Laura Sims Peck Named Curator at The Warehouse

Milwaukee (Feb. 4, 2019) – The Warehouse has announced the appointment of Laura Sims Peck as the institution’s first curator.

Peck has worked with the family collection that is the basis of The Warehouse for the past four years. She has organized the collection in a private home and exhibited selected pieces from the collection at Milwaukee institutions such as the Villa Terrace, the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UWM) Union Art Gallery, and the Milwaukee Art Museum. During that time, she also worked on publications including Beyond Baskets and Roy Staab: Suspended in Time, both with Plumb Press.

Before working with the collection, Peck served as curator and manager of the Union Art Gallery. During her time there, she curated several exhibitions including Bound and Beyond: Structure in Book Art, Visualizing Sovereignty, and Identity Check: Works in Contemporary Photography. She also worked on the exhibition Global Matters: Rauschenberg Print Media 1968-1975 shown at the then UWM Art History Gallery (now named the Emile H. Mathis Gallery).

Peck received her B.A. in anthropology and art history from the University of Minnesota, Morris, and her M.A. in Art History from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, along with a certificate in Museum Studies. Her Master’s thesis and exhibition, Reflections on a Collection: Revisiting the UWM Icons Fifty Years Later, centered on the Greek and Russian Icons in the UWM Art History collection and the collector who amassed the works in the first half of the 20th century. While living in Minneapolis, she interned at the Walker Art Center and assisted with multiple projects, including their award-winning documentary, The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.

Peck curated the inaugural exhibition Concentrations at The Warehouse (December 10 – February 8, 2019). The purpose of this exhibition is to identify the eight most significant “concentrations” of the Warehouse’s 3,600+ object permanent collection. “Gathered over decades, this collection is personal.” Peck said. “The works have been regularly displayed in the home of the collectors, and lived with daily. They range from contemporary craft and monotypes, to self-portraits and figurative works, and all set the tone of the collection as a whole. Many have never been exhibited publicly.”

She will continue to create exhibitions based on the collection of The Warehouse. She will also seek collaborations with other museums and art professionals. Such collaborations include a dance program by Wild Space Dance Company, scheduled for mid-February 2019 and the exhibition of “On Belonging” with Lois Bielefeld and Nirmal Raja, March 8-May 31, 2019. Over time, Peck will build the program schedule for The Warehouse to include lectures, publications, educational programming, and a breadth of performances.

“It is a tremendous honor to join The Warehouse in this role at this formative time,” she said. “We are creating exhibitions and events, and also operating procedures and communication portals so we might best reach our audience. The Warehouse collection is available for scholars, students, and art lovers, and works are available for institutional loans. Admission to the Warehouse is free and by appointment.”

Originally from Coon Rapids, Minnesota, Peck currently lives in West Allis, Wisconsin, with her husband Carey and their dog Callie.

About The Warehouse
The Warehouse is a 4,000 sq./ft. exhibition space on the ground floor of a large five-story former factory and warehouse built in 1924 in Milwaukee’s Design District. LED lighting and display walls have been added to the renovated space, which retains elements of the building’s industrial past, such as concrete columns and floors. The Warehouse mounts curated exhibits of works from its permanent collection and other sources. The permanent collection, amassed by private collectors Jan Serr and John Shannon, consists of over 3,600 works of modern and contemporary art, including drawings, paintings, prints and sculpture. Major themes of the collection include self-portraits, monotypes, and contemporary craft. The space is host to exhibitions and performances, with goals to add lectures, educational programming, and a wider breadth of performances. It is free and open to the public. Admission is made by appointment. Please call 414-252-0677 or make an appointment online at www.thewarehousemke.org.

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.