To the moon and back

This week’s Art Date highlights companion exhibitions opening at Green Gallery and the Lynden Sculpture Garden, plus the extravaganza of the Third Ward Art Festival.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 30

A copy of Forrest Myers’ Moon Museum. Image courtesy Wikipedia.

Scaling the Wall
Green Gallery
1500 N. Farwell Ave.
Opening reception 5-8 p.m.
Exhibition continues through September 29

The sculpture of Forrest Myers varies in scale, from monumental outdoor creations such as his famous The Wall, sited on a building in SoHo, to comparatively diminutive pieces and furniture. A strong minimalist aesthetic is pervasive, as is a sense of drawing in three-dimensional space. Linear forms arc like lines of a drawing overhead, or weave in tight forms like a gestures in metal. Myers’ career was established in the 1960s as he became prominent in San Francisco, New York, and on the moon. His Moon Museum, which landed with the Apollo 12 mission, is a tiny ceramic chip less than an inch square inscribed with images of work by Myers, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, Claes Oldenburg, John Chamberlain, and David Novros. The Guggenheim would certainly be jealous of displaying art in such an outpost.

Curator Nicholas Frank is doing double-duty, as this is a companion to Myers’ showing at the Lynden Sculpture Garden, opening on Sunday. The Green Gallery exhibition will be a tightly focused affair, featuring works related to The Wall and the Moon Museum.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 31 

The Third Ward Art festival offers art, music, food, and fun for all ages. Image courtesy Amdur Productions.

Third Ward Art Festival    
Taking place throughout the Third Ward
Buffalo Street and Broadway
Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Nearly 150 artists will participate in the 2nd annual Third Ward Art Festival, showing a range of work from painting and photography to jewelry and functional art pieces. The Third Ward is well-known as an art destination in Milwaukee, and this event amplifies the visuals on display in area galleries. Adding to the festivities will be live music, food, plus activities for the kids.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 

Domesticated Monumentalism 
Lynden Sculpture Garden
2145 W. Brown Deer Road
Opening reception 3-5 p.m.
Quartet unveiling, 4 p.m.
Exhibition continues through December 1

Work by Forrest Myers will be on view at Green Gallery and the Lynden Sculpture Garden. Image courtesy Lynden Sculpture Garden.

The companion exhibition to Green Gallery’s Scaling the Wall opens at the Lynden Sculpture Garden with a reception and a new addition to their permanent collection. Forrest Meyer’s Quartet was previously known as Calipers during its display on the lakefront as part of the Milwaukee Art Museum collection. It was recently donated by MAM and will officially be introduced on the rolling estate, formerly the home of Harry and Peg Bradley. While Quartet takes to its new location as a significant historical work, Domesticated Monumentalism is presented as an exhibition of later pieces by Myers, providing an overview of his productive career during the past fifty years. Works shown inside and outdoors include sculptures, metal paintings, furniture-sculptures, and maquettes for larger pieces. Admission to the Lynden is free for the opening reception.