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Northwestern Mutual Art Gallery

Northwestern Mutual Art Gallery at Stritch is proud to present this innovative art exhibition in partnership with the Medical College of Wisconsin. The show will feature research-based digital and analog pieces collaboratively created by artists and scientists.

The gallery is open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Project Wonder is free to view.

A contemporary art space for teaching and learning

The Northwestern Mutual Gallery at Cardinal Stritch University is a visual arts gallery focusing on contemporary art and design in a wide range of media. Three annual curated exhibitions, plus additional experimental and emerging art shows, compliment the annual Senior Exhibition and biannual Faculty Exhibition. The gallery contributes to Milwaukee’s visual art culture by providing exhibition opportunities to local artists and hosting openings and ancillary events that are free and open to the public.

Housed within the Visual and Performing Arts Department at Cardinal Stritch University, the gallery provides aesthetic experiences and supplemental research opportunities to the campus community, which facilitate and serve the educational goals of the institution.

The Northwestern Mutual Art Gallery is located in the Joan Steele Stein Center for Communication Studies/Fine Arts on the Stritch campus in Fox Point.

Resources

For additional information or questions, please call (414) 410-4107

Resources

For additional information or questions, please call (414) 410-4107

Location

Joan Steele Stein Center for Communication Studies/Fine Arts
Cardinal Stritch University
6801 N. Yates Road. Milwaukee, WI 53217

Hours

Monday-Friday: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. or by appointment.
Please call (414) 410-4107 for an appointment.

Saturday and Sunday: Closed

Admission

Admission is free

Past Exhibitions

Rise and Thrive: A Lives in Landscape™ Exhibit

April 6 – May 10, 2021

Community Connections: April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and National Poetry Month
 

Rise and Thrive: A Lives in Landscape™ Exhibit is a social justice project that celebrates the indomitable spirit of survivors of sexual violence. Through landscape paintings, short films, and powerful survivor-written narratives, this exhibit honors their stories of healing, resilience, and hope.

Featuring the work of 12 creative writers and 3 community artists, including Cardinal Stritch University alumni Brianna Joy Seipel (’14) and Michael Snowden (’19).

This project is part of LOTUS Legal Clinic’s survivor empowerment program and is supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts. The project is also supported by the Victims of Crime Act Subgrant No. 2017/2018-VO-01-15208 awarded by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Office of Crime Victim Services under a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime.

BFA / BA Senior Exhibition

May 12 – 31, 2017

Opening Reception: May 12, 2017, 5:00-7:30pm

Our annual exhibition and send-off celebration for the Visual Art Department’s graduating Seniors! Featured Heidi Tamblyn, Josie Hrenak, Kelli McCalligan, Megan Kos, Emmanuel Shambley, Carolyn Trebian, Nate DeRidder, Katy Schreiner, Jenny Smit, Celene Bonilla, and Anna Stadler.

Picture Language

March 19, 2016 – April 15, 2016

Opening Reception: Saturday, May 19, 2016

The Art Exhibit “Picture Language” features original abstract paintings by Steve Earl Sellars. Steve has been teaching drawing and painting in the Visual Art Department for over 20 years. He is widely known for his work in painting and collage, photography and sculpture.
 

Visual Art Department Senior Exhibition

Ran from April 22, 2016 – May 27, 2016

Opening Reception: Friday, April 22, 2016

We are pleased to invite you to a celebration of the accomplishments of the Class of 2016. The show will feature a variety of Art and Design media, working processes, and artistic visions of our graduating seniors. 

Everyday Mysteries

(Emily Belknap, Grant Gill, Jon Horvath)

Ran until October 12, 2015

The four artists in the exhibition each approach their subject with a goal of uncovering deeper truths about life as we know it, providing greater potential that we will pay more thoughtful attention to the ordinary encounters we often undervalue.


Faculty Exhibition

(Tim Abler, Steve Sellars, Sarah Nitschke, Bryan Cera, Shana McCaw & Brent Budsberg, Maureen Chavez-Kruger, Emily Belknap, Kat Hustedde)

October 24 – January 4

Student preview: Thursday, October 23, 12:00pm-4:00pm

Public opening: Friday, October 24, 5:00pm-7:00pm

Our biannual faculty exhibition brings together an engaging and varied collection of artwork from our talented faculty artists. Represented will be media ranging from photography, graphic design, and interactive media design to collaged painting, sculpture, and scenic design.


