On View in Milwaukee
Pat Hidson
Compositions
Past Exhibition
February 23–May 21, 2023
MOWA on the Lake
About the Exhibition
This exhibition is open to the public at MOWA on the Lake, located inside the retirement campus of Saint John’s On The Lake in downtown Milwaukee. Learn more
February 23–May 21, 2023
MOWA on the Lake
Pat Hidson’s highly developed compositions begin with observation of the natural world. She takes note of her surroundings and jots down her thoughts in a sketchbook. This reservoir of ideas nourishes full-sized paintings in which composition is the driving force, and color is pressed into service with that end in mind.
A trained dancer from a young age with a lifelong love of music—from around the world and opera in particular—Hidson seeks to imbue her complex compositions with a sense of rhythm and movement, or what she calls “the melody of structure.” Observed elements such as figures, landscapes, or cityscapes are hinted at, but overlaying them are formal influences from twentieth-century artists such as Henri Matisse and Stuart Davis, both of whom found spectacular ways to make exuberant color convey a sense of dynamic movement.
Born in Edmonton, Canada, Hidson studied at the University of Alberta, the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, and the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. Currently she lives in Milwaukee, working and teaching from her home studio.
Exhibition Opening Party
Thursday, February 23 | 5:30–7:30
Location: Saint John’s on the Lake, 1840 Prospect Avenue, Milwaukee
Image: Pat Hidson, Beth’s Soho Loft, n.d (detail). Courtesy of the artist and The Portrait Society Gallery