COAA 2024

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CONFLUENCE OF ART ANNUAL EXHIBIT JAMES HANSEN GALLERY September 20 - November 10, 2024 Award Ceremony & Reception October 25, 5-7pm 1

Confluence of Art Annual Exhibition JAMES W HANSEN GALLERY

September 20 - November 10, 2024

Confluence of Art Annual Juried Exhibit, Featuring Recent Works from Regional and National Artists.

The Confluence of Art Annual Exhibition resides each fall in the James W Hansen Gallery at Pablo Center at the Confluence. Regional and national artists submit their work for review for display in the exhibit with over 50 works crossing different media, techniques, and motifs selected for display in the exhibit each year. Year after year, the volume and quality of works submitted continue to grow and is a testament that the arts scene in the Chippewa Valley and beyond is thriving, alive, and well. We welcome guests and artists alike to participate in the exhibit and share in the artistic excellence of our region. We had over 90 registered artists.

A multi-media experience featuring artworks in a wide range of thoughts and topics. On exhibit will be artworks submitted by artists and selected by our esteemed juror, Amy Fichter. Criteria used to select artwork will be quality of technique, excellence in composition, fulfillment of meaning, and uniqueness. Witness recent and relevant artwork that will enlighten, inform, and entertain.

WELCOME Pablo Center at the Confluence welcomes you to our fifth season’s visual arts exhibitions. Whether you are able to view these works in person at Pablo Center, or online through our website’s virtual exhibitions, we know that you will experience a heightened expression of humanity and gain a shared appreciation for the arts. Our annual exhibitions Reflected Light: The plein air art of GO Paint, Confluence of Art Annual, and Fabulous Florals & Fine Art explore the experiences of living and creating in the Chippewa Valley. We proudly display works that explore the complexities of the human experience in exhibits such as Indigenous Liberation Through Art, Human featuring the photography of Mark Aumann, and Entertain which delves into the complex experience of being an artist. We turn to the future and spotlight the works of young artists in High School Art Exhibit, and we 2

take inspiration from the lifetime of works of our region’s master creators, artist leaders, and teachers. Pablo Center is your place to discover vital, meaningful works.

GOOD TO KNOW PLEASE KEEP A SAFE DISTANCE FROM ALL ARTWORK AND PEDESTALS

Be conscious of backpacks or strollers that may bump into walls, pedestals, or artwork. Do not touch artwork on display unless a label tells you specifically how to interact with the artwork.

SUPERVISE CHILDREN AT ALL TIMES

We strongly encourage children viewing the artwork on display. Please instruct children to not touch artwork on display, to not run in the gallery, and to be kind and respectful of other people viewing the artwork by viewing artworks quietly and keeping a safe distance from others. Children must be supervised by their guardian at all times.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Pablo Center at the Confluence encourages personal photography of our exhibits and permanent art collection. Please use care both for the artwork and the people viewing it. Please no flash.

SKETCHING

Yes, please. You may certainly sketch in our facility. We ask that you use a lapboard or clipboard. Please only use lead or colored pencils. Please do not use the walls or pedestals as supports for sketching.

ARTWORK FOR SALE All artwork pricing is set by the artist and is non-negotiable and non-refundable.

All artwork sales are by commission with Pablo Center at the Confluence. Your purchase supports our endeavors to present quality visual arts programming that is free and open to the public. To purchase a piece, please contact buyart@pablocenter.org. Thank you for considering.

ARTISTS STATEMENTS & BIOGRAPHIES Statements and biographies are written by the individual artist and are published with their permission. The views expressed are their own.

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AMY FICHTER, THE JUROR Menomonie, Wisconsin Fichter grew up on a farm in southwest Iowa, earned a BA in Art at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa, and an MA in Art from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. She was trained in classical anatomy drawing at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, where she earned her MFA. She has been a professor of Life Drawing at the University of Wisconsin–Stout since 2003.

In addition to making figure drawings, Fichter has also worked in photography. Her photographs were featured in the 2016 Wisconsin Triennial at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art and her drawings are held in the collections of the Mint Museum of Art in Charlotte, NC, the Birmingham Museum of Art in Birmingham, AL, and the Columbia Museum of Art in Columbia, SC. Fichter has had artwork displayed in over 130 exhibitions regionally, nationally, and internationally.

Artist Statement “The body dies, but the soul goes to heaven.” Ever since Amy Fichter was told this as a young child, she has wondered, “But what about the body here and now?” She has always felt a fascination with the body as something that can simultaneously or distinctly experience pleasure and provoke disgust. Fichter finds inspiration in the body’s ability to persist amid pain, illness, turmoil, and injustice. The body is the conduit through which our thoughts and emotions are conveyed. The body connects us to the physical world and reflects our experiences. These ideas are at the heart of Fichter’s drawings.

