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The architect who created the new showplace building Site, design flow into state-of-the-art structure By Gay Griesbach For the Daily News The idea museums have an old, musty aura is banished at the Museum of Wisconsin Art. "This is how a museum of the 21st century should function," said the museum's Executive Director|CEO Laurie Winters. "People will enjoy spending time here. The (facility) is filled with light and air. It has a serene, comforting quality to it." While some architecture doesn't rise to the level of art, the museum's former Executive Director Thomas Lidtke said HGA lead designer James Shields' work on the new building is impressive enough to be considered an important part of the museum's collection. The wedge-shaped structure off Veterans Avenue mimics the property's outline. At a distance, the façade appears a uniform white but as the viewer nears, varied shades of white are revealed. Shields said the exterior cladding is fiberglass-reinforced cement board, prefinished in three custom colors. The cement panels interlock with lap edges to keep out most water, using a drainage cavity behind the panels to remove water that may get through the joints. The outside is accented with landscaped sculpture gardens and views of art in a changing gallery of contemporary artists. Inside, first-time visitors are greeted with an immediate view of a curving, monumental staircase that rises directly to the illuminated entry to the permanent galleries on the second floor. "The architecture is attempting to make the movement toward the art obvious, dramatic and meaningful," said Shields, with HGA, an integrated architecture, engineering and master planning firm. The $9.3 million, 31,000-square-foot museum is more than one and a half times the size of the former facility on South Sixth Avenue. In addition to offices, a catering kitchen and classroom/studios, there is a children's exhibit wall, gift shop and 11,889 square feet of gallery space that includes state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment and wireless Internet. In 2004, the MOWA board conducted an assessment that looked at facility, staffing and programs. That study led to three options: improving the former museum, building a museum on the lot or starting fresh. The building committee, staff and board at MOWA were part of the collaborative process when it came to the building's design. "They allowed a sort of patient search for good design that is becoming more unusual among institutional clients today," said Shields. He said the main challenges with MOWA were its modest budget and the triangular shape of the site, created by the meandering Milwaukee River. Mechanicals and energy-saving features were added in ways that do not detract from the museum's graceful lines. Two-foot thick exhibit walls contain many of the mechanical services for the building, from humidified supply and return air to lighting. Grilles deliver low-velocity air close to the floor instead of blowing high-velocity Daily News Photo by John Ehlke air down on people from the ceiling. "The system allows for a visually simple ceiling that enhances the art The museum features a distinctive wedge, as seen here from the inside. Lidtke is impressed with two innovative ideas designed into the experience and uses less energy to heat, cool and ventilate the building," structure — visible storage space and artwork that can be viewed from Shields said. Among his design credits are the Discovery World Museum on the the sidewalk on the west side of the museum. "I know of no other art museum anywhere that has artwork visible lakefront in downtown Milwaukee, the DeVos Art Museum and Art & and on display 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year," Design Building at Northern Michigan University. Shields is working with the Milwaukee Art Museum on a reinstal- Lidtke said. "Artists from all over the state will be thrilled to put their art on display here." lation of its permanent collection. Portrait Society Gallery owner As state scene expands, Museum of Wisconsin Art to be 'the glue to hold it all together' Brehmer By Jill Badzinski For the Daily News Submitted Debra Brehmer's Portrait Society Gallery in Milwaukee's Third Ward is emerging in the art world. 8 • Museum of Wisconsin Art • News Graphic & Daily News • March 2013 Gallery owner Debra Brehmer doesn't know why the Wisconsin art scene is exploding, but she knows that it is. "I see so much potential in the state right now," she said. "Milwaukee is getting put on the map as a great art community and the rest of the state is, too. "I don't know if it is one of those flukes of history that happen at odd and random times, but it is beyond exciting to see everything coming together," she said. The art community is working collaboratively to develop a strong reputation for the area and state, she said, and the opening of a spectacular Museum of Wisconsin Art will be a crowning jewel. "The Museum of Wisconsin Art will be the glue to hold it all together," Brehmer said. "I can't overstate the importance of having a state museum committed to connecting the history of art to the contemporary. This is a huge deal. This museum is well on its way to becoming a major player in the art world." Brehmer knows of what she speaks. She was an artist, art teacher and art historian before she established the Portrait Society Gallery in Milwaukee's art-friendly Third Ward in 2008. The gallery has grown from a hopeful enterprise to a full-time endeavor. "The gallery is the place where all of the different experiences I've had in my art life are channeled together," Brehmer said. "To do what I love at a time that is so vital to art in Wisconsin is super exciting." Brehmer has collaborated with the Museum of Wisconsin Art on exhibits, most recently a showing of the work of Bernard Gilardi, whose estate she represents. Gilardi painted in the basement of his home on the north side of Milwaukee for more than 40 years, but never showed his work and was not known to the art community until after he died. His whimsical, vibrant and provocative portraits were astounding, Brehmer said. "Finding that collection of work is a once-in-a-lifetime thing," she said. "The quality of work was so shocking. It was like discovering an Egyptian tomb." Gilardi's work fits perfectly with Brehmer's Portrait Society Gallery, which showcases current and historic artists who work broadly with creating portraits. The theme provides direction and a unique human experience with art, Brehmer said. "Portraits are so wonderful because they create a sense of community," she said. "Viewing a portrait requires you to have a relationship, a conversation, with the subject. "This is a perfect time in history to have a gallery with this theme," she said. "We are so obsessed with our images and the proliferation of them is astounding. Plus portraits are unique. They can exist in a wallet, on a cell phone or in grandma's hands. They don't need to be in a gallery. When you have a piece of art that can exist in the working world, there is something very special about that."