Arts + Literature Laboratory exhibits

media release: The latest round of exhibitions at Arts + Literature Laboratory, featuring Bridge Work artists Chele Ramos and Maria Schirmer, as well as Erika Rosales and Vesna Jovanovic, will have a soft open on Tuesday, November 18, and will remain on display through December 20, 2025.

All four exhibitions will have an opening reception on Saturday, November 22, 2025, from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm, and both Bridge Work artists, Ramos and Schirmer, will present artist talks after 6:00pm.

Ramos is a Madison-raised, self-taught portrait artist whose practice uses expressive realism to explore human emotion, identity, and mental health awareness. Her exhibition, Shades of the Mind, is an intimate exploration of mental health based on her own lived experience. The body of work is comprised of 15 self-portraits. These portraits capture various emotional states, including contemplation, emotional intensity, internal chaos, quiet clarity, and healing. Chele hopes that by sharing her mental and emotional journey, viewers will be invited to reflect on their own, recognizing that healing is not linear and requires feeling deeply and honestly.  

Schirmer is an interdisciplinary artist who works under the pseudonym Erasmia Press. Her work blends ancient and modern technologies, often combining typography and illustrations through printmaking, book arts, and community murals. Her exhibition, Becoming: an oak savanna laboratory, is inspired by the oak savanna, which was once Wisconsin's predominant ecosystem but is now among the most endangered globally. The project reflects cycles of loss, renewal, and time, inviting viewers into a space of regeneration, remembrance, and imagination. The exhibit also features a Wishing Well by the late Sylvie Rosenthal; the wishes it once held have been transformed into seeds, and visitors can now take an acorn talisman, representing a wish ready to take root.

Rosales is a self-taught multidisciplinary artist from Mexico now based in Madison, Wisconsin. Her work is inspired by her exploration of reconnection, spirituality, liberation, and returning to self, stemming partly from the challenges of her earthly experience, including living as an undocumented immigrant with DACA status. Her exhibition, Primordial Echoes / Ecos Primordiales, explores the juxtaposition of ethereal and earthly imprints of universal energetic forces. It emphasizes the transformation of a fundamental essence into physical forms, highlighting the connection between the divine origin and physical existence. Viewers are invited to engage with the pieces beyond their five senses and embark on a spiritual journey, connecting the material and immaterial.

Jovanovic’s recent works on synthetic paper in Cavities and Heights grew out of a fascination with medieval French carnivals. These body-centered events focused on food, dance, laughter, and bodily taboos—in stark contrast to doctrines that rejected the body while valorizing the mind or soul. At medieval carnivals, people gathered in the town marketplace to celebrate their shared humanity while shedding their social identities through masking and costume. In her recent body of work, Jovanovic begins with diluted ink that she pours onto sheets of polypropylene. She then responds to the random ink textures and shapes by adding forms that are both uncomfortable and enticing at the same time. With these interventions, the most accidental element of the painting—the poured ink—begins to feel fleshy, familiar, and relatable, reaching beyond the gaze and tapping into something visceral that connects us.

Gallery & Library Hours: Our regular exhibition and library hours are Tuesday through Friday from 10 AM to 5 PM and Saturdays from 12 Noon to 5 PM. The galleries are closed between exhibitions and holidays.