6
The Tile Club:
Camaraderie and
American Plein-Air
Painting
February 23–May 20, 2018
Leslie and Johanna Garfield Galleries
The Tile Club was one of many societies that formed across the United States during the late
nineteenth century. Including such well-known artists as Winslow Homer, William Merritt Chase,
Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Edwin Austin Abbey, J. Alden Weir, and John H. Twachtman, the club was
founded in 1877 riding a wave of interest in the decorative arts. Members met once a week and would
each contribute to the “decorative age” by painting an eight-by-eight-inch ceramic tile. These meetings
became a time to socialize, dine, and enjoy the music performed by guests and honorary members.
Tiles formed only a small part of the Club’s output. Members made excursions to Long Island and up
the Hudson River to sketch and paint. These trips were lively journeys, and the works completed
during them document the first plein-air painting organization in the young nation. Tiles, paintings,
sculptures, and sketches—many by distinguished artists working early in their careers—are
showcased in this exhibition.
2018 Russell and
Paula Panczenko
MFA Prize
April 20–July 8, 2018
Oscar F. and Louise Greiner Mayer Gallery
Michele Marti is the winner of the 2018 Russell and Paula Panczenko MFA Prize. Marti is a
sculptural furniture maker born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. From a young age Marti was exposed
to a multitude of cultures and art that expressed the value of the human body. “We hold ourselves
in reaction to the external world,” she says. “Every reaction of the body and each interaction, tells
a powerful story.” Finding ways to capture these stories is what drives Marti’s practice and
research. In 2013 Marti was awarded a research travel grant from the Australian National
University Research school of Humanities where she taught woodworking and created new work,
which was shown in Australia and the United States. In 2015 UW–Madison awarded Marti an
Advanced Opportunity Fellowship where she continues her research.
The exhibition is supported by the Russell and Paula Panczenko Fund for an outstanding MFA
student, and the Russell Panczenko Fund for Excellence in the Visual Arts.