David Barnett Gallery Showcases
Wisconsin Art From The Collection of David Barnett and the David Barnett Gallery
January 18th - April 13th 2013
The David Barnett Gallery is pleased to present “Wisconsin Art from the Collection of David Barnett and the David Barnett Gallery” exhibit - a diverse exhibit reflecting over 50 years of collecting Wisconsin’s best. An opening reception will be held on Gallery Night & Day, Friday, January 18, 2013 from 5:00pm to 9:00pm and Saturday, January 19, 2013 from 11:00am to 5:00pm. The exhibit will run through April 13, 2013. The gallery is located at 1024 E. State St. at Prospect Ave. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
This exhibit features a selection of Wisconsin artists and influential instructors. Since the creation of the David Barnett Gallery the focus has been to sponsor young Wisconsin artists and promote their work. This exhibit will explore the works of local artists and the educators who taught them.
Wisconsin Art From The Collection of David Barnett and The David Barnett Gallery will feature such artists as Sylvia Spicuzza, Joseph Ferrara, Howard Schroedter, Randall Berndt and Joseph Rozman. Many of these individuals divided their time between art educator, and practicing artist and were influential to many local artists including David Barnett himself.
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| Sylvia Spicuzza, Farm Scene, 1938 |
Sylvia Spicuzza, daughter of Francesco Spicuzza, spent a great deal of her life teaching at Lake Bluff Elementary School in Shorewood, Wisconsin. She always gave encouraging words to her students enabling them to strive to their fullest potential. Her work uses a range of modern styles including Art Deco, and Art Nouveau, illustrating spacial forms of line, color and shape. Her largest and most important work, Farm Scene: Farmer's Wife w/ Children - Big Cedar Lake, 1938 depicts an intimate farm scene of a Wisconsin family, reflecting a classic example of the art style from the WPA era. Originally, this work hung in Spicuzza's dining room, and is now one of the David Barnett Gallery's prized pieces. Spicuzza's works span from the 1920’s until her death in 1998, most of which were never exhibited. Instead she focused on promoting the iconic works of her father, setting aside her own artistic ambitions. Farm Scene, along with a selection of other artworks from her private collection will be included in this exhibition.
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| Joseph Ferrara, Free Press, 1957 |
Joe Ferrara taught art at Shorewood High School influencing many local artists. David Barnett recalls his time with him as being very influential to his artistic career, so much so that his collection of art began with a watercolor by his high school art teacher Ferrara. David Barnett now has a few works in his collection by Joe Ferrara, including his politically charged watercolor entitled Free Press 1957, which illustrates the social inequality occurring in Milwaukee, Wisconsin during the Civil Rights Movement. It was initially created for the Milwaukee Journal's 75th Anniversary Awards for Wisconsin Painters in 1957, which was later awarded and exhibited at the Milwaukee Art Center. Today, it is part of David Barnett's collection and will be part of this expansive survey of Wisconsin artists.
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| Howard Schroedter, Turbulent Sky, 1988 |
Howard Schroedter was both a local artist and instructor. He received his Bachelors and Masters from the Wisconsin State Teachers College, now known as University of Milwaukee Wisconsin, and is remembered as Chairman of the Art Department at UW-Milwaukee. His focus and success on Art Education lead him to be elected a member of the University Committee. During this time he worked towards shaping policy and education, comprising the university's academic philosophy. As a Professor, he was able to mold the minds of his students and show them both traditional and new skills to use in their own works.
In 1984 he retired in order to focus on his own work and began traveling between his studio cabin at Hatch Lake, Wisconsin and his studio in Casey Key, Florida. His primary focus was landscapes, which later evolved to a focus on clouds. For his sky paintings as well as his landscapes he utilized a technique know as “glaze painting” which essentially is layering small amounts of paint on top of one another in order to create a wide range of colors and textures. We see this technique in "Turbulent Sky" 1988, which depicts wild flames of red and orange hues of a vibrant Wisconsin sunset. This painting would become Schroedter's final work before his death, and is believed to be one of his finest works.
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| Randall Berndt, Artist In Heliopolis, 1986 |
The creation of the David Barnett Gallery was not solely focused on local instructors of art but it has also been key to providing a haven for up and coming local artists and graduate students. One such artist that will be on display is Randall Berndt who received his MFA from Madison in 1969. Currently Berndt is an Assistant Curator at the Wisconsin Academy’s James Watrous Gallery at the Overture Center for the Arts in Madison. His works on display contain some of his best examples of his artistic oeuvre, which focus on classical mythology and pop culture blended into a unique style all his own.
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| Joseph Rozman, Underground Movies, 1968 |
Joseph Rozman, was the first artist to have a solo exhibition at the David Barnett Gallery, having his first one man show in 1967, again in 1969, and 1971. Rozman received his MFA from UWM in 1969, and would later become a Professor at Mount Mary College. His zany style portrays his spontaneous blending of ancient and personal symbols influenced by Egyptian art and the paintings and drawings of Paul Klee, his free experimentation with varied materials and processes, and his delight in color and texture. Caring the credo of "Art is Fun" Rozman's playful gestures recur in his richly diverse works. It is sure to be a happy experience.
Also featuring the following artists - John Steuart Curry, Francesco Spicuzza, Schomer Lichtner, Ruth Grotenrath, Edmund Lewandowski, Robert Richter, Reginald Gee, Tom Ferderbar, Della Wells, Karin Krohne-Kaufman, Alayna Rose, Catherine Holmburg, Dan Muller, Michael Gross and Christine LePage.
This exhibit not only shows the importance of local artists and their educators but it also strives to portray the message of The David Barnett Gallery into a single show, preserving the legacies of Wisconsin artists, past, present, and future.
Please join us on January 18th, 2013 to rediscover the importance of Wisconsin Artists and their educators.
