Milwaukee Art Museum Blooms in January with Winter Series: Meadow

MILWAUKEE, WI—December 17, 2024—This January, Windhover Hall of the Milwaukee Art Museum will come to life with Meadow, the second iteration of the seasonal Winter Series. The awe-inspiring installation by the Netherlands-based artist duo DRIFT will be free and accessible to the public during Museum hours, January 18–April 13, 2025, complementing the organic architecture of the Quadracci Pavilion with luminous, dynamic blooms.

Described by DRIFT as an “upside-down landscape,” Meadow is an installation of choreographed kinetic flowers crafted with aluminum, stainless steel, robotic components, and vibrant fabric shades. The result of years of research conducted by the artist duo, Meadow mimics the deceptively simple workings of nature. The installation “blooms”—opening and closing to a gentle choreography using software researched and developed by DRIFT that creates an ever-changing display. The presentation is site-specific to the Milwaukee Art Museum in its number of flowers, choreography, and colors, which are inspired by North American wildflowers.

“DRIFT has long worked at the intersection of nature and technology, and I’m excited to present to our visitors their work within the context of the Quadracci Pavilion, a biophilic space designed by architect Santiago Calatrava,” said the exhibition’s curator Shoshana Resnikoff, Demmer Curator of 20th- and 21st-Century Design. “Calatrava is also a favorite architect of DRIFT’s, so there is added resonance to installing their work in this context.”

Through winter and into spring, Meadow will hang in the atrium of Windhover Hall with the lakefront as its backdrop. This presentation offers a new experience with each visit as the landscape outside transforms with the change of seasons, providing different perspectives.

“The first Winter Series presentation was a remarkable success, and I’m delighted to continue the series with an installation that transforms this iconic space into a garden-like setting for everyone who enters the Museum,” said Elizabeth Siegel, Chief of Curatorial Affairs at the Milwaukee Art Museum. “Meadow will leave visitors wonderstruck.”

Initiated in 2024 with the presentation of Iceberg (2020) by Larry Bell, the Winter Series adds joy to a time when we have little daylight. Open to all with free admission, the series brings vibrant, intriguing works into Windhover Hall for visitors to experience against the winter landscape. Featured artists are invited to share their reflections on nature within this one-of-a-kind space.

Founded in 2007 by Dutch artist duo Lonneke Gordijn (b. 1980) and Ralph Nauta (b. 1978), DRIFT is a multidisciplinary studio based in the Netherlands. They incorporate scientific research, design, and technology to create experiential sculptures and installations that highlight parallels between made and natural structures. DRIFT asserts an ultimately positive vision for a future—one where technology and nature enhance and transform each other and humanity.

Learn more about Meadow from DRIFT in Lubar Auditorium on Thursday, January 23, 6:15–7:15 p.m., when they will present an artist talk.

Sponsors

Presenting Sponsor
Associated Bank

Leadership Sponsor
Milwaukee Art Museum’s Contemporary Art Society

The Milwaukee Art Museum extends its sincere thanks to the Visionaries
Mark and Debbie Attanasio
Donna and Donald Baumgartner
Murph Burke
The Helmerich Trust
Kenneth and Alice Kayser
Joan Lubar and John Crouch
Joel and Caran Quadracci
Sue and Bud Selig
Jeff and Gail Yabuki

About the Milwaukee Art Museum

The Milwaukee Art Museum is an essential destination for art and architecture and a vital cultural resource that connects visitors to dynamic art experiences and one another. Housed in iconic buildings by Santiago Calatrava, Eero Saarinen, and David Kahler on a 24-acre lakefront campus, the Museum is Wisconsin’s largest art institution and home to both broad and deep collections, with exceptional holdings in American painting, sculpture, and decorative arts; conceptual and minimalist art; prints and drawings; European art from the Renaissance through the nineteenth century; photography and new media; modern and contemporary design; folk and self-taught art; and twentieth-century Haitian art. A bold symbol of Milwaukee’s ambition and forward-thinking vision, the Museum is a place for community building, education, and celebration that fosters creativity, free speech, and critical discourse for audiences of all ages and backgrounds. For more information, visit mam.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.