Cultural Currency: Contemporary Art from the Riemer Collection

Frank Juárez

Cultural Currency at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum. Photo by Artdo$e Magazine.

In 2021, Ric Kasini Kadour, Kolaj Magazine, and I co-curated The Money $how at Saint Kate – the Arts Hotel. Artists used collage to unpack ideas about money
and its influence on our culture. Artworks spoke about Black wealth, immigrant remittances, and how mid-20th century advertising informs present-day attitudes. Artists collage dollar bills into flowers and mine material remnants to tell stories about home economics. This exhibition occurred in the middle of the pandemic in which money was on our minds and in the center of our daily lives in every possible way.

Since this exhibition, I have stayed in touch with one of the artists in The Money $how, Mark Wagner. He had posted an image of his work on Instagram about this exhibition that immediately grabbed my attention. Knowing that I was going to do a studio visit with artist Rachel Hausmann Schall, I knew that I wanted to see this exhibition. Turns out that the studio visit was at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin. Talk about a perfect opportunity.

Photos by Artdo$e Magazine

About Cultural Currency

It’s used every day – some people don’t give it a second thought, while to others, money means everything. Money can make us feel a certain way, behave a certain way; it can allow us to travel the world, or to never leave our home – it’s more than the paper, coins, or plastic that we hold in our hands. So, what is the real meaning of money? Cultural Currency: Contemporary Art from the Riemer Collection, explores the innovative ways artists use money as a medium to expand its worth beyond a given denomination.

Each of the artists featured investigates preconceived definitions of monetary value, meticulously repurposing bills and coins into exquisite, precise artworks. Cultural Currency asks viewers to consider how the definition of currency can be reshaped into a multifaceted object steeped in meaning and intrigue. The collection is the passion of Louise Rothman-Riemer, who grew up in Wausau, and Davis Riemer, investment advisers from Oakland, California who began collecting money-themed art in 1995 to encourage new attitudes toward money’s intrinsic value.  

Several artists also have Wisconsin roots including one who held a residency at the Woodson Art Museum in 2019 – Mark Wagner was born and raised in Marathon County and creates intricate collages made from deconstructed U.S. Dollars. He’s not the only Cultural Currency artist from Wisconsin – C.K. Wilde, Stacey Lee Webber, Tim O’Neill and Kelli Hoppmann also have ties to the Badger State. Source: Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum

If you go

Cultural Currency: Contemporary Art from the Reimer Collection

Ends June 4, 2023

Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum

700 North 12th Street
Wausau, WI 54403
715.845.7010
info@lywam.org