In Review: Erin Shirreff: Permanent Drafts at the Milwaukee Art Museum

feature image: Erin Shirreff: Permanent Drafts at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Photo: Artdose magazine.

By Frank Juárez

Creating space for contemplation, exploration, and creation is a pursuit for artists. Materials, whether discarded or created, become a possibility of opportunity. Ideas develop into inquiries. Intuition leads to action. How many times have you seen a unique shape of cut paper, cardboard, canvas, or even metal lying on your table or studio floor, and stopped to think about how it can work into a new piece of art or begin a new conversation? You think to yourself, there is something here. Creative decisions are sparked at any moment.

Interior view of the Herzfeld Center for Photography and Media Arts at the Milwaukee Art Museum, featuring a blend of artworks including abstract paintings and a three-dimensional sculpture. A black bench is positioned centrally on a wooden floor beneath bright gallery lighting. — L to R: *Echo exposure*, 2019, Cyanotype photogram, muslin over panel, 80 x 70 in. (203.2 x 177.8 cm), *Pages* (no. 22), 2014, Book pages, pins, 15 z 15 in. (38.1 x 38.1 cm), *Drop* (no. 7), 2014, Hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and Cor-Ten steel, 92 x 40 x 20 in. (233.68 x 101.6 x 50.8 cm), *Monograph* (no. 6), 2017, Five inkjet prints, 37 x 48.5 x 3.25 in (93.98 x 123.19 x 8.26 cm). Photo: *Artdose* magazine.

The week I visited the Milwaukee Art Museum, I was taking a metal smithing workshop at UW-Milwaukee, so forms, shapes, and tools were already embedded into my mind. From conceptualizing to fabricating, soldering to filing, and polishing to presenting, the medium and process made a swift transition to seeing “Erin Shirreff: Permanent Drafts.”

When I entered the Herzfeld Center for Photography and Media Arts, located in the lower level of the Milwaukee Art Museum, I was immediately enamored with the presence of works ranging from analog collages, sculptures, installations, and cyanotypes, tapping into various parts of my creative life. These works in the Christine A. Symchych & James P. McNulty Gallery worked in unison in preparation for what was to come, transforming my visit into a visceral experience.

Works such as Monograph (no. 6), a series of 5 analog collages, are cut-outs from sculpture books to create spatial depth on a two-dimensional plane, leaving the viewer to make connections by placing elements together to perceive the implied sculptural forms. In Drop (no. 7), 2014, a gradual mental transition encouraged a deeper look from all angles. This curated space set the tone for the exhibition. Thinking about composition, installation, and presentation drove my curiosity about what I was going to come across throughout the exhibition.

A framed photograph featuring an open book with a geometric composition of black shapes, including a triangular and a circular form, set against a light gray background. — Erin Shirreff, *Monograph* (no. 6) detail, 2017, Five inkjet prints, 37 x 48.5 x 3.25 in (93.98 x 123.19 x 8.26 cm). Photo: *Artdose* magazine.

A modern sculpture featuring a combination of curved and angular metal shapes in shades of brown and gray, mounted on a white wall. — Erin Shirreff, *Drop (no. 7*), 2014, Hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and Cor-Ten steel, 92 x 40 x 20 in. (233.68 x 101.6 x 50.8 cm). Photo: *Artdose* magazine.

A metal sculpture displayed in the Milwaukee Art Museum, featuring geometric shapes and forms in a mix of brown and black, casting shadows on the wall. — Erin Shirreff, *Drop (no. 7*), 2014, Hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and Cor-Ten steel, 92 x 40 x 20 in. (233.68 x 101.6 x 50.8 cm). Photo: *Artdose* magazine.

Echo exposure, 2019, Cyanotype photogram is created using remnants of past works. These shapes are layered in the same fashion as Shirreff’s analog collages, which are named Pages.

Echo exposure, 2019, Cyanotype photogram, muslin over panel, 80 x 70 in. (203.2 x 177.8 cm). Photo: Artdose magazine.

Depending upon how you enter the exhibition will present a different experience as you view Shirreff’s work. The range in scale provides quiet moments and overwhelming sensations to her larger works, such as Drop, 2025, which rests against a wall. Its presence dominates your surroundings. The arrangement and recontextualization of these metal remnants shift our understanding of their figure-ground relationships, creating another visual presence interplaying with light, resulting in an extension of their presence.

Permanent Drafts is a reminder to leave no stone unturned. Those unexpected happenstances that occur in our creative process and studio practice can be the thing we have been waiting for. Every corner presents a new experience that provides a deeper appreciation of the physicality of these materials, a narrative that we can connect to, and a vision we can engage with.

Abstract artwork featuring layered black cut-out shapes on a white background, showcasing a mix of geometric and organic forms. — Erin Shirreff, *Drop* (detail), 2025, Hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and Cor-Ten steel. Variable dimensions. Photo: *Artdose* magazine.

Art installation featuring a series of overlapping metal shapes arranged along a white display surface in a gallery setting. — Erin Shirreff, *Drop* (detail), 2025, Hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and Cor-Ten steel. Variable dimensions. Photo: *Artdose* magazine.

A black sculptural piece displayed on a white pedestal in an art museum, with black and white photographs visible in the background. — Erin Shirreff, *Maquette* (A.P. no. 10), 2019, Bronze, H. 16 x 22 x 26 in. (H. 40.64 x 555.88 x 40.64 cm). Photo: Artdose magazine.

Erin Shirreff creates boundary-crossing art that explores the gap between images and the things they picture. Permanent Drafts features over 40 of her recent collages, photographs, sculptures, and videos, including installations specific to the Milwaukee Art Museum. Trained as a sculptor, Shirreff understands photography as a significant but imperfect means of conveying three-dimensional objects. Her work focuses on the reproductions through which we often access art, inviting audiences to consider how each of us sees and interprets the world around us. Shifting across time, material, and dimension, these works reward in-person engagement and slow, close looking. The renowned artist’s most comprehensive exhibition in a decade, Erin Shirreff: Permanent Drafts was curated by Kristen Gaylord, Herzfeld Curator of Photography and Media Arts at the Milwaukee Art Museum. ⁽¹⁾

If you go:

Erin Shirreff: Permanent Drafts

Milwaukee Art Museum

700 N. Art Museum Dr., Milwaukee, WI 53202

through September 1, 2025

web

^1. ^{Milwaukee Art Museum. (2025, May 30). Erin Shirreff: Permanent drafts. Milwaukee Art Museum | Erin Shirreff: Permanent Drafts. https://mam.org/exhibitions/erin-shirreff/ }