Events and Programs

Find out how you can display at the Central Gallery or view our upcoming displays:

Currently Showing

August and September
Alicia Ashman Branch

Local artist Anthony Pawlowsky displays painted wood carvings at the Alicia Ashman Branch Library Gallery. The art show features wood carvings emphasizing three dimensional aspects of flowers, trees, landscapes, barns, mountains, hot air balloons and abstracts. For purchasing information, please contact the artist at 608-441-9588.

August
Central Library

Get Messy: The Art and Outreach of Mess Hall Press

Run by a volunteer staff of local artists, graphic designers and communication professionals, Mess Hall Press teaches the fundamentals of the creative process through hands-on art activities.

Since early 2005, Mess Hall Press has offered hundreds of Madison area students the opportunity to gain valuable arts experience by working with both head and hands. We focus on drawing, print making, graphic design, and straddle the line where the disciplines collide.

The Mess Hall approach involves working collaboratively with students at each stage of the creative process, from concept to creation. We emphasize hand-drawn type and designs over computer-generated graphics. Our creations come to life via screen-printing, letterpress, and good old fashioned pencil sketches. We host classes at local community centers, schools, galleries and events. Mess Hall has also started teaching adult classes so that everyone can get messy. 

For more info visit messhallpress.org

July
Central Library

Jason Skoog: "YARNS"

Jason Skoog uses mixed media on paper to create colorful, imaginative worlds with open-ended narratives. The show features both small and large works populated by a variety of intriguing characters and objects like sailors, station wagons, gazelles, swimming pools, telephones, mop buckets, spiders, and rhinos.

Please join us for an opening reception with the artist on Thursday, July 1 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Central Library. Visit the artist's website for more information on his work.

May - July
Alicia Ashman Library

"Looking Down Town": Photography by Craig Wilson

Artist Craig Wilson displays past and present kite aerial photography of Madison, Wisconsin at the Alicia Ashman Branch Library Gallery. The art show features two kite aerial views of Madison, WI photographed by George Lawrence in 1908 and two matching views that local artist Craig Wilson photographed in 2008.

Craig Wilson is a Madison resident and has been making and flying kites for over 25 years. On any given day you might see him in a local park flying his large kites. Often hanging below those kites might be a radio-controlled camera that he uses to make interesting aerial photos. He has published a book of those images called Hanging by a Thread: A Kite's View of Wisconsin. This full-color book of photographs records Wisconsin from an unusual viewpoint. The camera was suspended from a kite and controlled by the photographer, Craig Wilson, from the ground. From fifty to a few hundred feet in the air, we see festivals, zoom close over “Wisconsin” on the capital dome, get a seagull’s eye view of sailors, and hover over the crowd at a University of Wisconsin-Madison football game. More than 140 gorgeous photographs offer a unique look at people and places around the state.

May and June
Central Library

The Art of Lichtner and Grotenrath

The Kohler Foundation recently completed a major gift of art to Madison Public Library consisting of paintings by Wisconisin artists Schomer Lichtner and Ruth Grotenrath. The couple began their prolific careers as WPA muralists. Lichtner may be best remembered for the whimsical ballerinas and cows that fascinated him in later years, while Grotenrath luminously depicted items found in her home or garden. Karin Wolf, Madison Arts Program Administrator, assisted with the aquisition, and the Madison Arts Commission generously funded museum/archival framing of the twenty-three paintings by Monroe Street Framing. The collection will premiere in Madison at the Central Library in May of 2010, with a reception at the library on Gallery Night, Friday, May 7, from 5 - 9 p.m.

A lecture on the work of these two beloved Wisconsin artists, presented by art conservationist Tony Rajer, will take place on Wednesday, May 5, at 6 p.m. For more information, read our press release.

April
Central Library

Impressed Expressed: Paintings by Paulina Ivanova

Artist Statement:
Everything has its own energy and vibration and my art tries to show that.

I hope when people view my paintings the character of the shapes and the harmony of the colors leave long lasting impression in their mind. Through the expression in my art I try to show that there is nothing mundane or ordinary in the world in us and around us.

Everything is magical, mystical, spiritual and spectacular. So let us all be amazed and humbled by Nature’s reality.

March and April
Alicia Ashman Branch

Cassius Callender: Color Photographs of Madison, Milwaukee and Washington D.C.

The exhibit focuses on landscape scenes taken during the most colorful times of the day, dawn and dusk. This is when the effect of the changing light with the combination of clouds and water can produce scenes of unimaginable beauty.

Artist's Statement:

Born in Puerto Rico, Cassius J. Callender has been interested in photography since 1984 when he took a summer class at the Escuela de Artes Plásticas de Puerto Rico in Old San Juan at the age of 14. After completing high school and serving for 10 years in the U.S. Navy, he moved to the Washington DC area to continue his career in computer security. It wasn't until 2006, when he received his first DSLR camera as a Father’s Day present from his wife Amy, that his passion for photography was truly ignited. Two years later Cassius J. Callender Photography was launched.

Now located in Oregon, WI, Cassius’ work primarily focuses on capturing landscape scenes during the most colorful times of the day, dawn and dusk. This is when the effect of the changing light with the combination of clouds and water can produce scenes of unimaginable beauty. He also enjoys photographing the "wildlife" that can be found on our local gardens. His works have been exhibited in several locations in Dane County.

For more information, visit the artist's website.