Frankie Flood

January 16 – March 15

Public opening: Friday, January 16, 5:00pm-7:00pm

Student opening: Thursday, January 22, 12:00pm-4:00pm

Frankie Flood is a professor of Metalsmithing at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and also directs the school’s innovative Digital Craft Research Lab. His blend of meticulous fabrication, mechanical know-how, and digital innovation is a compelling look into an imaginative future.


Milwaukee Field Reporters

March 27 – April 19

Student preview: Thursday, March 26, 12:00pm-4:00pm

Public opening: Friday, March 27, 5:00pm-7:00pm

This group of young artists supplements their individual art practices with field research in the form of the great Midwestern road trip.

 

Visual Art Department Senior Exhibition

May 1 – June 10  

Student preview: Thursday, April 30, 12:00pm-4:00pm

Public opening: Friday, May 8, 5:00pm-7:00pm

Our annual exhibition and send-off celebration for the Visual Art Department’s graduating Seniors!  

"A Culture of Evil" - featuring Sarah Nitschke and Robin Assner

January 17 – March 9

A collaborative team delves into the meaning of evil: how it manifests itself in certain people and what happens when their actions reverberate into culture.
 

Triangulation: Locating Creative Perspectives at Three Milwaukee High Schools

March 20 – April 20

An exhibition of some of Milwaukee's most talented student artists from three local high schools.
 

Senior Showcase

May 1 – July 27

A celebration of the accomplishments of the Class of 2014. The show will feature a variety of media, working processes, and artistic visions.

Open Studio Exhibition

November 23, 2013 – January 5, 2014

The exhibition featured students' works-in-progress and highlighted their methods, progress, and creative discoveries over the fall semester.
 

M.A. Visual Studies Thesis Exhibition

August 24 – Sept. 29, 2013

Featuring the work of M.A. Visual Studies students
 

Stritch BFA Exhibition

May 10–19, 2013

Featuring 2-D and 3-D works by graduating BFA students
 

Reuse: Transforming the Landscape

April 5–28, 2013

Featuring photographs by Gina Dabrowski
Photo Gallery

In 2010, Gina Dabrowski received the McKnight Artist Fellowship for Photographers to continue her examination of the big business of trash and the evolution of landfills from the "open dump pits" of the 1970s. Dabrowski's portfolio of large-format (Type C) prints is an exceptional example of current landscape photography in an environmentally-sensitive time.
 

League of Milwaukee Artists

February 22 – March 24, 2013

Photo Gallery

This exhibition featured work by members of the League of Milwaukee Artists.
 

Weightless Words

January 18 – February 17, 2013

This exhibition featured works by Ted Brusubardis, Annushka Peck, and Calvin Whitehurst. The artists worked collaboratively to transform the Northwestern Mutual Art Gallery into a space of art and audio installations. Their work explored how words define reality and our understanding of history. Gallery visitors face the impact of commonly spoken words.

Baylor Family Exhibition

November 16 – December 16, 2012

Photo Gallery

Milwaukee's dynamic Baylor family exhibits 2-D and 3-D works that interweave an explosion of colorful images and organic shapes. They tell a story of life, love, and the strength of family ties.
 

Beyond Vision Tactile Exhibition

October 19 – November 11, 2012

Photo Gallery

Explore a fascinating array of three-dimensional work meant to be touched! People of all ages and physical abilities are invited to explore an exhibit of sculptural art produced by accomplished local artists including Narendra Patel, Richard Taylor, Jim Matson, Kendall Polster, Beth Sahagian and Rochelle Frisch Whiteman. Stritch students’ Open Box Project tactile installations are part of the gallery exhibit. The Outdoor Contemporary Sculpture Garden’s monumental sculptures are available for tactile exploration. Both the gallery and sculpture garden are fully accessible.

