RAM’s Wustum Museum To Host 50th Year of Watercolor Wisconsin

On December 11, 2016, Racine Art Museum’s (RAM’s) Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts will continue an important Racine tradition with the opening of Watercolor Wisconsin 2016. One of the museum’s most popular shows, Watercolor Wisconsin is a statewide competition organized by the museum annually since 1966. This long-running, juried exhibition attracts a wide range of artists. Limited only by their materials–aqueous media such as acrylic and watercolor–artists are free to create two-dimensional and three-dimensional works on paper. This year’s show features a variety of subjects, from animals, flowers, and landscape to figurative studies and the abstract. The exhibition will be on display at Wustum, through April 22, 2017.

Peter Power–Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Print Media at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago–and Doug Stapleton, Associate Curator of Art with the Illinois State Museum Chicago Gallery–an adjunct faculty in the Interdisciplinary Arts graduate program at Columbia College Chicago, and a visual artist–juried this year’s show. Power and Stapleton considered 272 works submitted by 155 artists, narrowing down the selection to 98 works by 71 Wisconsin artists.

The Opening Reception and Awards Ceremony for the 50th anniversary competition, Watercolor Wisconsin 2016, will be held at RAM’s Wustum Museum, 2519 Northwestern Avenue in Racine on Sunday, December 11 from 2:00 to 4:00 pm. During the reception, Bruce W. Pepich, RAM Executive Director and Curator of Collections will host the awards presentation. Refreshments will be served.

Also on view, Honoring Fifty Years of Watercolor Wisconsin at Racine Art Museum until February 5, 2017, features works that were acquired from past juried shows for the permanent collection. These acquisitions were made using various special funds dedicated to growing RAM’s holdings in contemporary watercolor or were gifted by donors.

Artists in the Exhibition: Appleton: Gary Hanks; Brookfield: Julia F. McMurray; Burlington: Jimmy Yanny; Cedarburg: Patrick Doughman, Sandra Pape; Franksville: Sue Horton; Fredonia: Tim Day; Glendale: Kathleen Bergstrom; Grafton: Wallis Coffman, Jean Crane; Hales Corners: Betty A. Storey; Hartford: Harold E. Hansen, Barbara Sorenson Rambadt; Janesville: Connie Glowacki; Kenosha: Dennis Bayuzick, James Block, Judy Gotta, Sande Jensen, Robert Marcella, Beverly J. Mich, Carlotta Miller, Paula Touhey, Greg Uttech, Rebecca Venn; Madison: Randal Feig, Linda P. Hancock, Doug Haynes, Brian McCormick; Mequon: Kathleen Nelson, Alice Struck; Middleton: Michael Kratochwill; Milwaukee: Michael D. Andrysczyk, Joyce Eesley, Steve Horvath, Matt Kuhlman, Kiefer Ledell, Susan Leopold, JoAnna Poehlmann; Mount Pleasant: Robert W. Andersen; Nashotah: Alice Rossman; Neenah: Kathryn Wedge; New Berlin: Julie San Felipe; Oak Creek: Al Minzlaff; Oconomowoc: Virgilyn Driscoll; Racine: Jerry Belland, Mary Burant, Ellen Cardwell, Lisa Englander, Maureen Fritchen, Christopher Johns, Edwin Kalke, Jeff Kosmala, John Krewal, Karen Mathis, Sharon Mellberg, Lance Raichert, Linda Somogyi, Susan M. Sorenson, Dina Walker, Sue Wolff; Salem:  Harry Wirth; Waterford: Norman Abplanalp, Linda Gerard Dzik, Edith Kubicek; Waukesha: Bruce Boeck; Wausau: Diane Shabino; Wauwatosa: Chris Sommerfelt; Whitefish Bay: Anne Miotke; Whitewater: Christine B. Miller, Linda Tump; Williams Bay: Lynne Railsback

This exhibition is made possible by: Platinum Sponsors – Karen Johnson Boyd and William B. Boyd, SC Johnson, Windgate Charitable Foundation; Diamond Sponsor: Osborne and Scekic Family Foundation; Gold Sponsors – Herzfeld Foundation, Johnson Bank, National Endowment for the Arts, Racine Community Foundation, W. T. Walker Group, Inc.; Silver Sponsors – Andis Foundation, Real Racine, Runzheimer International Ltd., United Way Racine County, Wisconsin Arts Board; Bronze Sponsors – Burlington Graphic Systems, Inc., CNH Industrial, EC Styberg Foundation, Educators Credit Union, In Sink Erator, The Norbell Foundation, Orkney Springs Retreat, Rasmussen Diamonds, Southern Connecticut Polymer Clay Guild, Wisconsin Public Radio

Together, the two campuses of the Racine Art Museum, RAM in downtown Racine at 441 Main Street and the Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts at 2519 Northwestern Avenue, seek to elevate the stature of contemporary crafts to that of fine art by exhibiting significant works in craft media with painting, sculpture and photography, while providing outstanding educational art programming.

Docent led contemporary craft and architectural tours of the museums are available. Both campuses of the Racine Art Museum, are open to the public Tuesday – Saturday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm, and are closed Mondays, Federal holidays and Easter. RAM is open Sunday Noon – 5:00 pm, while Wustum is closed Sundays. An admission fee of $5 for adults, with reduced fees for students and seniors, applies at RAM. Admission to Wustum is free. Members are always admitted without charge to either campus.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.