Past Exhibitions

September 9, 2017 – May 13, 2018
Discover the beauty of birds as they flee from predators, mate, and search for food. More than seventy paintings, works on paper, and sculptures depict birds soaring, skimming, flapping, and gliding.

February 24 – March 31, 2018

Explore artworks by north central Wisconsin students in grades 9-12 via the 41st Student Art Exhibition. See the exhibition and congratulate the student artists on opening day, Saturday, February 24, 2018, Noon-2 pm. Each March, the nation promotes art education by focusing on student work. Art teachers are encouraged to submit student works in various mediums for the Museum’s Student Art Exhibition.

December 2, 2017 – February 25, 2018

Think about a favorite quilt. Warm thoughts of comfort and the loved ones who stitched and labored to sew treasured family heirlooms are all wrapped up in our favorite quilts. What’s a common thread of their appeal? Quilters and fiber arts enthusiasts share a desire to hone the skills necessary to carry on a tradition that links generations and an appreciation of the creativity and ingenuity woven throughout extraordinary quilts. Wild Fabrications comprises more than three dozen vibrant quilts featuring intriguing, whimsical depictions of animals and organized by the Studio Art Quilt Associates in Hebron, Connecticut. Throughout the twelve-week Wild Fabrications exhibition, the Museum will offer multiple programs and an artist residency in January, 2018 featuring quilter and television personality Mary Fons, discussing her work and the role of the quilt in American popular culture. The co-host of “Love of Quilting” on public television alongside her mother, Marianne Fons, Mary Fons is a passionate, vibrant speaker on the subject of quilts.

December 2, 2017 – February 25, 2018

Our dependence on – and love for – wood cannot be overstated. It’s integral to our very existence in a range of ways, encompassing our man-made environments as well as both utilitarian and decorative items. The organic qualities of wood, our ability to manipulate its shape, its abundance, and its renewable potential are among the reasons wood permeates our culture – including the art world. The more than seventy objects comprising Explorations in Wood highlight the diversity and unlimited potential of wood via this sample of the work held in the collection of Philadelphia’s Center for Art in Wood, gathered over a thirty-year period. These works stem from a love of wood and display a rich variety of wood type and processes, including wood-turned vessels as well as more sculptural forms. Many celebrate the natural beauty of wood, evident in rich warm-brown tones and assorted grain patterns, typical of materials gathered around the globe.

April 8, 2017 – February 18, 2018
Avian marvels that live in and pass through Midwest cities, rural landscapes, and our backyard feeders connect us with nature. They are alluring to watch, sing melodiously, and balance our ecosystem. Whether perched atop a tree, taking a turn at the nest, or foraging for food, birds provide unlimited inspiration for creative artistry. 

September 9, 2017 – February 18, 2018

Complementing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2017 Federal Duck Stamp Competition, held at the College of Natural Resources at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, September 15-16, 2017, this Woodson Art Museum exhibition comprises an instructive grouping of preparatory drawings, finished watercolor, presentation print, sheet of stamps, and memorabilia related to Owen J. Gromme’s 1945 winning Federal Duck Stamp artwork, Three Shovelers. The preparatory drawings are among works in the Woodson Art Museum’s collection, thanks to the generosity of Gromme’s daughter, Anne Marie Gromme, who also loaned additional artworks for this exhibition. For details about related programs, check this UW-Stevens Point webpage: 

September 9 – November 26, 2017

The source of limitless creative inspiration, birds connect us to the rhythms of life. Their migrations mark the shifting seasons, their music heralds each dawn, and their shoreline searches highlight the ebb and flow of the tide. Avian art resonates and inspires in endlessly novel ways, too. Talented artists from throughout the world push standards ever higher by continually striving to be among those selected for the internationally renowned Birds in Art exhibition. The 42nd annual exhibition features new interpretations in original paintings, sculptures, and graphics created within the last three years. Artwork for the 2017 Birds in Art exhibition was selected in May; see this list of 2017 Birds in Art artists’ names whose work is included in this fall’s exhibition.

September 9 – November 26, 2017

In celebration of the International Wisconsin Ginseng Festival, September 15-17, in Wausau, organized by the Wausau-Central Wisconsin Convention & Visitors Bureau, Woodson Art Museum curator Andy McGivern invited Midwest botanical artists, including Wisconsin’s Lynne Railsback and Minnesota’s Wendy Brockman, whose artwork also is featured in the 2017 Birds in Art exhibition, to create drawings and watercolors focused on ginseng.