The Bubbles Have Landed in Milwaukee
The evanescent event in Downtown will last just one week before, poof, it disappears.
“Evanescent” at the Marcus Performing Arts Center. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
Milwaukee has a massive new public art exhibit, but you won’t want to wait to go see it.
“Evanescent,” an installation of lighted, large plastic bubbles, will be on display in downtown Milwaukee for only one week.
The three inflatable bubble clusters, which can be touched and walked through, can be found on the grounds of the Marcus Performing Arts Center, 929 N. Water St. The exhibit was created by Sydney-based Atelier Sisu, a partnership of Peruvian sculptor and industrial designer Renzo B. Larriviere and spatial architect and artist Zara Pasfield. It was brought to Milwaukee by a partnership of Milwaukee Downtown, Business Improvement District #21, and the Marcus Center.
During the day, a film on the bubbles is intended to reflect sunlight into a rainbow on the ground. At night, the pieces will be lit in a way the Australian artists say captures the concepts of “ephemerality and transience.” Music emanates from the bubbles, helping build the experience.
Promoted as the “most Instagrammable moment of the summer,” a full slate of entertainment will extend the experience beyond just the visual. Dubbed “HIGHLIGHT,” the daily programming runs Tuesday through Saturday and includes live music, food trucks and a family-friendly entertainer making even more bubbles. A range of daytime and evening activities are planned, to show off the exhibit when its reflective during the day or lit at night.
Free musical performances will start each night at 7 p.m., with an earlier family-night start time of 6 p.m. on Saturday. Saz’s River Edge Patio at the Marcus Center will serve food each day. A kid-friendly bubble artist will start each weekday at 5:30 p.m. and Saturday at 4 p.m. Lawn games will be available to play throughout the day. A rainbow-painted piano will be able for the public to play. HIGHLIGHT is part of the Marcus Center’s Rainbow Summer programming series.
The artwork, according to the artists, was inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic “when the world stopped and everything we took for granted started to disappear.” It is designed to communicate a feeling of transient beauty and the need to live in the moment.
High-energy band Funkadesi will play Tuesday, blues artist Melody Angel will play Wednesday, ESSO will play Thursday, Pink Floyd-inspired ECLIPSE will play Friday and dance-friendly ensemble Mucca Pazza will close the series Saturday. More details are available on the Marcus Center website.
Visitors will be able to pair the exhibit with a number of other downtown events this week, including the Milwaukee Night Market on Wednesday, Jazz in the Park on Thursday and the air show on Saturday. Milwaukee Downtown also offers a number of daytime events.
The installation is just the latest such partnership for Milwaukee Downtown. In May, it bid farewell to a seasonal installation known as “Lightfield” in Cathedral Square Park. That exhibit featured eight, glowing ground sculptures and 16 hanging lanterns. In 2021, it hosted “Massimals MKE,” an artistic depiction of a series of bears, in the park.
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