Past Exhibitions

June 8 – August 25, 2019

From saguaro cactus of the Southwest, big-leaf maple of the West Coast, and bloodroot spanning the Midwest to bottlebrush buckeye of the Eastern Seaboard, this exhibition features artworks of America’s native plants. Familiar plants such as sunflowers and violets and rare species such as lady’s slipper orchids are highlighted in watercolors and other mediums. Curated by the American Society of Botanical Artists and the United States Botanic Garden, Botanical Art Worldwide: America’s Flora is part of a worldwide project in which national exhibitions are simultaneously on view at cultural institutions in twenty-five countries on six continents. Each exhibition features contemporary artwork of native plants by resident artists via a coordinated, international effort to increase appreciation of the world’s plant diversity and to link people with plants via botanical art.

June 8 – August 25, 2019

Kandis Vermeer Phillips’ illuminated alphabet showcases A to Z intertwined with plants, mammals, and insects. Phillips integrated extensive research into the history of and the natural materials used in medieval illuminated manuscripts into an alphabet primer for her granddaughter, combining decorative letters with representations of flowers and creatures found in her garden or during family travels. This exhibition was organized by the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

On view September 4, 2018 through August 18, 2019

Discover the beauty of shorebirds – sanderlings, stilts, turnstones, whimbrels, yellowlegs, and others – through sculptures and works on paper from the Woodson Art Museum’s collection.

On view September 4, 2018 through August 11, 2019

Regal Bearing applies the tenets of portraiture to more than sixty artworks from the Museum’s collection. As with human portraits, the artists represented captured the essence of their subjects using a variety of formats, including a focus on single birds without backgrounds as well as the inclusion of habitat or attributes that help to characterize a species or place it in context.

March 2 – June 2, 2019

A contemporary take on the ancient, yet ever-evolving, art of cutting paper comprises a range of techniques and materials – from vintage maps and magazines to a leaf, car tire, and saw blade. To transform paper, rubber, metal, and more into thought-provoking artworks, artists explore varied piercing and cutting techniques that provide endless possibilities for change. Cutting into and through surfaces, artists alter items from opaque to transparent, flat to sculptural, rigid to delicate, and ordinary to exquisite. The process and precision required are laborious, technically demanding, and always astonishing. The art of paper cutting dates back thousands of years, with early artwork emerging from sixth-century China, extending worldwide by the fourteenth century, and later sparking a wave of folk art traditions. Celebrating both innovation and tradition, this exhibition features the work of more than fifty artists, representing diverse styles, techniques, and sizes from three-inch artworks to sprawling, complex installations.

February 23 – March 31, 2019

Celebrate Youth Art Month and the creative efforts of north central Wisconsin students in grades 5-8 via the 42nd Student Art Exhibition. Each March, the nation promotes art education by focusing on student work. Art teachers are encouraged to submit student works in various mediums for the Museum’s Student Art Exhibition.

Removed temporarily – please check back for details
Offering access to original artwork for visitors with low vision or blindness, tactile sculpture encourages sighted visitors to visualize artwork through touch. The Woodson Art Museum’s inaugural tactile art exhibition debuted March 2, 2019, featuring avian sculptures, available on a “touch table” in the Decorative Arts Gallery. This on-going series of touchable sculptures, designed to share the power of hands-on art appreciation, will resume when possible; specific dates will be added when available.

December 1, 2018 – February 24, 2019

The world-renowned father of the Optical-kinetic Art movement, Victor Vasarely created three-dimensional experiences via two-dimensional artworks featuring bold colors and geometric shapes. Vasarely, whose motto was “art for all,” advocated for democratizing art by producing multiples and screen-prints and by integrating art into architecture and public spaces. Vasarely’s innovative use of optical illusions became popular in the 1960s and 70s, when Op Art permeated everyday life through design, advertisements, and architecture. His artwork exploring visual perception and spatial relationships is a source of inspiration for those interested in art, computer programming, architecture, and beyond.