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Wisconsin Regional Art Program Exhibition on display in Ag Hall

A new selection of art from the Wisconsin Regional Art Program (WRAP) is now on display in Agricultural Hall’s foyer. Doug Sabatke, director of facilities, Ally McCann, executive assistant, and Amanda Givens, administrative assistant, toured the state WRAP exhibit at the Center for the Visual Arts in Wausau and chose nine pieces to display in the lobby of Ag Hall for students, employees and visitors to see. Signage will soon be hung in the rotunda with the works’ titles and artists names.

This year’s exhibition features:

  • Mama Muskie
    Julie Stine
  • Great Lake Michigan III
    Seon Joo So
  • Romance Remix 2
    Jacob Lee
  • Equinox
    Melisa Lambrecht
  • Nefertiti
    Jill Stevens Jensen
  • Corps de Ballet
    Ann Eshelman
  • Devils Lake State Park #3
    William Wiggins
  • Hummingbirds Can’t Save Us All
    Kimberly Muller
  • Nora at the Monterey Bay Aquarium
    Mary Hanusa-Schuff

WRAP was founded in CALS in 1940 and helps Wisconsin’s nonprofessional artists develop their creative abilities. John Steuart Curry, an American Regionalist artist who served as artist-in-residence at CALS from 1936-46, served as the program’s first mentor during his time at CALS. Read more about the program.

The artists were given the opportunity to submit a statement about their work. Here is what they shared:

  • Mama Muskie, Julie Stine
    “This art piece was inspired by a 42” Muskie that I witnessed my son catch on the last day of a family fishing trip. It was an exciting moment for everyone. This pyrography piece instills great memories of that happy time.”
  • Great Lake Michigan III, Seon Joo So
    “Using various paper, I created the scene of Lake Michigan with Milwaukee skyline by paper cutting and paper sculpture skills. The flying cranes are represented to return to hometown.”
  • Romance Remix 2, Jacob Lee
    “Art making, wow, it is amazing the power we have. We are only limited by the scope of our imagination really. It is a great gift to carry a paint brush and be inspired to create. For me to paint is to express life and give breath to a canvas.”
  • Equinox, Melisa Lambrecht
    “A memory is like a child’s dream lingering in the waking morning…a color, a smell, the sound of birds singing and the light in the trees, so vivid in your mind yet so far away from the present you could not describe it properly to anyone else.”
  • Nefertiti, Jill Stevens Jensen
    “I created Nefertiti for an exhibition titled Empowered Women. As an Egyptian queen, Nefertiti was a symbol of power and beauty. She was also the step mother of King Tutankhamen. One of her eyes is blue because she is missing a pupil in her ancient bust. There is speculation as to whether she had an eye disease or the pupil was simply lost in the sculptor’s studio.”
  • Corps de Ballet, Ann Eshelman
    “I live on the Wisconsin River. The past few years, we have been so lucky to have trumpeter swans living here year-round. The sight of groups flying around the river magically recalls a scene from Swan Lake.”
  • Devils Lake State Park #3, William Wiggins
  • Hummingbirds Can’t Save Us All, Kimberly Muller
    “It doesn’t matter if you’re a Christian. Your earthly cross is going to break. GRIEF is hard! Some are blessed with Hummingbirds, feathers, birds, pennies, dreams…signs of their loved ones. But is it enough? Appreciate the time you have, Right Now!”
  • Nora at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Mary Hanusa-Schuff
    “All people have stories to tell. I like to catch my subjects in candid poses as they interact with their surroundings. Each portrait portrays a moment in the life of a person, a slice of his or her story.”