Georgia Weithe, Laura Annis, Kel Mur

media release: Exhibition Dates: May 9 – August 2, 2025, on view at River Arts on Water Gallery (590 Water St, Prairie du Sac) and online.

Reception: Thursday, May 29, 5:30-7:30 pm. Artist talks begin at 6 pm.

This reception will be celebrating this season's two featured artists – jeweler Georgia Weithe and painter Laura Annis as well as Hallows Betwixt by Kel Mur in the Powder Room Gallery.

10% off all artwork in the gallery during the reception!

Please read on for information abou the artists:

Georgia Weithe Artist Statement:

My jewelry is a language; it speaks of beauty, hope, serenity, tenderness, and other qualities of the heart.  Without beauty there is no peace, without beauty there is no hope, without beauty we are left with a sense that part of us is missing. I believe if we are drawn to a work of art, it’s because it reflects something we are looking for in our own lives. Gazing on beauty, a feeling of completeness settles over us, and it can help us feel balanced.

Throughout my collection, I transform gold, silver, pewter, gems, stones, shells, pearls, and beads, which evoke some of nature’s gentlest images: waves, wings, seeds, moonbeams. My creations are a reflection of the inspiration I find within and the beauty that surrounds me. The designs come from a deep place in me, and I hope they speak to a deep place in others.

reflectionsjewelryonline.net

Laura Annis Artist Statement:

Laura Annis is an artist based in Baraboo, WI, transplant from Chicago. Her work is known for utilizing varied materials, including scroll saw cut imagery that, when layered, utilizes negative space and silhouette to create a multidimensional and sculptural painting. These intricate artworks are deeply inspired by pagan folklore, nature’s cyclical patterns, and the symbiotic relationships that thrive within the natural world. Through these cutout compositions, Laura explores themes of interconnectedness, the feminine divine, and the beauty found in both the visible and invisible elements of nature. Each piece reflects her fascination with the harmonious coexistence of most living things and the mystical narratives woven into ancient cultural traditions. Her artwork invites viewers to explore these connections in a visually stunning and unique way. lauraannis.com

Hallows Betwixt by Kel Mur

in the Powder Room Gallery

The Vulva Shrine series has been a part of Kel Mur’s art practice that they return to periodically. This work consists of assemblages constructed within the anatomical blueprint of the vulva and contemplates stereotypes, emotions, and ideas related to this body part. Each piece tells a story through a variety of found objects and detritus that can be funny, haunting, ironic, or beautiful, exploring the contrast between the subject that inspires it and the materiality of the piece. Using discarded industrial and mass-made materials, the work questions the chronic subjugation of people who have vulvas, despite how they have always contributed to and helped sustain the fabric of society. These works, therefore, become a subversive celebration of an organ designed exclusively for experiencing sexual pleasure in the body.

Artist Bio:

Kel Mur (she/they) grew up in New Jersey and graduated Cum Laude with a BA in Fine Art from Monmouth University in 2011, where she received the Creativity in Studio Art Award for her senior honors thesis, Commodity. After her undergraduate studies, she relocated to New Orleans to develop her studio practice before relocating to Madison, Wisconsin, to pursue an MFA. Kel Mur has exhibited throughout the Midwest, Southeast, and Northeast, showing work concerned primarily with the body exploring its various tribulations, including grief and the chronic subjugation of the femme-presenting form. Kel Mur has had artwork published in BARED: Contemporary Poetry and Art on Bras and Breasts (La Femmes Folles, 2016), HOOT Online Magazine (November 2013, Issue 25), Sweetbitter by poet Stacey Balkun (Sundress Publications, 2022), and AJS Perspectives the Magazine of the Association for Jewish Studies (Winter 2023). Kel Mur earned her MFA at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the Spring of 2020. She resides in Madison, WI, where she was recognized as one of the Madison Bridge Work Emerging Artists (2020-21) through the Arts + Literature Laboratory. She also nurtures a curatorial practice as a member of the Arts + Literature Laboratory Visual Arts Team and as the current Exhibitions and Education Manager for River Arts, Inc. in Prairie du Sac, WI, where she programs their multiple gallery spaces and educational workshops. kelmur.com