Gallery Night began 21 years ago as a small art event but has spent the last two decades growing into a citywide affair that takes on many shapes, forms and media.
As always, Gallery Night and Day happen quarterly, and this winter's edition takes place Friday, Jan. 16. With nearly 50 venues participating across Milwaukee, it's difficult to know where to begin.
OnMilwaukee.com is here to help. We've complied this list highlighting some interesting stops along your Friday night art-venture. Stay warm.
OnMilwaukee.com writer Maureen Post already detailed the "Western States" show opening at the Armoury Gallery, 1718 N. 1st St.
What else is going on? Here are five highlights.
Artasia Gallery & Museum
181 N. Broadway
Davey Noble returned to the art scene in December with his latest collection, "Dream House." From kitchen art to bedroom art, one of the three "Super Noble Brothers" walks us through his envisioned house built entirely around his paintings. This Gallery Night closed the exhibit with a party from 5 to 11 p.m.
Art Works Milwaukee
2769 N. Martin Luther King Dr.
ArtWorks for Milwaukee has teamed up with Local Initiatives Support Corporation to expand Milwaukee's Gallery Night experience to the Harambee neighborhood. As the culmination of ArtWorks for Milwaukee's latest program, "Milwaukee Posters & Printmaking," the budding apprentice artists will unveil their final prints from 5 to 8 p.m. Enjoy live music by jazz musician Philip Gatewood, refreshments and an interactive art project called "Art In YOUR Neighborhood."
The Borg Ward Collective
823 W. National Ave.
Milwaukee's very own artist / photographer John Krejci uses the landscapes of his "American Dream" series to describe the state, and downturns of American culture. Through ironic depictions of decay and rebirth, Krejci uses his photos to rephrase the common pathways of our city streets.
Cedar Gallery
326 N. Water St., 2nd floor
Milwaukee-based artist and MIAD instructor Shane Walsh shows recent oil works in an exhibit called "Shipwreck Paintings." Here's what Walsh has to say about his work: "These paintings are the result of a sustained investigation of specific visual concerns that have occupied my studio practice over the past year. These concerns include the nature of painting and a particular visual memory from my past. I have a distinct memory of looking over the edge of my father's small boat into Lake Michigan, anticipating the moment when the boulders and the space underwater became visible.
The idea of the shipwreck has become a vehicle and a framework with which to explore my painting concerns.
Cramer-Krasselt
246 E. Chicago St.
C-K recently made the move to the Third Ward, and the company's new location above Rubin's Furniture puts it in prime place to be a Gallery Night participant. Pulling creative film talent from MIAD and UWM, C-K is showing the top 19 of the 60 local film, video and animation projects it received in its office space from 6 to 9 p.m. The event is free.
For a full list of Gallery Night and Day participants, click here.
OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Julie Lawrence grew up in Wauwatosa and has lived her whole life in the Milwaukee area.
As any “word nerd” can attest, you never know when inspiration will strike, so from a very early age Julie has rarely been seen sans pen and little notebook. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee it seemed only natural that she major in journalism. When OnMilwaukee.com offered her an avenue to combine her writing and the city she knows and loves in late 2004, she knew it was meant to be. Around the office, she answers to a plethora of nicknames, including “Lar,” (short for “Larry,” which is short for “Lawrence”) as well as the mysteriously-sourced “Bill Murray.”