M.A. Visual Studies II Exhibition

September 22 – October 7, 2012

Photo Gallery
 

M.A. Visual Studies I Exhibition

August 25 – September 9, 2012

Photo Gallery
 

MARN Mentors Exhibition

July 20 – August 12, 2012

The Milwaukee Artist Resource Network (MARN) has created MARN Mentors for visual artists, literary artists, filmmakers, composers, and arts administrators to strengthen the network of artist support. MARN serves as a liaison between established working artists and administrators and those who are pursuing a career in the arts.

Several established arts professionals have served as mentors, and the mentors and their protégés have worked together throughout the year with a final presentation of their work at Stritch.
 

Contemporary Sculpture Exhibition

June 8–24, 2012

This gallery exhibit highlighted smaller-scale works by seven local sculptors (Steven Fischer, Nathan Hatch, Ruth Aizuss Migdal, Bruce Niemi, Mark Overs, Richard Taylor, Bilhenry Walker) whose monumental sculptures are on display in the Stritch Contemporary Outdoor Sculpture Garden. The sculptors’ visions are explored, from a rare peek at conceptual models to exciting new sculptural pieces.
 

B.F.A. Exhibition II

May 11–20, 2012 

Stritch Visual Art students exhibited photography, graphic design, and ceramics as part of their senior thesis.


B.F.A. Exhibition I

April 20–29, 2012

Stritch Visual Art students exhibited photography, graphic design, and ceramics as part of their senior thesis.
 

Alumni Exhibition

March 16 – April 5, 2012 

The Alumni Exhibition featured two and three-dimensional works by Tom Stella, Mary Smith, and Jim Smessaert, who all studied under Sister Thomasita Fessler, renowned founder of Stritch's Art Department.

Alumni Exhibition

February 25 – April 1, 2011

Artwork by Michael Stanford Foster, M.A., '05, and Frank Korb, M.A., '02 was displayed. The opening reception included wine, food, and live music by the Jeannine Rivers Group.
 

Emerging Artists Exhibition

January 21 – February 18, 2011

This exhibition featured the works of Deidre Prosen and Steven Burnham. The opening reception was Jan. 21 from 5-8 p.m. and featured refreshments and live music by the K Sharp Quintet.

"90 Day Lawn Ornament"

September 10 – December 10, 2010

This site specific, temporary, outdoor assemblage by Gary John Gresl was located near the southwest corner the Joan Steele Stein Center for Communication Studies/Fine Arts building.
 

"Intersection"

October 1 – December 10, 2010

New figurative sculpture and wall reliefs by Jim Matson were displayed. The opening reception was on Gallery Night and featured live music and refreshments.

Matson said, "The work is literal in the sense that it digs into the nature of our inner struggles. Working in three dimensions opens up the language to focus intently on texture, negative space, color, and form. The pieces are in part dialogues between personal life events and our connection to the ancient questions of life. My goal is to raise the question about what a peculiar thing it is to be human."

B.A./B.F.A. Exhibition

April 17–26, 2009

The opening reception took place in conjunction with Gallery Night. B.A./B.F.A. candidates exhibited works in the areas of photography, painting, digital media, and communication design. A Stritch student string ensemble led by instructor Scott Wenzel performed opening night from 6-7:30 p.m.
 

Stritch Alumni Exhibition

February 20 – April 5, 2009

An exploration of the diverse painting styles of three accomplished Stritch alumni, Aleksander Balos, Shelby Keefe, and Michelle Richeson.
 

Joseph Friebert Centennial Exhibition: Landscapes

January 16 – February 15, 2009

Celebrating the centennial of Joseph Friebert's birth in 1908, the exhibit highlighted Friebert's extraordinary landscapes. Inspired by Old Masters' techniques, Friebert's works have many layers of glaze, forming a dark but luminous palette. The artist and educator spent most of his life in Milwaukee.

B.A./B.F.A. Exhibition

Dec. 12–21, 2008


Wisconsin Visual Artists Juried Portrait Exhibition

October 24 – November 23, 2008

Artists from the S.E. Chapter of Wisconsin Visual Artists (formerly Wisconsin Painters & Sculptors) exhibited works that represent portraiture in the broadest interpretation.
 

Terrence James Coffman: 25 Years of Painting in Wisconsin

September 12 – October 12, 2008

A fascinating retrospective of 25 years of Terrence James Coffman’s water color and oil paintings in Wisconsin was on display.

Steven E. Sellars

Faculty - Art