The Pfister Hotel announced today that Sasha Kinens would serve as the 16th Artist in Residence. She succeeds the previous Artist in Residence, fiber artist Heidi Parkes.
“The Pfister has had a long devotion to the arts with its award-winning Artist in Residence program making a profound impression on our guests and the Milwaukee community,” said Brandon Drusch, managing director of The Pfister Hotel.
Kinens, a Thiensville-based figurative oil painter, begins her year-long residency in the hotel’s lobby-level artist studio this month.
Kinens studied with artists James Prohl and Richard Serrin and pursued art education at Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan. Her pieces have been exhibited in galleries across the United States and in Italy. In addition to her practice, Kinens shares her passion for art through teaching art therapy at Tiny Bird Art Studio in Thiensville.
Inspired by the pre-Raphaelites and Symbolists and informed by classical realism, Kinens uses layers of oil glazing to paint models in landscape scenes.
Guests will be invited into Kinens’ studio at The Pfister to glean a better understanding of her process and see each piece develop throughout her residency. She also plans to host immersive art events and experiences.
“I am thrilled to be The Pfister’s 16th Artist in Residence and look forward to working in such an iconic setting that has long embraced the arts,” said Kinens. “Those who appreciate the charm of The Pfister Hotel will see a similar allure in my paintings, pulling them into history only to reveal a new narrative through the layers of oil paint.”
The Pfister Hotel’s Artist in Residence program hosts emerging and mid-career artists from Milwaukee and beyond. For an entire year, the artists are placed at the forefront of Milwaukee’s growing art scene, sharing their work with the hotel’s guests and locals visiting the Pfister.
Now in its 16th year, the program has celebrated many diverse art forms, including fashion design, photography, painting and more. At the end of their residency, the Artist in Residence leaves behind a legacy piece that will go on permanent display at The Pfister Hotel.
“We are excited Sasha will be joining us as our 16th Artist in Residence. Guests will enjoy watching her pieces come to life as they blend historical influences with her twenty-first-century outlook," says Drusch.
For more information about Kinens and her work, please visit: sashakinens.com.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
