Sculpture Valley is pleased to co-curate the Houdini Plaza Tower 2018-20198 installation with John Adams and Mark Ferrell of the Draw. 

HOUDINI TOWER 2018-2019

The 2018-2019 season sees an expansion of Fox Valley artist representation with six talented Valley artists, some well established and others just coming into their own. Be sure to take some time to view the works up close as the artists intended.

Cori Bartz

I am currently interested in dichotomy and relationships between the beautiful and the unsettling; evocative imagery which both disturbs and intrigues. I like pushing the viewer to respond to the discomfort they might experience when interacting with my work, as well as interrogate the roots of their associations with symbols. Nature seems to be a reoccurring trend in my recent work, reflecting my home and childhood in the woods of northern Wisconsin. 

I am drawn to organic media, such as fumage (also known as fire painting). There is something invigorating and teaching about working with a medium that cannot be controlled; a process that is both destructive and creative.  

Study in Memories

Study in Memories

My Hope My Cup of Tea Oil

My Hope My Cup of Tea Oil


Ally Wilbur

I am currently interested in dichotomy and relationships between the beautiful and the unsettling; evocative imagery which both disturbs and intrigues. I like pushing the viewer to respond to the discomfort they might experience when interacting with my work, as well as interrogate the roots of their associations with symbols. Nature seems to be a reoccurring trend in my recent work, reflecting my home and childhood in the woods of northern Wisconsin. 

I am drawn to organic media, such as fumage (also known as fire painting). There is something invigorating and teaching about working with a medium that cannot be controlled; a process that is both destructive and creative.

Capricious

Capricious

Puncture 2017

Puncture 2017


Ryan Eick

“Dark, foreboding, haunting.” Not exactly the descriptors an emerging artist wants elicited to describe their body of work, yet words quite welcomed by Ryan Eick. I became aware of Ryan’s deeply emotional subject matter while curating the current Houdini Tower installation which features two of Ryan’s “ landscapes”. I found it quite challenging to select pieces that would adhere to the public’s affinity for “eye-candy" art. Drawing on personal experiences of loss and an hallucinatory side-effect of sleep apnea, Ryan’s paintings don’t fell like paintings at all, but rather like you’re peering though a foggy window into a troubled dreamscape. Once you bear witness to an intangible but somehow significant moment in this artist's life journey, you'll find it hard to turn away.

Landscape I

Landscape I

Landscape II

Landscape II


Gregory Frederic

“Being an artist should be…sharing the joy forward to make the world smile!”

Proudly born and raised in Haiti, I am an artist aspiring to represent the economic hardships and complex realities of life. The inspiration for my colorful pieces comes from the circumstances of the world around me, people I meet and places I visit.  My expressionistic art focuses on justice.  I hope to inspire change, living in harmony and respect for one another.  I use color and movement to capture the culture of the society in which I was raised.  

Mostly self-taught, I believe God gave me my talent, but also I have been mentored by successful Haitian artists.  I started painting commercial murals and went on to paint on clothing and jewelry.  I custom mix most of my acrylic colors to create the desired depth and vibrant synergy within each piece. In my work  I break up objects with refraction lines allowing the dispersion of light.  I would categorize my work as modern eclectic with a bit of surrealistic cubism. Primarily I want my work to evoke a feeling, memory or tell a story, which is evident in the uniqueness of my technique.

Surrogate

Surrogate

Invisible Blues

Invisible Blues


Patt Huss

“Painting is an embrace on life.”

Art speaks to me more than words as I search for meaning and purpose in every mark I make. It’s exhilarating when I feel I can convey this to the viewer of my work.

I am currently working in my studio as an abstract painter which has been exciting and challenging. My ultimate goal as an artist is to create richly textured paintings that reflect the way I feel about the beauty and mystery that nature holds. Most often hidden in my paintings a figure will emerge unexpectedly to add drama and excitement as I build layer upon layer of texture to my contemporary design. My goal is to capture a feeling rather than paint perfect details. Water, rocks, old worn walls, cracks in the walkway all intrigue me. 

A spiritual element is often found within each painting. 

Canyon Mist

Canyon Mist

IMG_0421.jpg

Kristin Sturkenburg

Early in her childhood, Kristin Sterkenburg spent countless hours creating cartoon characters and building complex dioramas from scraps found around her house. ‘Art making’ gradually disappeared from her life while she was busy with school, jobs and building a family. As the second chapter of her life began, her deep-rooted passion for art re-emerged. In 2007, she began dabbling in art journaling and mixed media collage, then enrolled in 2014 at Northwestern Michigan College for college level  drawing and painting courses.

Currently living and creating art at her home studio in Neenah, Wisconsin, Kristin has been focusing mostly on acrylic and oil painting in both realistic and abstract styles. Born under the twin sign of Gemini (split personality), she will also throw in some mixed media (charcoal, pastel, oil pastel, watercolor crayons) and collage to shake things up! As a functioning art supply hoarder, she enjoys experimenting and trying new techniques and making “happy accidents” (in the words of Bob Ross).

Kristin is deeply inspired by color and nature. When she is not in her studio, she is combing beaches for treasure and taking photographs of forests, water, and landscapes. Her paintings reflect her love of Mother Nature’s gifts.

