Gladys Nilsson

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Gladys Nilsson, "The Big Girl," 2009. Watercolor on paper, 60 x 40 1/2 in. The Bill McClain Collection of Chicago Imagism, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art.

March update: MMoCA is pleased to announce that its galleries are reopening to the public at noon on Friday, March 12. The Museum will have limited hours: Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, noon-6 PM.

Reservations are not needed to visit, but guests will be required to wear a mask, in accordance with Dane County’s most recent public health order. In addition, capacity in the galleries will be capped to maintain adequate social distancing. Other measures, such as hand sanitation stations and additional cleaning protocols, are in place. Guests may be asked to wait in the lobby or visit another MMoCA gallery to ensure proper social distancing.

Fresco, the Museum’s rooftop restaurant, is closed for the season. Guests will be able to access the Rooftop Sculpture Garden, which includes a recently added bronze work, Untitled, (1982-85) by artist Joel Shapiro. The work is part of the Full Circle: Acquisitions and Exhibitions show, which is now on view.

Please check mmoca.org/welcome-back for more details on safety precautions, and on our social media channels for information on new and upcoming exhibitions, educational programming, and wellness activities this spring. We look forward to welcoming you back!

There are just a few guidelines that we are asking every visitor to follow, and some enhanced sanitation measures that our staff will take to ensure everyone’s health and well-being. We ask that all guests agree to the following policies, which are based on local public health guidelines, prior to visiting the galleries:

• Masks or cloth face coverings required for all guests over the age of 5
• Maintain social distancing of 6 feet or more
• Wash your hands, or use hand sanitizer, often

MMoCA galleries will have floor markings and signage to aid in social distancing efforts, and hand sanitizer and tissues will be located at key points throughout public spaces. Guest capacity also will be limited based on local public health guidelines. MMoCA will implement a number of other important safety measures. Please check our website frequently in case policies and preventative measures change.

In an exhibition spanning four decades of Gladys Nilsson’s career, Out of This World features the artist’s complexly layered watercolors, prints, and early paintings on Plexiglass that humorously exaggerate everyday life. Larger than life women are blissfully content when surrounded by clusters of tiny people engaged in silly and sometimes sinister behaviors.

Works by the Chicago Imagist and Hairy Who artist, who turns 80 this week, invite the viewer to explore, examine, and investigate—the very act of looking that Nilsson employs when generating imagery for her work. Nilsson got her start while studying at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and she and fellow Imagist Jim Nutt, her husband, still live in the Chicago area today.

While she’s maintained a successful career as both an artist and professor at SAIC, Nilsson has seen a renewed interest in her work and has been recently featured in several prominent art publications, including an in-depth interview in The New York Times. This exhibition proudly celebrates both her incredible career and the museum’s extensive collection of her work. As part of the exhibition, the gallery walls will be painted with some of Nilsson’s figures provided by the artist for the occasion.