Extra-terrestrial. Political. Animalistic. Festive. While the illustrations in the newest exhibition on view at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) cover divergent themes across a range of platforms, their exploration of media connects them and enriches their messages.
“FANTASTIC: Four Contemporary Illustration Artists” features the work of internationally-renowned Henrik Drescher, as well as Frances Jetter, Katherine Streeter and Carl Dunn. It is on view in MIAD’s Frederick Layton Gallery October 20 – December 2, 2017. The Opening Reception is Friday, October 20, 5 – 9 p.m. during Fall Gallery Night in the Historic Third Ward.
Henrik Drescher and Frances Jetter will give a public talk on Thursday, November 9 at 7 p.m.
About the illustrators:
- Henrik Drescher will show large landscape paintings influenced by ancient Chinese-style panoramas with extraterrestrial features, in addition to drawings.
- Frances Jetter will have three books on view, including a 40-foot wide folio book condemning the practice of torture at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. She also shows drawings and collages.
- Katherine Streeter presents 50 collage paintings featuring human and animal characters in various states of contemplation, expressing the human dilemma and its accompanying emotions.
- Carl Dunn introduces collage paintings from his forthcoming book, “The Music Lesson” as well as Halloween masks.
Curator and prominent Madison-area art director Patrick JB Flynn adds that “all of the art reveals much about the artists and their unique approaches to interpreting the world and its often incomprehensible machinations in this modern age of disinformation.”
While their work has been commissioned for newspapers and magazines for years, these artists have proven themselves equally adept at responding to assignments from clients and initiating their own projects to express their unique visions through painting, book arts, printmaking, collage, sculpture and digital animations.
For MIAD students, the variety of media sends an important message. “The exhibit is an opportunity to experience this fluid transition between design and fine arts and to realize that a successful career does not have to be locked into a single major,” says MIAD Illustration Professor Christiane Grauert.
The FANTASTIC exhibit and all related programming is free and open to the public. Gallery hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Free gallery tours are available at miad.edu/gallerytours.
