Joseph Mougel, Richard Moninski reception

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courtesy James Watrous Gallery

Moss through a magnifying lens.

"Moss" by Joseph Mougel.

This winter, explore the great outdoors inside the James Watrous Gallery of the Wisconsin Academy as it unveils a pair of new exhibits. The “Herbarium” series by photographer Joseph Mougel explores plants and colonization, and plays with nature’s tension between the scientific and whimsical in his collection. In “Clash/Meld,” painter and digital artist Richard Moninski contrasts the natural with the man-made to explore nature, history and culture. Join the artists for a reception at 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19. The exhibit is up through Jan. 22; regular hours are noon-6 p.m. Thursday-Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, and noon-5 p.m. Sunday.

media release: Joseph Mougel: Herbarium & Richard Moninski: Clash/Meld

November 18, 2022 through January 22, 2023 at the James Watrous Gallery. Reception: November 19, 2022 6-8pm; artists’ talks begin at 6:30 p.m.

Richard Moninski's recent paintings explore several themes: the systemization of nature, the decorative impulse, the choices between representation and abstraction, and the history and culture of specific places. His paintings and drawings juxtapose indigenous flora and fauna, manmade artifacts, and stylized representations of plants taken from European decorative arts traditions such as tapestry and lace-making. Painting directly onto commercially printed camouflage fabric, Moninski reworks the military connotations of the material and bends it into a commentary on the meeting place of nature and culture.

Joseph Mougel's Herbarium project is a series of photographs inspired by plant archives and the desire to capture and preserve things that comprise a place. Living plants, both native and introduced, are contained or surrounded by darkroom equipment and scientific instruments, describing narratives of transition, colonization, and the exploration of the prairie. Mougel's photographs illustrate moments of wonder, of not fully comprehending or seeing the world as a place of magic, as well as attempts to describe and analyze nature. This tension between the miraculous and the understood describes a journey of discovery, and an environment filled with mysteries for curious people to explore.

Gallery Hours: Thurs-Fri 12-6 • Sat 11-5 • Sun 12-5. Free and open to the public