarce and far more expensive. So there are now a number of synthetic surfaces in use including corian for example, a product similar to corian counter tops. So you will see a few prints using these new materials as well.
So if you are not familiar with wood engravings or not quite sure how they differ from woodcuts, this is the perfect opportunity to explore the medium. And as an extra bonus Yela has also included a few books and engravings from UWM’s Special Collections as a counterpoint. This is a rare chance to see some of these items as well.
The show is free and open to the public but the gallery has limited hours: 10:30 AM to 2:30 PM, Monday through Thursday. The show continues through May 1, 2025. The Emil H Mathis gallery is located on the ground floor of Mitchell Hall, room 170, at 3203 N Downer Avenue, the north west corner of Downer Ave. and Kenwood Ave.
And now a few of my favorites…and an attempt to lure you into the gallery. I apologize for some of the funny angles, I was trying my best to reduce glare (and the reflection of my red overcoat):
Rebecca Gilbert, The Widow (self portrait), wood engraving and letterpress, image 2.5 x 3 inches
Christoper Register, Gingrich from the Scoundrel’s Series, Resingrave, 5 x 5 inches
Abigail Rorer, The Madonna Tree, relief engraving, 6 5/8 x 5 inches
James Todd, Masters of War, wood engraving, 12 x 16 inches
Blaze Cyan, A Complicated Life, wood engraving, 5.9 x 3.9 inches
And here’s two from the UWM Special Collections:
Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, wood engravings by artist Barry Moser
The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, a facsimile of William Morris’ 1896 Kelmscott Press printing.
The Emile Mathis Gallery at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee opens the 2024/2025 season with a celebration of a generous gift of 20th Century Art from Henry and Blanche Rosenberg. The show is curated by gallery director Leigh M. W. Mahlik and encompasses the entire span of the Rosenberg’s collection. Primarily anchored in prints or other works on paper, Mahlik has also included a number of paintings and small table top scaled sculptures.
Visiting this show is incredibly rewarding. Most of the major European artists of the period are represented. And the work is certainly museum quality but the scale is a more personal size and invites you to spend some time getting familiar with it. Something that isn’t always available when viewing work of epic proportion. When I visited a second time, part of my intent was to take photos of work that spoke to me that I wanted to post with the article and hoped that they would speak to you. Unfortunately I got carried away and will have to make choices now so that I don’t overwhelm you with visuals. After all, I do want you to visit the gallery.
But the Rosenberg’s clearly had an eye for design. Although these works aren’t necessarily well known they are clean and crisp in design, and exhibit the exquisite draftsmanship that these artists are known for. And color is also a focus of many of these works. But there are some abstract pieces here that stand out too. This is a captivating show. And the best part it is easily accessible and free to the public.
My initial intention here was to quote a bit from Leigh Mahlik’s wall text about the show. But rather than try to edit it and retype it, I am just going to post a photo of the introductory text here. As it mentions, the collection has been instrumental in the educational mission of UWM and the Art History Department (which I understand is celebrating its 60th Anniversary this year). And with that in mind, Mahlik has also included short histories on the various ‘isms’ exhibited here…the show and the collection is certainly a delight!
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I urge you to take the time to visit the Emile Mathis Gallery and enjoy this marvelous show. The Mathis Gallery is on the ground floor of Mitchell Hall which is on the corner of Downer Avenue and Kenwood Boulevard. The gallery is in the southwest corner of Mitchell but there is clear signage on the first floor at the entrances pointing you in the right direction. The Gallery is open Monday through Thursday from 10 AM to 4 PM and admission is free.
