Wisconsin Fiber Artist Mary Burns and Regional Figurative Masters Take Center Stage in Downtown Sturgeon Bay in Exhibits Opening May 24, 2025
May 15, 2025—The Miller Art Museum is pleased to announce the opening of Women and Water: Woven Portraits from Around the World, a compelling exhibition by Wisconsin fiber artist Mary Burns, opening May 24, 2025. This exhibition, featuring 29 handwoven Jacquard portraits, is guest curated by Wisconsin artist and photographer Suzanne Rose, and 
celebrates women from around the globe who are dedicated to water advocacy, science, and stewardship. An artist reception is scheduled for Friday, May 30, 2025, from 5 – 7 pm to celebrate the opening of the exhibit and Magnus Opus: Masters of the Figure from the Permanent Collection, featured concurrently on the Ruth Morton Miller Mezzanine. The event is free and open to the public.
Magnus Opus: Masters of the Figure from the Permanent Collection, a special exhibition honoring the museum’s 50th anniversary, features a curated selection of figurative works by Rose, drawn from the museum’s permanent collection, that includes a stunning new acquisition by the late celebrated maritime artist Charles L. Peterson (1927-2022). The oil painting, titled Sabbath at Sea, will be featured along with work by other celebrated regional artists including James J. Ingwersen (1929-2025), Lester W. Bentley (1908-1972), William Mueller, Shirley Darch (b. 1950), Robert C. Heuel II (1919-2009), Emmett Johns (b. 1940), Willard H. Kolstad (1960-2023), and Robert Leibold (1926-2013). Together, these exhibitions offer a dynamic curatorial dialogue between global and regional perspectives on the figure and legacy.
Suzanne Rose brings a distinctive voice and deep commitment to place-based environmentalism to her role as guest curator. A practicing artist whose work explores the intersection of ecology, perception, and human responsibility, Rose’s body of work Blind Spot, exhibited at the Miller Art Museum in 2023 and residing in the permanent collection of the Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend, is a photographic and research-based project that investigates what we fail to see—both literally and metaphorically—in the natural world around us. Drawing on imagery from landscapes across Door County and beyond, her work challenges viewers to confront environmental disregard and the fragility of ecosystems under pressure. Her curatorial approach for Women and Water reflects this ethos—elevating perspectives that speak to the role of women as protectors, healers, and voices for the environment.
Surrounded on three sides by Lake Michigan and Green Bay, Door County is uniquely positioned to reflect on the vital importance of water. From the sandy beaches of Whitefish Dunes to the wetlands of The Ridges in Baileys Harbor, and the protected shorelines stewarded by the Door County Land Trust, this region is rich in natural resources—and in citizens devoted to preserving them. The Land Trust has protected more than 9,400 acres of land to date, helping to safeguard clean water for wildlife and future generations. The Ridges Sanctuary, Wisconsin’s oldest private nature preserve, is home to some of the most biologically diverse lands in the state, offering environmental education and stewardship for all ages.
“Water is everything to us here,” says Elizabeth Meissner-Gigstead, Executive Director of the Miller Art Museum. “It shapes our economy, our ecosystems, and our identity as a community. Women and Water is not only a celebration of women’s voices—it’s a call to honor and protect the water that surrounds us.”
Burns discovered weaving at a young age, initially working on basic looms, but soon graduated to floor looms with multiple harnesses. In search of more creative freedom, she invested in a Scandinavian-style Glimåkra loom and studied with British master weaver, Peter Collingwood, to learn the innovative shaft-switching weaving technique he had developed. She continued her pursuit of advanced techniques by attending multiple workshops taught by weaver Louise Lemieux Bérubé in Montréal, and soon mastered the Jacquard weaving technique.
“In Jacquard weaving, you are weaving selvedge to selvedge. My TC 2 Jacquard loom has 1,320 warp threads, and I can individually control every single one. Vibeke Vestby made Jacquard weaving available to studio weavers; it was a big step for me,” says Burns.
Burns, who is based in Mercer, Wisconsin, began the project in 2016, inspired by Indigenous water protectors and the deep connection between women and water in many cultures. Utilizing the Jacquard technique, she challenges and redefines perceptions of both the medium and the message. Her monochromatic weavings, rich in texture and detail, draw viewers into the stories of these remarkable women.
"Water is the lifeblood of the planet and of all living beings," Burns reflects. "May we be deeply inspired by the work of these remarkable women to protect our waters."
For Door County’s residents and visitors alike, Women and Water offers an immersive experience that is at once local and universal, artistic and urgent. It invites viewers to consider their own relationships with water—and to take part in the ongoing work of stewardship. Women and Water will be on view through July 26, 2025; Magnus Opus through September 20, 2025. Admission is free, and all are welcome.
The exhibitions are presented with financial support from Dennis and Bonnie Connolly, The Cordon Family Foundation, Door County Medical Center, the MMG Foundation, with additional grant support from the Women’s Fund of Door County, specifically the Barbara and Bill Perloff Fund, Ed and Adele Douglass Fund, Lutsey Family Foundation, Cassidy Family Fund, Jane and John Stevenson Family Fund, and Morgan and D’Abbraccio Fund, and the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.