The Miller Art Museum in downtown Sturgeon Bay celebrates 49 years in 2023 of honoring Peninsula student artists with its 49th Annual Salon of Door County High School Art. The exhibition, opening on Saturday, April 15, showcases a variety of creative work from 116 students ranging in age from freshmen to seniors. A free public reception will be held on Monday, April 17 from 7 – 8:30 pm in celebration; the event is open to all—students, families, guests, and the general public—and light refreshments will be served.
Image Credit (left to right): Tia Marie LeMieux, Dancers; Joseph Lux, Carier; Hallie Henkel, What Do You See; Maddie Finger, Hand Study.
Remarks are scheduled to begin at 7:30 pm when art teachers will present Certificates of Participation to all student artists; the Miller Art Museum will present five Awards of Excellence and five Honorable Mentions, all cash awards. Accompanying the monetary awards, Awards of Excellence winners will receive certificates for the Peninsula School of Art courtesy of the Cramer Family Fund in memory of Tricia Cramer, a long-time supporter of the arts in Door County, and one Sevastopol High School student will be the presented a $100 cash award in memory of beloved art educator James Rericha. The presentation will conclude with each art department receiving a $100 cash award for the purchase of art supplies, a perpetuating gift made possible by the Door County Art League, which dissolved in 2016 after 30 years of providing instruction, networking, and exhibition opportunities throughout the Door to novice to professional artists.
For nearly fifty years, the Miller Art Museum has continued the tradition of providing a platform for celebrating the creativity of Door County’s young artists through this exhibit, a vision of museum founder Gerhard Miller, who championed the artistic work of young people in the Door County community. It was created in partnership with the County’s art educators and annually highlights an incredibly diverse range of media from 100+ students. This year’s exhibition features 164 imaginative and diverse works in a broad range of mediums from 116 students across the five partnering public schools: Sturgeon Bay, Southern Door, Sevastopol, Gibraltar, and Washington Island High Schools.
Image credit (left to right): Simon Hall, Portrait with Halo; Jacquy Sandoval, Birthday Picnic; Rita Valentincic, Embodiment of Me; Cameron Munao, Squishy.
In 2022, the museum took to further honor Gerhard’s vision by using the Salon as a vehicle to develop additional opportunities for young people to be involved with the museum, including the Alumni Exchange and Art Ambassadors Program.
“Our monthly meetings have been an awesome opportunity to see each student’s process up close, be witness to and encourage their developing styles, and support their involvement with new initiatives through events like the Sturgeon Bay Art Crawl,” says Education and Outreach Coordinator Marie Kimball. “M3, our satellite education space, is beginning to formulate a path of opportunities for creatives in our community, especially these young artists, and in the year ahead we look forward to engaging with them more deeply,” she continued. Anyone interested in supporting the Art Ambassadors Program or the Alumni Exchange is encouraged to reach out to Kimball at 920.746.0707 or for more information and to learn about mentor or volunteer opportunities.
“The support received from the community in the form of exhibition sponsorships makes this platform for honoring the accomplishments of young artists in our community a reality and we remain ever grateful for the continued community support,” says Elizabeth Meissner-Gigstead, executive director. “It allows us a place to celebrate and promote their work and the exceptional art educators who work with them and encourage them day in and day out.”
The 49th Annual Salon of Door County High School Art is made possible with support from presenting exhibition sponsors Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant, Door County Medical Center, and Hermke & Elke Timm with additional financial support provided by John and Katherine Campbell, Dennis and Bonnie Connolly, Chris Cramer, the Jacksonport Women’s Club, Barb and Mike Madden, and Ruth Scholz with in-kind and grant support from Third Avenue Playworks and the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the National Endowment for the Arts.
The exhibition will be on display through Saturday, May 27, 2023, at the Miller Art Museum, located inside the Door County Library’s Sturgeon Bay Branch at 107 S. 4th Avenue. Hours are Mondays 10 am – 7 pm and Tuesday through Saturday 10 am – 5 pm. Closed Sunday. Admission is free but freewill donations are welcomed and encouraged; an elevator is available to access galleries on the Ruth Morton Miller Mezzanine. For more information call (920) 746-0707 or visit www.millerartmuseum.org or find the museum on Insta @MillerArtMuseum or on Facebook at Miller Art Museum.