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Fichter is interested not only in the body in general but in the specific bodies of those she loves. Her drawings are portraits of people with whom she has meaningful relationships, whose minds and bodies have shaped her, and vice versa. In the act of drawing those dear to her, Fichter honors these individuals and further deepens her connection to them.

Fichter’s drawings are created one mark at a time, considering how each mark relates to the whole. Through the mark-making process Fichter addresses space, form, and structure, deliberating how much disruption of those elements is needed to express a live body in space and time. Fichter uses color to create a sense of life and abundance, to describe at once a body and that which is more than a body. She is interested in the fact that while we appear static and solid, we are but atoms in perpetual motion. She keeps pondering the question: what is the body, here and now?

ARTISTS & PIECES Jamie Bowers On the Upside looking Down Acrylic and mesh on wood panel $665 Jamie Bowers Santa Fe Acrylic, mesh and oil crayon on wood panel $765 Becky Bowers Worlds Colliding Vintage print with added images and oil crayon $235 Sharon Dawson Eclipse Season, Light of the Moon Oil, Mixed Media on Paper $2,900

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Sharon Dawson Lunar Cradle I, Svadhistana Oil, Mixed Media on Canvas $5,500 Sharon Dawson Falling, Falling Back Oil, Mixed Media, Roots on Paper $2,900 I work with a fully embodied use of my medium. Layer upon layer of paint is applied then rubbed, scraped and carved through, paralleling the act of introspection. Through this working and reworking of surface, a relationship develops with time. The past, present and future coexist as the creative process is recorded and unfolds. Here is a place where time, as well as the internal and external worlds meet. While my work can be perceived as abstract, many will find a rich landscape of symbolic imagery that offers a visual metaphor of our human condition and our relationship to the natural world. Paintings in this exhibit where thematically chosen to correspond with the second of what astrologer’s call “eclipse season“ this year, SeptemberOctober 2024. The Eclipse is a cosmic event rich in mysticism throughout history as our Earth places herself between the Moon and the Sun. My creative process is meditative, opening a space for internal and external worlds to meet, feeling into the space between material and transcendent that is non-linear, timeless. I hope to share a bit of that energetic connection with the viewer as they move into their personal imaginative space, finding an individual interpretation of my work.

Paula Gorski Lawn Ornament Wrapped rope over sphere $1,500 Patricia Hawkenson Allure Colored Pencil $800 Growing up in the late 60’s, my grandmother would wear a fox around her neck as she went out around town. I was both intrigued and frightened by it.

Surely, if someone had to wear a dead animal around their neck, wouldn’t a

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lovely scarf like fish be a better choice? Allure shows a woman holding her dance card full of prospects as her gaze tempts a man into her trap.

Kristine Hinrichs Iceberg Pigment photographic prints on silk $600 This silk panel piece involves photographs printed on Habotai and Silk Organza, hung in a series of three to provide a three-dimensional effect. I find that this soft and luxurious silk provides a counterpoint to the hardness of the urban landscape/architecture and adds something unexpected. It also provides a counterpoint to the digital photographic process – one very technology focused – to the living breathing natural silk fabric. I print the panels myself. “Iceberg” is a series of three photographs of reflections in the spine of the Milwaukee Art Museums Brise Soleil.

Lynn Hobart Smiling Figure with Large Head Covering Pen, Pencil and colored pencil $600 This drawing was influenced by Polish textiles, patterns and vegetation found around my home. She is purposely proportioned to be strong and to withstand the rigors of an aging life.

Marlin Hostvet Lavender Coral Kiln formed glass $125 Marlin Hostvet Earth and Sky Kiln forned glass $150 Marlin Hostvet Celebration Kiln forned glass $150 I love making kiln-formed fused glass art pieces because they have a beautiful quality in that the glass reflects and refracts light in pleasantly 7

surprising and sometimes playful ways. Many of my art pieces consist of combinations of transparent, translucent and opaque colored glass. I enjoy creating varying textures and open spaces by strategically layering and interlacing strips and small shapes of glass. I truly hope my completed composition will evoke a pleasing response from you the viewer.

Kay Brathol-Hostvet Tempest Soft pastel $2300 Janice Hovey Bird Crash with Red Beaks Collage $550 Janice Hovey Birdcrash with Raptors Collage $550 Janice Hovey What a Marvelous Bird the Pelican Collage $450 Source Material: Hand cut and manipulated litho prints based on original paintings by John J. Sudubon. Published in “Birds of America:, McMillan Co. NY c. 1941 Steve Immerman Longevity Kilnformed glass $2,195 This kilnformed glass bowl is composed of over 200 individual pieces of glass, and prominently displays chemical reactions between various colors of glass. The glass is menlted in a kiln and then requires signifcant grinding and sandblasting to achieve its final shape and texture. This pieves symbolism regarding life changes is relfected in its title.

