Actual Fractals, Act II

Sculpture Milwaukee is delighted to announce that Actual Fractals, Act II, our 2024-25 and eighth annual free exhibition of works by renowned international artists, is now on view in downtown Milwaukee. A follow up to Actual Fractals, Act I, our 2023-24 exhibition, Actual Fractals, Act II extends our thematic interest in monumental public art exploring the interconnections of human beings, nature, animals, and cosmopolitan communities, despite our perceived differences and divisions.

Combining a lively, thought-provoking mix of existing works and new pieces commissioned by Sculpture Milwaukee, the exhibition celebrates a new cohort of artists who invite us—Milwaukeeans, visitors, and art fans from near and far—to connect and see each other with fresh eyes. “We’ve chosen artists who are committed to breaking down barriers and, in one way or another, describe the complex interconnections between us and the world we live in,” said artist John Riepenhoff, our executive director and current guest curator, who organized both acts of Actual Fractals. “Their capacity to help us reflect on how we share space together, in this moment, feels like a revelation.”

Spanning a mile of Wisconsin Avenue, AF, Act II features, on a plaza next to the Baird Center, “A Hole in My Stomach” (2024), a new steel figural work by the celebrated Japanese-born, California-based artist Naotaka Hiro. A contemporary response to the historic Japanese movement, Gutai, Hiro focuses on the body and its unknowability. The sculptural work, like his canvases, involve molding material to his body which is akin to a performance. This process requires a tremendous amount of endurance, evidence of which is visible in the piece. A few blocks to the east, across the Milwaukee River, “Abundant” (2024), a cast bronze basket with painted enamel accents by Teresa Baker, invites quiet contemplation of the handicrafts of her Native Mandan/Hidatsa culture. Perched across the street from the Milwaukee Federal Courthouse in its first U.S. viewing, “Pangolin” (2021/24), a cast bronze, white-lacquered sculpture by the late German-Iraqi artist Lin May Saeed, poignantly emphasizes the beauty and vulnerability of this rare mammal. And at the far eastern end of the avenue, in Museum Center Park—a stone’s throw from Milwaukee’s signature orange “Sunburst” (formally, “The Calling”) by Mark di Suvero—“Untitled” (2024), a totemic painted aluminum figure by the Japanese artist Izumi Kato brings to mind Paleolithic art and futuristic aesthetics at the same time.

More large-scale works selected by Riepenhoff for AF, Act II—including pieces by Derrick Adams, Sarah Braman, Anish Kapoor, Mary Miss, and Milwaukee-based artist Michelle Grabner—will be arriving downtown next month and throughout the summer. In the meantime, all nine of the sculptures included in Actual Fractals, Act I are still up, dotting parks and plazas across the city. And there’s another exciting new arrival—originally commissioned by the Swiss-born, New York-based artist Ugo Rondinone for Nature Doesn’t Know About Us, his 2022-23 Sculpture Milwaukee exhibition—that we also recently installed in Museum Center Park: “Glass Spiral” (1990/2024), an ecosystem by the esteemed multimedia artist Meg Webster, who is closely affiliated with the Land Art movement of the 1970s. Viewers of all ages and levels of ability can enter the sculpture, which coils like a snail’s shell, to experience the mesmerizing water- and plant-filled piece from the inside, making themselves moving parts of this new, reengineered version of another beloved “Glass Spiral” that the Milwaukee Art Museum commissioned Webster to make in 1990.

In addition to creating new resonance among all the works installed across Milwaukee by our past and present programmers—today, there are a total of 31 sculptures on view from different overlapping exhibitions—Sculpture Milwaukee is brewing up more ephemeral programming to enrich viewing experiences. Debuting a fresh identity for our organization, design and branding elements—seen everywhere from our posters and placards—created by alphabet artist Nat Pyper play with the words “Sculpture” and “Milwaukee” in curving arrangements that mimic the geography of the rivers that bend and merge downtown, and how people move and congregate around public art. Reflecting our interest in building new layers of value, for viewers and artists alike, Pyper’s designs are part the AF, Act II, as are works of social choreography that Sculpture Milwaukee commissioned from Kim Miller, a local performance and visual artist, to help activate audiences and engagement with works in the exhibition.

“As we continue to gear up and build on Sculpture Milwaukee’s success, we’re not only finding ways to collaborate and co-invest to support artists, but also to spark new conversations about public art that are as important internationally as they are to Milwaukeeans,” said Riepenhoff. “It’s an exciting time, as art increasingly takes a central place in our city and our culture. Actual Fractals champions bold new artists alongside more established art stars, and I’m thrilled to share this exhibition with many different local audiences and visitors to our remarkable city. I invite you to come down and see the exhibition early and often, as it will be growing and changing not only across the seasons, but every day, as new viewers come, move around, and bring new resonance to the works with their enjoyment and investigation of the sculptures we’ve brought to the streets of Milwaukee.”

EXHIBITION PROGRAMMING

Guided tours of Actual Fractals, Act II

Walking tours, Monday, July 22, and Monday, August 5, 2024, 5:30 pm

Tour by trolley, Monday, July 29, 2024, 4 pm

Self-guided tours

Visitors can view a map on our website of all the curated works currently on view, or they can scan the QR code on any sculpture’s object label for more information.

EXHIBITION CURATION 

Actual Fractals, Act II is curated by John Riepenhoff, executive director of Sculpture Milwaukee. A multimedia artist and Milwaukee native whose exhibitions and curatorial projects have been presented at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Tate Modern in London, and the Minneapolis Institute of Art, among other places, Riepenhoff also owns and operates The Green Gallery, located on Milwaukee’s Lower East Side.

EXHIBITION CATALOG

Sculpture Milwaukee has commissioned a major catalog documenting both acts of Actual Fractals. The book will feature photographs by artist Pao Houa Her, who released another photo book earlier this year with Aperture and whose four large-scale, backlit photographs recalling lush Laotian jungles were included in Actual Fractals, Act I.  The Hmong American photographer’s keen eye for how people fit into the landscapes around them, continually reshaping their identities, makes her perspective well suited for exploring the two-part exhibition’s broader themes, according to Riepenhoff. Our publication featuring Her’s photography will be designed by Hans Seeger, a Milwaukee-based highly respected art director and designer who is revered by his clients worldwide, and printed by The Fox Company. It will be available for purchase in fall.

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.