New “People, Places & Pets” exhibit opens in UW-Sheboygan Gallery

The University of Wisconsin-Sheboygan Fine Arts Gallery invites the Sheboygan community to experience its newest art exhibition, “People, Places and Pets,” throughout the month of September. The exhibit will feature three local artists -- Emily LaFleur, Liz Lange and Sara Willadsen.

The public is invited to attend a special opening reception with the artists and light refreshments on Thursday, September 2, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. in the Fine Arts Gallery.

LaFleur graduated in 2009 with a Bachelors Degree in Art from Wisconsin Lutheran College. Her paintings feature audacious colored figures with art history symbolism subtly seen throughout the paintings. Her series explores the imagination of aesthetic qualities of color on a human figure. Lafleur now resides in Sheboygan and works for the Kohler Foundation, Inc. as an art preservation technician.

Lange grew up in the village of Kohler and graduated from Kohler High School in 1998. She served in the United States Air Force for nearly seven years, living in Delaware, South Carolina, and touring in Guam. She returned to Kohler in December 2005 where she resided while earning an undergraduate degree in studio and graphic arts at Lakeland College.

Lange graduated from Lakeland College with a Bachelors of Arts degree in May 2010. Lange now lives in Sheboygan and works for the Kohler Foundation, Inc. as an art preservation technician and pursues her passion for painting in her home studio. Her preferred artistic medium is oil paint for its intensity of color and diversity of texture.

Willadsen attended Lakeland College and graduated in May 2010 with a Bachelors Degree in Art with a Graphic Arts Emphasis as well as a Studio Emphasis. Willadsen’s artwork focuses on depicting vibrant and personalized colors in landscapes, as well as showing form with her various techniques of applying oil paint to canvas. She is currently lives and works in Sheboygan Falls. She plans on attending graduate school for drawing and painting.

The “People, Places & Pets” exhibit will be on display in UW-Sheboygan’s Fine Arts Gallery, located inside the Fine Arts Building on the UW-Sheboygan campus. The Fine Arts Gallery is open Monday–Thursday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The show will close on Monday, September 27.

For more information about the show or the UW-Sheboygan Fine Arts Gallery, contact Gallery Director Dan Smith at dan.smith@uwc.edu or (920) 459-6649.