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Alexandria Mooney Jones Epipelagic Fireworks on Canvas $1700 Alexandria Mooney Jones Covering Chaos Fireworks on Canvas $1700 These piefces were created using only fireworks as the medium, then manipoulating them as the smoke burns. Zero paint, no other trafitional pigments were used.

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Trevor Knapp Grotta Melencolia Charcoal & Pastel on Paper $2,800 Grotta Melencolia was created as a means to cope with and express a depression that I wished to escape. Even while I was in the darkest depths of “The Pit”, I still had this flickers of lights that I could see just around the corner. If I could just keep going, just keep persisiting, I woukd see that brightness of life. This work is dedicated to my dear friend Tristan Norine, an artist who also competed and showed his art at the Pablo Center, whom we lost recently. I imagine he found his light.

Beau Lasiewicz Cesario Wood, epoxy and steel (big gear) $2,100 Beau Lasiewicz Alv Wood, epoxy and steel (boiler part) $2,500 Abby Lindstrom Untitled Green Untitled Green was my attempt to workwuth only one color. Green has such a wide variety as it has the largest hue range on the color wheel. The outcome of this exploration is a very unified, active painting.

Abby Lindstrom Untitled 10 Untitled 10 is my attempt at creating a lightsource at the top of my painting.

I magine a spot light or streetlamp about the canvas and this is what I tried to emulate by means of paint.

Abby Lindstrom Untitled 6 Untitled 6 was an exploration between two colors, their balues and their relationships with each other. I used primarily secondary colors, all within a similar small range of values. This piece was also an exploration of subtelty.

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Satisfaction. Satisfaction is the word that sticks with me in my art making.

My overall drive to paint is to enjoy the process. I want to let paint move, bleed, dance, and do what it wants while also manipulating it just enough to achieve what I strive to achieve. Whether that’s transparency, opacity, loose gestures, or rigid lines, I use paint in reaction to itself. What I try to achieve is dependent on each individual piece. My process is often regimented, but recently has become more about having no planning or strict guidelines given by myself. When something is compelling or inspirational, I lead with that. My (often) geometric style is based on my need for satisfaction. I incorporate organic elements to oppose as well as compliment that stiffness.

Part of the satisfaction for me is doing that.

Ellen Mahaffy My Mothers Youth Diptych Archival Pigment Print $750 Ellen Mahaffy Memorial Day Sermons Archival Pigment Print $350 Ellen Mahaffy Worn by my Great Grandmother: Wedding Dress Archival Pigment Print $1,200 Michael Mathews Tangerine Technica Mixed Media on Canvas $200 Michael Mathews Static Potentials Mixed Media on Panel $200

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Jeff Nelson Big Surr Carved urethane and deckled paper $895 Jeff Nelson is an artist active in western Wisconsin. Jeff’s art is expressed in two and three dimensions. Currently working with an art collective known as Empty Walls Art he has delved deeper into 3D wall relief. Big Sur is an example of these wall relief pieces. Each relief invites the viewer to move closer and engage with the art.

Kal Norton Little Star Acrylic monoprint and mixed media collage NFS Denise Presnell Unconventional Materials Challenge Oil and Cold Wax on Panel $2500 Janice Roberts The Local Store Deliveries Ink and Watercolor $250 Drawing with ink allows me to render intricate details that would be difficult to achieve with other media. In this piece, soft watercolor washes complement the ink work with additional depth and texture. The iron scrollwork is a classic motif used in many historic architectural landmarks The “World Headquarters” basement entry of The Local Store provides a historic lens through which I can imagine the business a century ago.

Contemporary claims to fame include a visit from Kamala Harris and Tim Walz during their Democratic campaign tour.

Amber Michelle Russel Afterglow Watercolor and colored pencil on cold press mounted to wood panel $360

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Anders Shafer Bellows Gouache, watercolor & ink $500 Part of a “lost cities” series and history of art.

ANDERS SHAFER, BELLOWS

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Barbara Shafer On Stage Acrylic $500 I captured a visiting dance troupe and did a composite painting of dancers, choregraph. Plus, a memory of Big Falls State Park Barbara Shafer Duet Acrylic $700 Nick Seeger was playing at Banbury Market—I took a few photos of him.

BARBARA SHAFER, DUET 14

Maureen Skroski Wissota Wake Pastel on UArt sanded paper NFS For Wissota Wake, I focused on the Nature of water as reflective, transparent, and dynamic. It was challenging to capture the movement and color palette of Lake Wissota. Pastels offer rich pigments and unique texture to experiment with.

Maureen Skroski Angle of the Sun Pastel on UArt sanded paper $1,450 I have painted the Yahara Tribuary (near Stoughton, WI) at various times, seasons, and from different angles. This particular Fall morning, the sun cast a golden glow at a compelling angle. My pastel palette was rich saturated colors contrasted with the softer and yet dynamic sky and water. Fun scene to paint.

