May 29, 2026 - The Miller Art Museum is pleased to present Adam Fulwiler | 12x12 Project, on view June 1 through June 30, 2026 in downtown Sturgeon Bay. Fulwiler is the first artist featured in the museum's newly launched 12x12 Project, an invitational exhibition series highlighting contemporary artists working across disciplines throughout Wisconsin and the greater Midwest. Conceived as an intimate platform for focused presentations of new work shaping the evolving regional art landscape, the series reflects the museum's ongoing commitment to contemporary practice while expanding access to the larger art dialogue taking place throughout the Midwest. An artist talk with Fulwiler will take place on Saturday, June 13, 2026, at 4 pm, with a public reception to follow. The talk and reception are free and open to the public. No registration required.
The exhibition features recent paintings by Wisconsin artist Adam Fulwiler, whose work examines communication, perception, improvisation, and painting's capacity for transformation through abstraction. At the heart of his work is the relationship with his younger brother, who experiences the world through the heightened perception of autism. Rather than describing that experience directly, Fulwiler translates it through a personal language of color, shape, rhythm, and spatial tension—constructing paintings that honor the extraordinary sensitivity through which his brother perceives life. A road trip the two shared in 2019, during which his brother cataloged the passing landscape with meticulous, equal attention to every object and detail, became a defining moment within the work.
Drawing on the influence of Josef Albers's understanding of color as a relational force, Fulwiler's compositions use chromatic interaction, provisional grids, repetition, and spatial fragmentation to create visual systems that shift through sustained looking. Improvisation plays a central role: Fulwiler often employs games, puzzles, and self-imposed rules within the studio, allowing structure and spontaneity to coexist. The resulting paintings move with the cadence of jazz, balancing repetition with interruption and harmony with dissonance.
His recent Stack works—shaped in part by playing blocks with his young son—explore gravity, instability, and the emotional tension between balance and collapse. Fragments of painted material are layered, sewn, and reconstructed into surfaces that recall quilting, mapping systems, architecture, and musical notation. Across the exhibition, abstraction becomes a language for navigating sensory experience, memory, and human connection.
ABOUT ADAM FULWILER
Adam Fulwiler received his BA in Painting from the University of Wisconsin Green Bay and his MFA in Painting from the University of Arkansas, where he was awarded the 2022 Windgate Foundation Accelerator Grant. His work has been exhibited nationally and is included in the collections of the Walton Performing Arts Center, Walmart Home Office, and the University of Wisconsin Green Bay. Fulwiler currently serves as Executive Director of the Hardy Gallery in Ephraim, Wisconsin. The exhibition will be on display in downtown Sturgeon Bay through June 30, 2026.
April 24, 2026 - The Miller Art Museum is pleased to announce that its beloved Art & Treasures Fundraiser will return for its 21st year, opening to the public on Saturday, May 30, 2026 and running through Saturday, June 13, 2026 at the museum, located at 107 S. 4th Avenue in downtown Sturgeon Bay.
The museum is now accepting tax-deductible donations from the community in advance of the sale. This year brings a welcome change for one of the museum's signature traditions. After two decades as a late-summer event, Art & Treasures will move to early June, positioning the sale at the beginning of the summer season. The new dates offer collectors and patrons a first look at this year’s unique selection of art, vintage finds, and curiosities, while setting the stage for an ambitious summer of exhibitions ahead. While this year’s dates are new, the character of the event is not—Art & Treasures has been a tradition of the museum for more than two decades, and 2026 will be no exception. Since its founding in 2005, the event has brought together art lovers, collectors, and treasure seekers around a thoughtfully curated assortment of donated goods—original fine art and reproductions by Door County and regional artists, art books, ceramics, sculpture, pottery, vintage collectibles, quality frames, household décor, textiles, jewelry, art supplies, and an ever-evolving array of unique curiosities and unexpected finds. Every item is donated, and every dollar raised directly supports the museum's programming.
April 17, 2026 - The Miller Art Museum is pleased to announce a special Potter’s Panel on Saturday, May 9, at 4:00 PM, held in conjunction with one of the museum’s five current exhibitions, Abraham Cohn | Maker’s Mark. The panel will be followed by a public reception at 5:00 PM.
