As MIAD embarks on its biannual Faculty Exhibition, on view through October 4 in the Frederick Layton Gallery, two professors are reaching outside the City of Milwaukee, creating a conversation across the state. Printmaking faculty Tyanna Buie and Foundations faculty Jason Yi currently have solo exhibits in different corners of Wisconsin, yet include massive installations that capture the viewer inside a narrative.
From Milwaukee to West Bend…
In her most recent installation, Still Lives, on view at the Museum of Wisconsin Art through November 2, Tyanna Buie employs a combination of screen printing, collage and ink on paper together with See ‘n Say toys to convey her narrative of loss, impermanence and unconventional family dynamics.
Buie corrals this introspection and reflection into the gallery, making the experience simultaneously personal and universal.
“Tyanna Buie is the embodiment of what MOWA’s One Gallery is all about,” MOWA Executive Director and CEO Laurie Winters explains. “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 is dramatically different from anything we’ve done so far in the new museum.”
“Consciously or subconsciously, we all carry our past with us, and great art can tap into that in a constructive way,” says Buie about her mission to use her past to create something positive.
…And West Bend to Madison
Jason Yi’s A Fragile Permanence, on view at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art through November 9, draws on phenomenology, contemporary installation and the art historical tradition of landscape painting. From the spiritual significance of East Asian mountain peaks to the rugged sublimity of the American West, Yi uses the cultural myths of landscape to address visual perception, physical experience and uncertainty.
As a major component of the exhibition, Yi built a massive three-dimensional structure spanning the length of the museum’s State Street Gallery.
As visitors approach the imposing sculpture, its materials and seemingly unstable construction create awareness. With an internal network of wooden slats haphazardly nailed together, and vertical strips of white duct tape overlaying the surface, this tower – white and pristine from afar – gradually transforms into an odd jumble of everyday materials.
First image: Tyanna Buie, Still Lives
Second image: The See ‘n Say toy is a reflection of Buie’s childhood
Third image: Jason Yi works on A Fragile Permanence
