Fine Art professor exhibits at Milwaukee Art Museum, Green Gallery

Peter Barrickman, professor of Fine Art + New Studio Practice at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD), maintains a thriving artistic practice outside of his teaching. In the space of a few months, the artist completed a residency in Concepción, Chile, was featured in Milwaukee Art Museum’s “50 Paintings” and unveiled a solo exhibition at The Green Gallery.

Curated by Margaret Andera and Michelle Grabner, the “50 Paintings” exhibit brings together paintings from all over the world and celebrates the medium’s “continued relevance and aesthetic range.” Barrickman’s “Sleeping Dogs” (2021) was featured in the exhibition alongside a range of other works and is on view Nov. 17, 2023 – June 23, 2024 at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

His eighth exhibition in an 18-year relationship with The Green Gallery, Barrickman’s newest solo installation “Untitled Melody” explores three subjects: cardboard (and shipping centers), fire and winter landscapes. The paintings in this series were inspired by a physical repositioning of Barrickman’s studio into city parks and also his backyard.. These motifs allow Barrickman to break and subsequently re-envision his painting strategy. The exhibition runs Jan. 19 – Mar. 1, 2024.

Barrickman was an interim MIAD instructor for ten years before being hired as a full-time professor of Fine Art + New Studio Practice recently. “Above all else, I think that cultivating humanity is at the root of teaching and I’m committed to this,” explains Barrickman. “I teach while acknowledging my own humanity and that of my students. Art is one way that we can give form to these dynamics. Teaching and learning bring challenges and through these, we earn expanded versions of ourselves.”

In addition to teaching and facilitating MIAD classes and maintaining a thriving artistic practice, Barrickman serves as faculty advisor for MIAD student organization Sound Collective. Collective members make everything from music and field recordings to interviews and sound experiments, and release recordings on their radio show through Riverwest Radio (104.1 FM). Barrickman also explores sound and art through Live AV, on which he collaborates with MIAD Fine Arts chair and professor Kim Miller. Miller and Barrickman recently completed a summer residency in Concepción, Chile.

Learn more about “Untitled Melody” and “50 Paintings,” keep up with Barrickman on his website and explore MIAD’s Fine Art + New Studio Practice program.