March
Central Library

Water Music: Theme and Variations by Mario Quintana and Juliet Rake

With its glacier-carved chain of lakes, extensive wetlands, streams and rivers, the landscape of South Central Wisconsin as a very watery place. Mario Quintana and Juliet Rake document this natural scene with their photography, both out of a love of its beauty and concern for the survival of these fragile environments.

Please join us for an Artists' Reception on Tuesday, March 16, 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. in the Central Library Gallery Space.

January 12 - March 31
Pinney Library

Mosaic Boxes by Tom Linfield

"I spent a large part of my life living in Europe, sketching stone circles and cairns, visiting cathedrals, and living in a medieval village called Cordes, in the south of France. I'm fascinated by the beauty and potency of these ancient, sacred stone formations and the imagery continues to inform my work.

This exhibition features... glass mosaic boxes. The work explores such common themes as memory, balance, and fragmentation" - Tom Linfield, from the artist's statement.

Join us for a reception and artist's talk on Wednesday, March 24 at 6 p.m. at the Pinney Branch. Tom Linfield will talk about his mosaic work, show images, and discuss inspiration. A reception begins at 6 p.m., followed by the talk at 7 p.m.

View a virtual display of works from the exhibit on Flickr. For more information about the artist, view his art resume and visit his website.

February
Central Library

Rogue's Alphabet by Michael Kress-Russick

Rogue's Alphabet celebrates the speed bumps of the English language; from akimbo to zealot. Thousands of words that have earned their keep in our mother tongue have been plucked wholesale from other dialects. Others simply seem to defy pronunciation or appear intended to trip up even the most cautious speller. This picture book presents a sampler of a modest cross-section from every corner of the alphabet. Rogue's Alphabet won the bronze medal for children's book illustration in the 3X3 Show in 2007. See more work by Michael Kress-Russick at his website.

Join the artist for a reception and reading on Saturday, February 20 at 10:30 a.m. at the Central Library.

See more photos and examples from the exhibit on Flickr.

January 2 - February 27, 2010
Alicia Ashman Library

"Art Felt" by Deb Lueders

"I felt wool because I love the way it comes together under my fingertips. With just a little water, a little soap and in time under the pressure of my hands, the wool melts together into a whole. I particularly like to work with color and texture on themes which can be traditional or modern.

My art career began as a weaver and grew to include spinning and dyeing. I discovered freeform knit/crochet and incorporated felted wool. Now, I mainly wet felt and enjoy working with inlay and nuno. The hope is that when people view my artwork they feel a connection. I appreciate viewers getting lost in my work. I like them to ask, 'How did you do that?' It's wonderful when they can not take their eyes away."

Please join us for an artist's reception on Saturday, January 9 from 2 - 4 p.m.

January
Central Library

Thirty Years of U.S.-China Friendship: A Photo Exhibition

The University of Wisconsin Law School’s East Asian Legal Studies Center, in conjunction with the Heilongjiang Foreign Affairs Office, presents a poster exhibition celebrating the 30th anniversary of U.S.-China relations. The exhibition includes a series of 14 posters, each with its own theme (economics, culture, sports, politics, etc.), with explanation in English and Chinese. The posters were a gift to the University of Wisconsin Law School East Asian Legal Studies Center by representatives from Wisconsin’s Sister-State, Heilongjiang, China, during a recent delegation visit.

December
Central Library

Art Paul Schlosser presents Patterns and Snowpeople

Local musician and artist Art Paul Schlosser presents original works of art.

November and December
Alicia Ashman Branch

"Light, Shadow and Tone: People, Places, Things" Art Exhibition by Margaret (Peggy) Moore

"This exhibit represents a collection of work completed over the last 3 years - portraits, landscapes, and still life. The portraits represent commissioned work and private collections, in charcoal and oil. I created the charcoals in a painterly fashion applying charcoal with medium and brushes. The landscapes collection includes oils and charcoals as well. The still lifes are oils and colored pencil. In all of my paintings, I focus on capturing the shadow and light placement based on the time of day or light placement and the color/value relationships."

Please join us for an artist's reception on Saturday, November 7 from 2 - 4 p.m. Read the artist's statement.

Michael Kress-Russick: "Moon over the Mountain"

Local picturebook illustrator on display October and November in the Sequoya Children's Area. Illustrations are from the recently released picturebook Moon over the Mountain by Keith Polette. Join Kress-Russick on Saturday, November 7 at 2:00 p.m. at Sequoya Library for a talk about the process of creating a picturebook, and his illustrations displayed in this show. Visit the artist's website. This exhibit is made possible thanks to a generous grant from the Madison Community Foundation to the Sequoya Library supporting the Art of the Picture Book collection.

High Point Christian School: "Celebrate Africa"

Student artwork from grades 3, 4, 5 and 8 from High Point Christian School, on display in the Alicia Ashman Library Children's Area Art Gallery.

November
Central Library

"CLICK": Miguel Angel León Benito

Black and white photography from local artist Miguel Angel León Benito. Read the artist's statement, in both English and Spanish.

September 18 - November 14
Pinney Library

"Worldview: A New Perspective": Quilts by Jana Mirs

On display mid-September through mid-November, quilts by local artist Jana Mirs.

October
Central Library

"Corn-Fed": A Solo Show by S.V. Medaris

S.V. Medaris presents a collection of pieces - oils, pastels and prints - of the various things that are powered by corn, along with landscapes featuring corn as one of the crops. Over twenty works will be included in the exhibit, including a large mural featuring pastured pigs, to show some of the different feeding and habitats of farm animals. Join the artist for a Gallery Night on Friday, October 2 from 5 - 9 p.m. in the Central Library Exhibit Space. Refreshments will be served.