July 13, 2023—Miller Art Museum is pleased to debut Blind Spot — to pass among them, organized by the Museum of Wisconsin Art, and Séjour: Impressions of Giverny by Brigitte Kozma on the second floor Ruth Morton Miller Mezzanine.
Both exhibitions will be on view from July 22 - September 9, 2023. An opening reception with the exhibiting artists will be held on Friday, July 21 from 5:30 – 7pm. The reception is free and open to the public; light refreshments will be served and music will be provided by Craig Schultz and Mike Miller. The solo artist exhibition featuring the work of Wisconsin artist Suzanne Rose in the museum’s main galleries encompasses a collection of 27 large-scale photographs that explore the understated study of human folly and nature's resilience through an aesthetic influenced by pioneer photographers of the nineteenth century. The photographs resist timestamping. The lush black-and-white images are toned with a custom gradient that Rose developed by studying vintage prints. Their rounded corners, emerald-cut rectangles, and elongated oval formats are directly derived from the 1860s. Despite the influence of yesteryear, Blind Spot is resolutely of the present, gently nudging viewers toward a more thoughtful relationship with their environment.
Whereas her predecessors captured the majesty of mountains and grand vistas, Rose photographs the gentle presence of the Anthropocene in the Midwest. Blind Spot presents the subtle violence that humans commit to their environment and the quiet strength of nature. To Rose’s eye, trees suggest the human condition. Pruned to make way for telephone wires, saddled with hunting blinds, or set shoulder to shoulder with sheds, her trees exhibit the scars and imperfections associated with anthropomorphic personality. Abandoned buildings overgrown with wild vegetation demonstrate a resilient nature’s pushback.
“Rose's collection is woven together by clear and delineated layers that the viewer can consider individually or as a whole,” says Miller Art Museum Curator of Exhibitions Helen del Guidice. "It is laced with a poetic sense of accountability."
Suzanne Rose entered into her education at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago as a painter, studying multimedia, leaving to create a design partnership, and ultimately transitioning into a solo pursuit of fine art photography.
A nationally recognized artist and educator who practices and teaches fine art photography as a “mindful minimalist,” Rose remains close to her Midwestern roots by photographing thematic bodies of works of family, community, and the environs thereof that explore memory and metaphor, purpose, and place.
Séjour: Impressions of Giverny by Brigitte Kozma featured on the museum’s Ruth Morton Miller Mezzanine, debuts a collection of 23 works in oil inspired by a period of time that Brigitte Kozma, a Door County painter, spent in Giverny, France, in 2019. Claude Monet’s gardens at Giverny and the 2,500 works he created in his lifetime have been inspiring generations of artists for centuries and continue to be as powerful as ever. This collection by Kozma, who is notable for her painterly blending and fine detail, embodies the essence of Giverny with an emotive color palette and represents her mastery as a painter.
“It was a special privilege to roam freely early in the morning and in the evening when the landscape was void of tourists, offering dramatic views and spectacular variance in lighting,” says Kozma. “When not in the gardens, I had the pleasure of walking the streets of Giverny, making note of local buildings and residences, giving context to the experience and surrounding atmosphere,” she continued.
Kozma attended the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree, with a major in painting. She has been exhibited professionally since 1968 and her work is included in many private and corporate collections in the United States as well as in Europe.
Blind Spot — to pass among them, organized by the Museum of Wisconsin Art, and Séjour: Impressions of Giverny by Brigitte Kozma will be on view to the public through September 9, 2023. The exhibits have been supported by the following exhibition sponsors: The Boldt Company, Cappaert Contemporary Gallery, Dennis and Bonnie Connolly, and The Townsend Foundation with additional grant and in-kind support from Third Avenue Playworks and the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.
EXHIBITION RELATED PROGRAMMING
MEMBER AND VOLUNTEER PREVIEW TOUR
Friday, July 21 | 4 – 5pm
Join Curator of Exhibitions Helen del Guidice for an intimate guided tour prior to the exhibit opening to the public. Free with membership.
OPENING RECEPTION
Friday, July 21 | 5:30 – 7pm
Celebrate the opening of two new exhibits with the exhibiting artists and enjoy light refreshments and live music by Craig Schultz and Mike Miller. This event is free and open to the public.
THE STUDIO DOOR WITH SUZANNE ROSE
Monday, July 31 | 5:30 – 6:30 pm
A free artist talk, led by the Miller Art Museum Curator Helen del Guidice, that explores the careers, studio practices, and inspirations of local and regional artists.
small camera BIG PRINT | Free for teens
Thursday, August 17 | 10am – 3pm
This free workshop with Suzanne Rose is open to high school teens (incoming freshmen to seniors) interested in photography. Unlock the epic power of artistic potential from your smartphone and unleash the pixels onto paper. She will share her complete 'Portable Mindset' of iPhoneography by revealing an effortless on-the-go photographic practice through an innovative workflow with a fine art approach. Lessons will be shared on how to make the perfect capture, reveal the art and craft of post-processing using a single comprehensive editing app, and print photographs that will rival pro cameras. In the workshop expect to print up to 3 high-quality images on 13” x 19” photographic paper worthy of a museum wall. Experience the incredible feeling of artistic fulfillment of BIG PRINTS. You (and your smartphone) will be simply AMAZED. Register at https://bit.ly/3ObrTVn.
small camera BIG PRINT | Family-friendly workshop
Friday, August 17 | 10am – 3pm
Bring the family along to unlock the epic power of artistic potential from your smartphone and unleash the pixels onto paper. Suzanne Rose will share lessons on how to make the perfect capture, reveal the art and craft of post-processing using a single comprehensive editing app, and print photographs that will rival pro cameras. In the workshop expect to print up to 3 high-quality images on 13” x 19” photographic paper worthy of a museum wall. Experience the incredible feeling of artistic fulfillment of BIG PRINTS. You, your family, and your smartphone will be simply AMAZED. The purchase of one family ticket covers materials for an adult (or two) accompanying children 5 years old and older. Register for this workshop at https://bit.ly/447ei6O.