FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact:
Bianca Bova, Sculpture Milwaukee
(219) 682-6135
bbova@sculpturemilwaukee.com
[MILWAUKEE, WI, May 4, 2021—] Sculpture Milwaukee guest curators Theaster Gates and Michelle Grabner have announced the title of the 2021 exhibition: there is this We. The exhibition, now in its fifth year, will be on view Summer 2021 through Autumn 2022.
Exhibiting Artists
Kevin Beasley, Betty Gold, Salvador Jiménez-Flores, Allison Janae Hamilton, Kara Hamilton, Brad Kahlhamer, Deborah Kass, Thaddeus Mosley, Matthias Neumann, Virginia Overton, Dan Peterman, Jason Pickleman, Sara Greenberger Rafferty, John Riepenhoff, Christine Tarkowski, and Lauren Yeager.
The exhibition will feature newly fabricated works by eight artists, including those by SMKE’s inaugural Guest Artist Lauren Yeager, the first large-scale sculpture by Jason Pickleman, and the debut of a new cast bronze work by Thaddeus Mosley.
Of the exhibition, Grabner says:
“The poetics of perseverance and determination vibrate in the art that Theaster and I have selected. There are exciting and palpable energies at work in these sculptures; we feel it in the sonic reverberations of Kevin Beasley’s acoustic mirrors, in the foliage quietly growing in the bed of Virginia Overton’s pick-up truck, and in the rattling cry of the tambourines that comprise Allison Janae Hamilton’s tower. The exhibition’s title reflects the collective power of the works included in the 2021 exhibition, and honors a belief in social change through the provocations of the artistic imagination.”
Guest Curators
Theaster Gates is a Chicago-based artist and curator whose practice encompasses sculpture, performance, and land development-based projects. His work has been widely exhibited in museums, galleries, and biennials nationally and internationally, including recent solo exhibitions at Richard Gray Gallery, Chicago and Gagosian Gallery, New York.
Michelle Grabner is a Wisconsin-based artist, writer, and curator. She co-curated the 2014 Whitney Biennial and was named a 2021 Guggenheim Fellow. Her work has been the subject of several national museum surveys. She is presently represented by James Cohan, New York and Green Gallery, Milwaukee.
Sculpture Milwaukee is an annual outdoor exhibition of public sculpture in downtown Milwaukee that serves as a catalyst for community engagement, economic development, and creative placemaking. For more information visit sculpturemilwaukee.com