The event brings together four master potters—John Dietrich, Reneé Schwaller, Chad Luberger, and Steven Cohen—each of whom was uniquely shaped by the example, mentorship, and lasting presence of the late Abraham (Abe) Cohn (1925–2013). Through conversation and reflection, the program offers a rare opportunity for the public to hear firsthand accounts of a practice grounded in discipline, observation, and the traditional passing of knowledge from hand to hand.
About the Exhibition: Abraham Cohn | Maker’s Mark, on view through May 23, 2026, traces the arc of a life dedicated to clay. The exhibition presents Cohn’s iconic pottery alongside early paintings and archival materials from his historic Fish Creek studio, The Potter’s Wheel. Supported throughout his career by his wife Ginka, Abe stands as a foundational figure in Door County’s craft community. Rather than teaching through formal declaration, he led by example and repetition, leaving a "maker’s mark" that extends far beyond the vessels he created. "Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher," notes an ancient Japanese proverb. This gathering reflects that truth, highlighting how Abe’s generosity and daily practice influenced a generation of artists.
Event Details:
- What: Potter’s Panel & Exhibition Reception
- When: Saturday, May 9, 2026. Panel at 4:00 PM; Reception to follow at 5:00 PM
- Where: Miller Art Museum, 107 S. 4th Avenue, Sturgeon Bay, WI
- Cost: Free and open to the public.
The exhibition and panel together illuminate the lasting value of sustained practice and the ways artistic knowledge is carried forward across generations.
April 17, 2026 – Young artists in grades 9 – 12 from throughout Door County were celebrated at a free public reception held on April 6 for the 52nd Annual Salon of Door County High School Art. The Miller Art Museum announced the award winners and honored all student participants during a special awards ceremony at the opening celebration.
This year’s exhibition features original artwork by 105 students from the 2025-26 academic year who attend school at one of the Peninsula’s five high schools: Gibraltar, Sevastopol, Southern Door, Sturgeon Bay, and Washington Island. Certificates of Participation were presented to all student artists by their respective art teachers. Students receiving an Award of Excellence, Honorable Mention, and the Jim Rericha Legacy Award were announced and presented by Executive Director Elizabeth Meissner-Gigstead and Curator of Exhibitions and Collections Suzanne Rose during the reception. This year’s award winners are:
Awards of Excellence:
- Abigail DeMeuse, Gibraltar High School
- Lilian Saltou, Sevastopol High School
- Audrie Schley, Southern Door High School
- Rowan Ploor, Sturgeon Bay High School
- Thomas Pratt, Washington Island High School
Honorable Mention:
- Molly Virlee, Gibraltar High School
- Lola Georgenson, Sevastopol High School
- Angelina LeCloux Herrera, Southern Door High School
- Ryan Felhofer, Sturgeon Bay High School
- Teagan McGrane, Washington Island High School
Jim Rericha Legacy Award:
- Gianna Roman, Sevastopol High School
Award of Excellence winners received $100, and Honorable Mention awardees $50. In addition to cash prizes, Award of Excellence and Honorable Mention awardees receive a certificate for instruction to further their artistic endeavors through a workshop at PenArt in Fish Creek.
The Miller Art Museum is excited to announce the opening of its 52nd Annual Salon of Door County High School Art, a vibrant showcase of creative expression from Door County’s talented young artists. This favorite annual exhibition opens to the public on Saturday, April 4, 2026, with a celebratory reception honoring the young artists on Monday, April 6, from 7:00 – 8:30 PM at the museum, located inside the Door County Library in Sturgeon Bay.
The annual exhibition, the Miller Art Museum’s longest-running exhibit, will feature more than 100 works by young artists from schools across the Door Peninsula, including Gibraltar, Sevastopol, Southern Door, Sturgeon Bay, and Washington Island High Schools. Working with their art teachers, the students demonstrate creativity, enthusiasm, and technical ability across diverse media, ranging from painting to sculpture, drawing, and photography.
“The High School Salon is one of our most anticipated and attended exhibitions every year,” said Elizabeth Meissner-Gigstead, Miller Art Museum Executive Director. “Providing students with the unique opportunity to display their work in a professional museum setting is an experience that can be both transformative and confidence-building. Through this opportunity, together with the Peninsula’s talented art educators, we’re fostering that confidence, self-expression, and the realization that art is a powerful means of communication and a viable career path.”