New sche•ma•ta exhibit showcases three Wisconsin artists

The Sheboygan community is invited to visit the University of Wisconsin-Sheboygan Fine Arts Gallery for its latest art exhibit, sche•ma•ta by Wisconsin artists Tony Conrad, Melissa Dorn Richards and Frank Juarez.

An opening reception has been planned for Thursday, August 2 from 5-7 p.m. in the gallery. The public is invited.

Tony Conrad received his MFA degree in painting and drawing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2009. Currently, Conrad is a Lecturer of Art at Lawrence University in Appleton, WI, where he now lives. While focusing on his rural upbringing, Conrad’s most current work explores visual components of social stereotypes and oddities from popular culture.

Conrad’s work has been exhibited in various solo, group, and invitational exhibitions and has won a number of awards including the Lawrence Rathsack Scholarship and the Frederick R. Layton Fellowship. Recently, his paintings have been exhibited at the APW Gallery in NYC, the Zou B. Art Center in Chicago, and EFFJAY PROJEKTS Gallery in Sheboygan.

Melissa Dorn Richards started life on an Air Force base in Anchorage, AL, and spent her formative years in West Bend, WI. After bouncing around to different colleges, she moved to Milwaukee to attend the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, and received her BFA in 1996. Since graduating, she has taught in various art programs and schools and has been active in the local arts community. Dorn Richards recently became a resident artist at the Mandel Group Creative Studio directed by Plaid Tuba, located in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward.

Her current work focuses on creating bold, abstract oil paintings. On the surface, they are simple, strong shapes and confident colors; to look deeper into her work is to discover her warmth, depth and humor. There is rarely angst in her work. More likely you'll find a gestural almost human quirkiness in her shapes and a certain pleasure in their simplicity.

Dorn Richards select exhibitions and gallery representation include: Indiana Green, Juarez Invitational; Eight Counties, John Michael Kohler Arts Center; Artist Market, Milwaukee Art Museum; Around the Coyote Festivals, Chicago; Art Chicago, Hotcakes Gallery; Aqua Art Miami, Hotcakes Gallery; Impromptu, Cedar Gallery; and The Leigh Gallery, Chicago.

Frank Juarez is a Wisconsin artist, gallery owner, art educator, arts advocate and community leader living and teaching in Sheboygan. Juarez attended Carroll University and received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1997 and a Teaching Certification in 2000. In 2004, he received his Masters in Educational Leadership from Marian College in Fond du Lac.

In 2005, he committed his life to expose, educate and engage others on the importance of experiencing and supporting the visual arts. Organizing local and regional art exhibitions, community art events, facilitating presentations, and supporting artists through professional development workshops, use of social media and networking has placed him in the forefront of advancing and promoting local artists and attracting regional artists to interact, collaborate, network and exhibit in the Sheboygan community.
The paintings that Juarez creates are based on visual and written recordings of people, places, and/or things he finds interesting and in some way and feels a connection to. In his studio, he transforms and reduces those thoughts and feelings into paintings that reflect on those experiences. He works in oil, which gives him the freedom to create layered, transparent and textural surfaces that allow me to engage the viewer in the use of colors, textures and shapes resulting in a connection between the viewer and the work.

Juarez is the art department chair at Sheboygan North High School. He is actively involved in local, regional and state arts organization such as the Wisconsin Art Education Association, National Art Education Association, Milwaukee Artist Resource Network, Cedarburg Cultural Center, and Arts Wisconsin. In 2011, he has opened his first art gallery, EFFJAY PROJEKTS Gallery, in Sheboygan.

All artworks in this exhibit will be on display through September 28. 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. and located inside the Fine Arts Building.

For more information on the show, contact Carrie Hoppe, Director of University Relations, at (920) 459-6612 or e-mail carrie.hoppe@uwc.edu.