EXHIBITION-FOCUSED PROGRAMMING
Member and Volunteer Preview Tour
Friday, April 14
4 – 5 pm
Location: Miller Art Museum | 107 S. 4th Avenue, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
Awards Reception
Monday, April 17
7 – 8:30pm | Remarks and Awards at 7:30pm
Location: Miller Art Museum | 107 S. 4th Avenue, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
The Miller Art Museum will host a free, public artist reception featuring exhibiting artists Robert David Jinkins and Lee Mothes in conjunction with current exhibitions Horizon Line and Oceans and Beaches. The event will take place from 5:30 – 7 pm on Friday, March 3, and will be preceded by an in-depth conversation between Jinkins and Curator Helen del Guidice in The Studio Door from 4 – 5 pm. An audience Q&A will follow the conversation. Both events are free to attend and light refreshments will be served. Music during the reception will be provided by Craig Schultz.
Robert David Jinkins, a portrait of the artist next to his mixed media acrylic work, Harvesting the Winter Wheat.
The Studio Door will provide guests with a behind-the-scenes look at Horizon Line. Curator Helen del Guidice will discuss with Jinkins his philosophies, worldviews, and artistic practice behind the creation of the 17 large-scale paintings on display that the artist describes as “…A eulogy, in a traditional sense, to the inevitable passage of time, exploration of place, and an investigation of personal intergenerational narratives.
Jinkins, who is a Wisconsin native holding a bachelor's degree in art from the University of Wisconsin Platteville and a master's in fine art from Iowa State University, writes of his work, “… My pieces are labor intensive and take months to create—using an Apelles-inspired palette of natural earth tones, I use fine-hatching in graphite or delicate washes of acrylic, glazes of inks, traditional acrylics, and hand-mixed paints utilizing potters' pigments to create meticulous works...”
The artist’s panoramic, striking rural landscapes, inhabited by formidable characters, are depicted in a combination of American Regionalism and Surrealism, illustrating the artist’s admiration and reverence for his ancestral land. “The paintings are less idyllic and more forthright, about the rural environment and its proximity to life and death. Jinkins connects the perimeters of the paintings as an object to the panoramic storytelling, through long panels, diptychs, and triptychs, which provides the viewer a visceral sense of place,” says del Guidice. The exhibition is the first major museum exhibition for the artist.
Lee Mothes, a portrait of the artist next to his acrylic work, Pacifica Morning.
Horizon Line and Oceans and Beaches are supported, in part, by Barb and Mike Madden and a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts. The exhibitions will be on display at the Miller Art Museum, located inside the Door County Library’s Sturgeon Bay Branch at 107 S. 4th Avenue through Monday, April 3, 2023. Hours are Mondays 10 am – 7 pm and Tuesday through Saturday 10 am – 5 pm. Closed Sunday. Admission is free but freewill donations are welcomed and encouraged; an elevator is available to access galleries on the Ruth Morton Miller Mezzanine. For more information call (920) 746-0707 or visit www.millerartmuseum.org or find the museum on Insta @MillerArtMuseum or on Facebook at Miller Art Museum.
The Studio Door | Robert David Jinkins
Friday, March 3
4 – 5 pm
Location: Miller Art Museum | 107 S. 4th Avenue, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
Artist Reception | Featuring Robert David Jinkins and Lee Mothes
Friday, March 3
5:30 – 7 pm
The Miller Art Museum is pleased to announce that the open call for applications for its third-year artist residency program is now open. The deadline to apply is March 15, 2023.
The Dome House Al & Mickey Quinlan Artist Residency was established in 2021 and has served three Midwest artists in its two inaugural years. If selected for the 2023 program, one artist will be provided with an 8-week opportunity to reside at the iconic Dome House, a twin-lobed (one side for a residence, the other for a studio) domed concrete structure built into sand dunes abutting Whitefish Dunes State Park and situated on the shores of Lake Michigan. The experience offers artists a unique respite from day-to-day life and the sights and sounds of nature provide a haven for the development of creative work, given the proximity to the parks and surrounding natural areas. The program is also a conduit for community engagement with a diverse offering of programming and events throughout the residency period. The resident artist is required to actively engage the public through outreach for a minimum of 5 hours per week, on or off-site. Midwest artists residing in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin can apply online at https://www.domehouseart.org/apply. The 2023 program is scheduled to run from August 1 - September 25, 2023.
The Miller Art Museum debuts a new exhibition of larger-than-life paintings by Midwest realist painter Robert David Jinkins on Saturday, January 14, 2023. The exhibition, Horizon Line, is the first major museum exhibition for the artist and will be complemented with panoramic seascapes by Kaukauna, WI-based artist Lee Mothes on the second floor Ruth Morton Miller Mezzanine. Both exhibitions will be on view through Monday, April 3, 2023.
