Museum of Wisconsin Art Celebrates The Opening of Two Exhibitions This Summer

(WEST BEND, WI) On Thursday, August 7, 5:00 to 8:00 the Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA) will hold an opening party to celebrate two new exhibitions: Tyanna Buie: Still Lives and Madison Art Guild: Centenary.  

This summer MOWA is excited to feature one of the State’s foremost up-and-coming visual artists, Tyanna Buie, in her new exhibition entitled, Still Lives. In this site-specific installation for MOWA’s One Gallery, Buie takes full advantage of the size and scale of the wall to combine screen printing, collage, and ink-on-paper with three-dimensional objects, narrating an autobiography of loss, impermanence, and unconventional family dynamics. The confrontation of memory and experience in her work is both individual and universal, engaging the viewer in their own reflections of past and present. 

Born in Chicago and the youngest of four siblings, Buie spent her childhood bouncing from foster home to foster home, creating what she says was a “great childhood and a bad one at the same time.” Discovering at the age of five that art could be her safe place and an emotional outlet, Buie went on to receive a BA from Western Illinois University and an MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2010. 

Buie has an impressive portfolio of experiences, having attended artist-in-residency programs at the Women’s Studio Workshop in Rosendale, New York and the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, Vermont. She has been a guest lecturer throughout the US and has exhibited in numerous juried, group, and solo exhibitions throughout the country, including Northwestern University’s Dittmar Gallery, Boston Printmaker’s 2011 North American Print Biennial exhibition juried by Jim Dine, Milwaukee Art Museum, and Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. In 2012, Buie became the first African-American woman to be honored with the Mary L. Nohl Fellowship, the most important prize for emerging artists in Milwaukee. Buie currently lives and practices her work in Milwaukee and teaches at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design. 

“Tyanna Buie is the embodiment of what MOWA’s One Gallery is all about,” said Laurie Winters, MOWA Executive Director | CEO. “This gallery is ideal for young, energetic artists like Buie who can use the gallery to experiment with new ideas and directions. Buie’s work will be dramatically different from anything we’ve done so far in the new museum.” 

Also opening on August 7 is the Madison Art Guild: Centenary. Since 1914 the Madison Art Guild (MAG) has been a consistent and supportive presence in the vibrant Madison art scene. To celebrate their momentous 100-year anniversary, MOWA invited MAG to exhibit in the museum’s State Gallery—a space dedicated to artist groups throughout Wisconsin. The Centenary will feature 24 works of art in a variety of media, and is on view at MOWA from August 8 through November 9, 2014. 

An organization of more than 100 members throughout Dane County, amateur and professional artists alike must be juried into the Guild. With several sponsored exhibitions throughout the year, MAG’s purpose is to interact with other artists, share knowledge, provide artist support and encouragement, offer educational experiences, exhibit member work, and advance the appreciation of art. 

August 8–November 2, 2014

Thursday, August 7 l 5:00–8:00

Thursday, August 28 l 6:30

Artist Talk: Buie will peel back the layers of meaning and symbolism of the imagery in her exhibition.

August 8–November 9, 2014

Thursday, August 7 l 5:00–8:00