(WEST BEND, WISCONSIN) – Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA) is thrilled to present The American Landscape: Beyond the Horizon, a timely reconsideration of the place we call home. In conjunction with the 250th anniversary of the US, this exhibition brings together works from the museum’s permanent collection alongside select loans to examine how artists have interpreted Wisconsin’s landscape across two centuries. Through painting, photography, and sculpture, The American Landscape reveals the richness, complexity, and contradictions that shape both regional identity and the broader American experience. The exhibition will be on view at MOWA May 2 through July 19.
“The landscape has always been a vessel for meaning. It is the ground we stand on, but it is also a metaphor,” says Rafael Salas, guest curator, artist, and professor at Ripon College. “We make the land stand ‘for’ something—a nation or a religious symbol, for example. The landscape helps us distinguish who we are from where we are.”
The exhibition presents a wide range of perspectives from Native voices and immigrant narratives to contemporary reflections on environment and place. Historic and contemporary works are placed in dialogue, illuminating shifting perspectives. Nineteenth-century paintings evoke a Romantic vision of nature, with atmospheric light and solitary forms recalling Old World European landscape painting traditions. In contrast, contemporary works engage urgent global concerns, including environmental change and humanity’s lasting impact on the earth.
“This exhibition offers a layered—sometimes contradictory—vision of landscape as both a physical space and a cultural construct,” says MOWA’s Deputy Director Dr. Jane Aspinwall. “Agrarian scenes that speak to Wisconsin’s role in feeding a growing nation appear alongside works addressing extraction, industry, and urbanization. Visitors are encouraged to reconsider the land not only as a setting, but as an active force in shaping identity and history.”
Experience The American Landscape: Beyond the Horizon and discover how art reveals the beauty, complexity, and contradictions that define both Wisconsin and the American experience. MOWA will host an Opening Party on May 2 from 2:00 to 4:00. In addition to the exhibition, the museum will offer a series of talks, activities, and behind-the-scenes events where attendees can further explore themes presented in The American Landscape.
IMAGE CREDIT
Siara Berry, Survey, 2024