Jinkins, a Wisconsin native who holds a bachelor's degree in art from the University of Wisconsin Platteville and a master's in fine art from Iowa State University, writes of his work, “It is a eulogy, in a traditional sense, to the inevitable passage of time, exploration of place, and an investigation of personal intergenerational narratives. My pieces are labor intensive and take months to create—using an Apelles-inspired palette of natural earth tones, I use fine-hatching in graphite or delicate washes of acrylic, glazes of inks, traditional acrylics, and hand-mixed paints utilizing potters' pigments to create meticulous works...”
Image credit: Robert David Jinkins, Harvesting the Winter Wheat, Acrylic mixed media.
The artist’s panoramic, striking rural landscapes, inhabited by formidable characters, are depicted in a combination of American Regionalism and Symbolism, illustrating his admiration and reverence for his ancestral land.
“The paintings are less idyllic and more forthright, about the rural environment and its proximity to life and death. Jinkins connects the perimeters of the paintings as an object to the panoramic storytelling, through long panels, diptychs, and triptychs, which provides the viewer a visceral sense of place,” says Miller Art Museum Curator Helen del Guidice.
The public is invited to attend a series of free public programs that will provide additional context for the exhibition:
Member and Volunteer Preview Tour | Horizon Line by Robert David Jinkins
Friday, January 13
4 – 5 pm
Miller Art Museum | 107 S. 4th Avenue, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
Join Curator of Exhibitions and Collections Helen del Guidice for a sneak peek at the new exhibition Horizon Line before it opens to the public. Enjoy the exhibition without the crowd and hear interesting stories and information directly from the curator. Interested in taking advantage of member benefits? Find more information on becoming a member at https://millerartmuseum.org/membership.
Art/Speaks
Friday, January 27
11 am – 12:15 pm
Miller Art Museum | 107 S. 4th Avenue, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
Join Write On, Door County’s Carrie Sherrill for a free writing lab that takes place in the main galleries of the Miller Art Museum! All level writers are welcome to attend and write in response to the art on display for Horizon Line by Robert David Jinkins. This event is free and open to the public.
The Studio Door | Robert David Jinkins
Friday, March 3
4 – 5 pm
Miller Art Museum | 107 S. 4th Avenue, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
Join Curator Helen del Guidice as she sits down in conversation with artist Robert David Jinkins. Join us to learn more about his philosophies, worldviews, and artistic practice. There will be an audience Q&A with Jinkins after the program and an artist reception to follow. This event is free and open to the public.
Artist Reception | Horizon Line by Robert David Jinkins
Friday, March 3
5:30 – 7 pm
Miller Art Museum | 107 S. 4th Avenue, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
Meet exhibiting artists and enjoy the 17 large-scale paintings on display by Wisconsin-based artist Robert David Jinkins, showcasing works in a combination of American regionalism and Symbolism through depictions of life on the Jinkins family farm. Light refreshments will be served. This event is free and open to the public.
Together with Horizon Line, the Miller Art Museum presents Oceans and Beaches by Lee Mothes. The exhibition features 11 large-scale, brilliantly colored panoramic seascapes depicting the awe-inspiring experience of the artist’s deep connection with the ocean.
Image credit: Lee Mothes, Pacifica Morning, Acrylic.
The Miller Art Museum in downtown Sturgeon Bay is set to unveil two new exhibitions on Saturday, November 5, 2022: Hanseatic: The Life and Work of Karsten and Ellen Topelmann in the first-floor main galleries and New Acquisitions from James J. Ingwersen on the Ruth Morton Miller Mezzanine. Door County’s landscape has long piqued the interest of visual artists, especially so for the late Karsten Topelmann (1929-2021) and his late wife, Ellen Sprogø Topelmann (1926-2016). The exhibition, featuring 34 works, collectively depict the story of a village, their beloved Ephraim, a family, and two extraordinary artists each with distinct accomplishments and talents. In tandem, a collection of 12 paintings—new acquisitions to the permanent collection—and two bronze sculptures will be featured with existing collection works by James J. Ingwersen. Both exhibitions will be on display through December 30, 2022.
Karsten Topelmann, Still Life with Self-portrait Reflectionl - Karsten Topelmann, Hanseatic Gallery - Ellen Topelmann, Our Village
In celebration of these legacy artists, an abundant lineup of public programming is scheduled for the coming weeks:
Exhibition Preview | Friday, November 4 from 4 - 5pm. Museum members and volunteers are invited to preview the exhibition prior to opening to the public with a tour guided by Curator Helen del Guidice.
The Studio Door | Saturday, November 5 from 2 - 3pm. A presentation of The Studio Door; free and open to the public. Curator Helen del Guidice sits down in conversation with Lars and Lisa Topelmann to discuss the life and work of their parents, Karsten and Ellen (Sprogø) Topelmann. A question-and-answer period will follow the conversation; the public is invited to share personal anecdotes about the artists.