Past Exhibitions

March 5 – August 14, 2022
From seemingly traditional to wildly abstract, glass artwork from the Woodson Art Museum collection highlights the range of studio glass experimentation from the 1970s through the 1990s. From initial studio glass experimentation to more technical subsequent methods, Molten showcases the possibilities unlocked by a new and ever-exploratory artistic approach.
The presentation of and Molten: 30 Years of American Glass and Art Deco Glass from the David Huchthausen Collection coincides with the 60th anniversary of the Studio Glass movement and the International Year of Glass 2022, proclaimed and endorsed by the United Nations.

March 5 – June 5, 2022
Clean lines, geometric shapes, and bright colors characterize Art Deco glass from the Huchthausen Collection in this exhibition organized by Museum of Glass, Tacoma, Washington. Emerging in contrast to Art Nouveau’s ornate style amid World War I austerity, Art Deco glass fell out of favor after World War II, and regained popularity in the 1970s. Glass by iconic Art Deco studios comprises the collection of David Huchthausen, a glass artist with Wisconsin roots whose work altered the history of contemporary glass.

February 26 – April 10, 2022
Celebrate Youth Art Month and the creative efforts of central and north central Wisconsin students in grades 9-12 via the 45th Student Art Exhibition. Each March, the nation promotes art education by focusing on student work. The exhibition is open to art educators teaching in public, parochial, and home schools in central and north central Wisconsin. For submission details, access the prospectus. To prepare your students’ entries for delivery, access and complete the entry tags and master list and include with delivered artwork.

December 4, 2021 – February 27, 2022
Featuring landscapes, urban scenes, and figurative and expressionist images, American artists’ twentieth-century woodblock prints include a range of influences and re-interpretations.
Showcasing the diversity of relief prints, this exhibition from the Syracuse University Art Museum encompasses work from wood engravers inspired by European avant-garde images and Japanese woodcut designs to Jim Dine’s innovations in the 1990s and experimental printmakers who continued to push the boundaries of woodblock prints.

December 4, 2021 – February 27, 2022
As printmaking evolved, artists expanded relief-printing methods in new and innovative ways. Making the Cut examines the processes, tools, and techniques used to create relief prints. In his single-color woodcut Owl, Leonard Baskin used nothing more than surface grain to create background texture and space. Sherrie York’s complex multi-color reduction linocut Cruisin’ masterfully depicts a pelican moving through abstract water reflections. Complementing American Woodblock Prints, Making the Cut showcases a range of relief-print possibilities.

December 4, 2021 – February 27, 2022
The playful, yet thoughtfully poignant artwork of children’s book illustrator Christian Robinson, celebrates his “art of fun” mantra while deftly and empathetically exploring the value of different perspectives and being kind to all. Robinson, a Caldecott Honoree and recipient of two Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honors from the American Library Association, favors acrylic and collage to create joyful art conveying a range of stories, including historical events and biographies. Robinson, based in California, is also an animator who has worked with The Sesame Workshop and Pixar Animation Studios. This exhibition of Robinson’s luminous illustrations was organized by the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature, Abilene, Texas.

Birding by the Book comprises illustrated bound volumes along with framed, hand-colored engravings by early explorers, artists, and naturalists, including Alexander Wilson, John James Audubon, and John and Elizabeth Gould.

September 11 – November 28, 2021
From their lyrical birdsong to their migratory patterns, birds connect us to the rhythms of life. For the 46th year, this annual exhibition attracts worldwide artists’ original paintings, sculptures, and graphics created within the past three years. Since 1976, the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum has organized Birds in Art annually, seeking to present the best contemporary artistic interpretations of avian themes.