Don Urness Tangled up in Blue Handmade recycled paper, airbrush $1,500 Part of the ‘Zentangles Series’ this pieces, like all my pieces, focuses on the changes of color as you move from side to side.

Rachel Urban Ant Bait Film Photograph printed on Canvas $200 Rachel Urban Loveland Reflection Film Photograph printed on Canvas $200

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Rachel Urban When Paths Cross $200 Film Photograph printed on Canvas Studied at the University of Wisconsin River Falls (UWRF) with a major focus in photography and minor emphasis in ceramics. Shortly after graduating from UWRF in 2017, she became a transplant to the city of Eau Claire.

Her work is inspired by the natural world, the interaction of humans within it and the world of outdoor recreation. In her free time, you can find her practicing yoga, hanging out with her dog, taking care of her houseplants or planning her next adventure. From kayaking down the Chippewa River, snowboarding in the Keweenaw Peninsula with friends, or hiking along the Superior Hiking Trail, you can find Rachel outside and most likely with a camera.

Beau Lasiewicz Tuatha de Danaan Wood, epoxy and piano harp $6,300 Lindamerry Udell Sanctuary Watercolor $500 Sanctuary was painted en plein air and finished in studio from a family vacation to Sheldon Church Ruins in South Carolina. The church was built between 1745-1753 and burned down by the British in 1779 during the Revolutionary War. In 1826, it was rebuilt only to be burned again by General Sherman in 1865. Majestic oaks dripping Spanish moss surround this beauitful site and I can still hear the birds serenading each other in the trees, and smell the damp morning air.

Amy Wahl The Storm before the Calm Acrylic on Canvas $1,400 The Storm Before the Calm, is a reflection on the balance between chaos and serenity. Painted in deep blues and metallics, the piece captures the emotional intensity of a storm and the peaceful stillness that follows, inviting viewers to connect with their own experiences of turbulence and resolution.

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Bruce Warren Eventide Silver Gelatin Print $190 This photograph was taken almost at sunset on Cape Cod, MA. Even as the light was starting to fade, the low angle of the sun made for some long dark shadows and brilliant highlights on the sand. Such a high contrast, although challenging, can produce dynamic images, especially with my medium of choice, black and white. For me, growing up in New England, the image has a certain nostalgic or ‘old timey’ feeling to it. Consequently, I chose the now antiquated word eventide, for the title.

AMY WAHL, THE STORM BEFORE THE CALM

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JAMES WILLIAM HANSEN A native of St. Paul, Minnesota, Mr. Hansen holds undergraduate degrees from the University of Minnesota and a Graduate degree from the University of St. Thomas. As an officer of a Fortune 500 company, CEO of a publicly traded technology business, and as an adjunct professor, Mr. Hansen is a supporter of young entrepreneurs and both civic and arts organizations.

Mr. Hansen was Chairman of the Board of Jamf Software and its first outside investor. He encouraged the company during his decade as Chair to support the community through employee service programs, started a foundation, and championed art in the office space as a vehicle for employee satisfaction and innovation. This gallery is funded in his name and his belief that service and engagement with the creative class is critical to building a sustainable community that benefits the common good.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT We acknowledge that Pablo Center at the Confluence occupies the sacred and ancestral lands of Indigenous Peoples. We honor the land of the Ojibwe and Dakota Nations.

INCLUSIVITY STATEMENT Pablo Center at the Confluence will not remain silent when what the community needs is for its local organizations to represent them. Pablo Center at the Confluence, while listening to and learning from the community, pledges to address structural and historical inequities in the arts, identify and address implicit biases and practices through the organizational structure of Pablo Center, and respond to the events of our time that test relationships within the community through dialogue, educational and artistic programming, and care.

Our first act towards this pledge is the creation of the Committee for Inclusive and Just Engagement and Practices, which is dedicated to the resolution of issues and the creation of opportunities related to social justice.

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EXPLORE OUR EXHIBITS MUSIC MOVES ME: MUSIC INSPIRED BY CVSO September 20 - October 20 BRADY & JEANNE FOUST GALLERY Surprising and charming, this art by area children who have been inspired by the music of the Chippewa Valley Symphony Orchestra will inspire you in return.

INDIGENOUS CONTEMPORARY ART October 25 - December 1 BRADY FOUST GALLERY

Reception November 8, 5-7pm Exploring the Native American Experience in the Midwest, Featuring Gordon Coons

TERWILLIGER AND TERWILLIGER: THE ART OF ERIKA AND STEVE November 18 - January 12 JAMES W HANSON GALLERY

Reception December 13 5-7pm

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128 Graham Avenue Eau Claire, WI 54701

FREE and Open to the public Monday - Friday, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. +1 hour before events

To purchase a work of art, contact: buyart@pablocenter.org

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