Kristin-3.jpg
Kristin-2.jpg


HOUDINI TOWER 2017-2018

The 2017-2018 season hosted four of our favorite Fox Valley artists, showcasing artwork reproductions for the first time in the Tower since the Plaza opened. This has been a goal from early on and we're incredibly excited to see it come to fruition.

Cristian Andersson

“Nothing of him that doth fade,
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange.”

The Tempest ~ William Shakespeare.

For years my artwork was a documentation of the severe depression I was in, only to be relieved once I took up the paintbrush again. While the stories those paintings told can be understood and empathized with, the figurative works were insular and full of personal iconography. In late 2015 I took a chance with my work: The figures faded. The harsh angles softened. My palette lightened. A sea-change was born.

This current work is about the symbiotic relationship an artist has with materials. It is focused more on form and color, flatness and implied dimension, and the textural qualities of canvas and paint then it is about reliving a personal story. Each new work I approach has been full of new challenges and problems to solve. Much as the pervasive magic that filled and had enormous impact on the island of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”, I feel myself being taught by the properties of my materials. It is freeing. It is a spiritualistic endeavor, these days in the studio making this work.

My work is inspired by free jazz musicians as much as it is the abstract expressionists. And like the torrential storm that opened up “The Tempest”, I feel wave upon wave of a metaphysical force guiding me towards a new destination.

The Puppeteer2017. Oil, graphite and charcoal on canvas 38” x 48” NFS.

The Puppeteer

2017.
Oil, graphite and charcoal on canvas
38” x 48”
NFS.

sea-change2016 Oil on canvas 56” x 61” NFS

sea-change

2016
Oil on canvas
56” x 61”
NFS

his view from the Cloven Pine2017. Oil and charcoal on canvas 24” x 36” $400

his view from the Cloven Pine

2017.
Oil and charcoal on canvas
24” x 36”
$400


Leif Larson

Telling strange, fun, intelligent stories is what I love to do with my art.  I love all the stuff people make, spaces we inhibit, and things we consume.  I try to use these objects and spaces in my narratives to enhance the sense of  humor and irony, and to add a touch of curiosity.  

My interest with storytelling of people, places, and things has been with me since I was a young boy growing up in Appleton, where I spent hours drawing comics.  I wanted to entertain and wow people with putting characters, animals, and objects into a timeline of sequences to unfold as a narrative.   The interest to tell stories in this way continues in my art to this very day.

Alley Birds2017. Acrylic on canvas 30" x 30” $700 On display at Beckets in Oshkosh

Alley Birds

2017.
Acrylic on canvas
30" x 30”
$700 On display at Beckets in Oshkosh

The B-Movie2012 Acrylic on canvas 48" x 60" $1000

The B-Movie

2012
Acrylic on canvas
48" x 60"
$1000

The B-Movie2012 Acrylic on canvas 8" x 8" $150 On display at Beckets in Oshkosh

The B-Movie

2012
Acrylic on canvas
8" x 8"
$150 On display at Beckets in Oshkosh


Julie Jilek

Born and raised in Appleton, Wisconsin, Jilek completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 2005. Her work has been shown throughout the Midwest in a number of group and solo exhibitions and is represented in public and private collections across the country. In 2012, she completed a stay as Artist-In-Residence at the prestigious Anderson Center in Red Wing, Minnesota and returned for a second invitational session in the Fall of 2015. Julie has received national exposure in publications such as American Artist: Drawing Magazine's, Southwest Art Magazine, Strokes of Genius: The Best of Drawing 4 series and more.

Committed to the preservation of the arts and the environment, Julie developed several projects including the Wisconsin State Park Plein Air Project; documenting all 57 State Parks and Forests, as well as the recent ‘Art for the Arts’ Project; raising funds and awareness for the Appleton Public School System through daily painting.

She currently paints full-time and maintains her studio in Appleton, Wisconsin.

Rainy College Ave Looking East2012 Oil on linen 25" x 17" SOLD

Rainy College Ave Looking East

2012
Oil on linen
25" x 17"
SOLD

Neenah Sunset2015 Acrylic on canvas 30" x 40" SOLD

Neenah Sunset

2015
Acrylic on canvas
30" x 40"
SOLD

College Avenue Crossing2016 Oil on canvas 8" x 8" SOLD

College Avenue Crossing

2016
Oil on canvas
8" x 8"
SOLD


Mike Winkleman, aka "Beeple"

These pictures are all done from start to finish every day. The purpose of this project is to help me get better at different things. By posting the results online, I'm "less" likely to throw down a big pile of (expletive) even though most of the time I still do because I suck...

I am currently on my 11th round of everydays. This year I'll be doing a render everyday using Cinema 4D and mostly Octane, instead of trying to learn new software, will be focusing on some of the fundamentals like color, composition, value etc.... :)

Electric Intestines2.26.17 Prints available on Giclée, Canvas or Metal Various sizes

Electric Intestines

2.26.17
Prints available on Giclée, Canvas or Metal
Various sizes

Flights1.4.16 Prints available on Giclée, Canvas or Metal Various sizes

Flights

1.4.16
Prints available on Giclée, Canvas or Metal
Various sizes

CMKY.19691.4.16 Prints available on Giclée, Canvas or Metal Various sizes

CMKY.1969

1.4.16
Prints available on Giclée, Canvas or Metal
Various sizes