For close to 30 years, UW-Stout has provided a premier venue in the region for art exhibits — Furlong Gallery in Micheels Hall.
Beginning Friday, Oct. 5, the university will unveil a second location to view art on campus. Harvey Hall Art Tour, a self-guided experience, will debut with a reception from 3 to 5 p.m. on the first floor of the building, 321 Third St. E.
The event is part of UW-Stout’s homecoming weekend.
The tour features 35 pieces hung in Harvey’s east-west hallways and in the lounges, from the first to fourth floors. The public is invited to view the art whenever the building is open, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Brochures identifying the paintings and their locations will be available in the first-floor office of the dean of the College of Arts, Communication, Humanities and Social Science, near the west entrance.
The idea for the ongoing exhibit, which occasionally will be refreshed with rotating pieces and additional work, began to formulate after the 102-year-old building was renovated and reopened in 2016.
The $28.3 million renovation included restoring the main hallways to their original ceiling height, 13 feet. Maria Alm, CACHSS dean, said the high wall spaces created a perfect place to hang art.
About 6,000 students a day pass through Harvey Hall, most of them for humanities classes. The building also houses historic Harvey Hall Theatre.
“It makes sense for the building to showcase the artwork and creativity that’s encouraged in the classroom. Art, and drawing in particular, has been a central component of the curriculum at UW-Stout throughout its history. Art is central to the humanities,” Alm said.
Harvey Hall Art Tour also provides a place to display pieces from the university’s large permanent collection. Furlong Gallery’s spaces typically are reserved for rotating shows. Along with artwork from the university collection, the Harvey Hall pieces include gifts-in-kind from artists and others on loan.
The 35 pieces were chosen by Alm along with Professor Robert Atwell and Renee Carrell, director and assistant director, respectively, of Furlong Gallery.
Some of the artists featured are alumni Britt Close, Catherine Kalmon, Marko Pechnik, Mariana Russell and Mike Tarr; and retired faculty members Todd Boppel, William DeHoff, Rob Price and William Schulman.
One of the largest works, more than 25 feet wide, is by Shulman. “Winnipeg Ghosts Among Dunn County Hills,” is a seven-piece encaustic series on copper sheets. It was framed by Ed Erdmann, of Winona, Minn., a senior majoring in studio art. The series is on the fourth floor.
The frames were handmade with wood donated by Shulman’s assistant, Michael Pershern, an alumnus and friend of the university, who also helped prepare the artwork before framing. Helping with frame construction “for this impressive work” were staff members Dean Samens and Doug Stodola from the School of Art and Design process lab, Atwell said.
Art has been offered at UW-Stout since its inception in 1891 as a manual training school. UW-Stout’s School of Art and Design has about 1,000 students.
Along with the featured 35 pieces in the hallways, offices throughout the building contain many other artworks from the university’s collection, Alm said.
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A student walks past artwork on the first floor of Harvey Hall at UW-Stout. The new Harvey Hall Art Tour will debut with an opening reception Friday, Oct. 5.
