Female Splendor

  Starting July 25, at 6 p.m., the walls of Peltz’s vintage Victorian building will be covered in what gallery owner Cissie Peltz describes as “feminine splendor.” Peltz hosts its “18th Annual Remarkable Women Show” that includes more than 35 artists from across the nation. Pastels, paintings, drawings, wall hangings and a variety of original prints are exhibited throughout the entire gallery. Even names familiar to the Milwaukee art community offer the promise of new artwork: Anne Kingsbury, Barbara Manger, Joanna Poehlmann, Evelyn Patricia Terry, and Della Wells.

  Cross-cultural artistic expressions can be found in the work of Latin-American artist Nicola Lopez, Native-American artist Juane Quick-To-See Smith, and Chinese artist Hung Liu. The show also introduces two new talents to this Milwaukee tradition. African-American artist Margo Humphrey displays her exciting suite of lithographs with gold leaf while Chicago’s Marilyn Propp works in oil pastels. From the large watercolors by nationally renowned Jeanette Pasin Sloan to the petite gouache paintings of Diane Levesque, the multiplicity of mediums, themes and ideas presented in the show illustrates the “remarkable” in the title.

  Cissie Peltz’s own special accomplishments and love for art culminates with the 19th birthday of the gallery this July. The public is invited to a special party on Saturday, July 26, from 11 a.m. through 4 p.m. Champagne, ice cream and cake will be served during this festive occasion, with an informal artist’s panel from 1-2:30 p.m. honoring Peltz’s enthusiastic contributions to art.

  Tory Folliard Gallery hosts another of the city’s favorite artistic legacies that spans more than 35 years. The Milwaukee born and nationally recognized artist Patrick Farrell displays his new paintings in the exhibit “Patrick Farrell: Calla Lilies and Fruit.” Nine new paintings portray masterful still-life techniques by an artist who appears on the pages of Who’s Who in American Art.Farrell’s small vignettes, painted with oil on linen or board, capture an ethereal and eternal moment in time with their meticulously detailed hyperrealism. Farrell reintroduces the calla lily to his painting compositions while still incorporating the subject material he’s famous for—bowls of fruit and the occasional butterfly that represent the rich bounty and beauty in life.

  A special preview of his work on Thursday, July 17 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. will provide a delightful opportunity to meet the artist, and the Folliard gallery will offer a keepsake poster of this exhibition to those attending. This exhibit leads into Gallery Night and Day starting July 25, where another reception honors Farrell together with the ceramic sculptures of Mark Chatterley and works on paper by T. L. Solien.