Museum of Wisconsin Art Captures Human Individuality

Each day an individual presents a unique picture to the world based on his or her choice of hairstyle, clothes and other adornments. These rituals—often overlooked, even by individuals themselves—depend on personality, age, time of year, and many other factors. The current exhibition on display at the Museum of Wisconsin Art (MWA), titled “To See Ourselves as Others See Us: Contemporary Wisconsin Portraits,” uses exquisite portraiture to explore the ways in which people present themselves. The exhibition’s co-curators, Graeme Reid (MWA assistant director) and Debra Brehmer (Portrait Society Gallery owner), selected a dozen Wisconsin artists working in a variety of media to interpret the complexity of the human persona.

Demitra Copoulos showcases a new technique that overlays ceramics with digital pigment prints in her busts, including a rendering of Milwaukee photographer Francis Ford. Copoulos’ sculpture requires an up-close, detailed examination.

Alongside a portrait, Katie Musolff provides personal notes and a graphite study that describes the immense time and thought required to capture an individual on canvas. Understanding this process allows for a greater appreciation of the oil paintings that preserve her neighbors in Stoddard, Wis. Musolff introduces a soulful-eyed neighbor with a straight-on portrait in Eugene, 321 North Pearl Street.

Each artist presents a compelling look at the human face, and sometimes the entire form, as with Marc Sijan’s full-size figures. Some artists may be unfamiliar to the metro area, but many have attained national stature or will likely do so as their careers progress. Through her large-scale self-portraits, recent MFA graduate Melissa Cooke reveals a meticulous expertise that will be exciting to watch develop. Cooke’s thin layers of powdered graphite, applied to white paper with a dry brush, merge accomplished technique with visionary conceptual themes.

“To See Ourselves as Others See Us” proves that contemporary portraiture remains a compelling genre. Most viewers will leave the museum with a deeper emotional connection to the unique personalities they meet on canvas and on the street, and with a newfound respect for human individuality.

“To See Ourselves as Others See Us: Contemporary Wisconsin Portraits” continues through Aug. 29 at MWA (300 S. Sixth Ave., West Bend).