The James Watrous Gallery is dedicated to Wisconsin artists. Solo exhibits present a significant body of work by a single artist, while our curated shows often draw connections between art and other disciplines. We strive to create a welcoming environment that encourages engagement and inquiry.
Current Galleries
November 12 – January 23, 2022
As The Last Glacier collective, printmakers Bruce Crownover and Todd Anderson and photographer Ian van Coller are dedicating their studio practice to capturing the fading majesty of earth’s remaining glaciers. Their project began as a response to the rapidly retreating glaciers of Glacier National Park, and has expanded to working with scientific collaborators at glacial landscapes in Iceland, Tanzania, Colorado, and beyond. Anderson and Crownover’s reductive woodcuts are, in the words of essayist Nancy Mahoney, “layered landscapes that go beyond realistic representations. Their prints portray a larger truth about the glacial texture, mass, subtle colorations, and antiquity, which cannot be captured in scientific prose.” In contrast, van Coller’s subtle, richly detailed photographs bring the texture and chilly grandeur of this disappearing landscape into sharp focus.
November 12 – January 23, 2022
Matthew Warren Lee’s oil paintings depict rugged landscapes interrupted and dominated by huge, sophisticated architectural follies and scientific instruments, from telescopes and particle colliders to neutrino detectors. The contrast between the turbulent natural environment, empty city buildings, and looming, ominous technology evokes questions about the promise of scientific discovery, the place of humans in the landscape, and the risks inherent in human interventions in nature. Through his research and his art, Lee seeks a new language to understand the present and contemplate possible futures, one that captures urgency and hope for both the preservation of nature and the ambitions of civilization.
Free and open to the public, the James Watrous Gallery is located on Overture Center’s third floor. Gallery hours are 12-6pm Thursday-Saturday and 12-5pm on Sunday, or by appointment.
The Watrous Gallery is a program of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters, a place to connect with experts and explore Wisconsin thought and culture. To learn more, visit wisconsinacademy.org.
