The Muse Gallery Guesthouse in Milwaukee, WI is filled with a rotating exhibition of a wide variety of art, guaranteed to enhance your visit, feed your spirit and inspire your own creativity. All exhibited art is available for purchase. We are committed to helping support Wisconsin’s vibrant artists. We proudly participate in Bay View Gallery Night.
Art at The Muse Gallery Guesthouse
Current Exhibition
Now on view throughout The Muse Gallery Guesthouse, our current exhibition which will run until spring 2024 features:
Joel Richter, Stacy Ollmann, Thom Ertl, Sharon Mergener, John Kowalczyk, September Rain, Jamie Allard, Christina Zawadiwsky, Natalie Shumylo, Elias Zananiri, Cheryl Ray and our amazing curator – Amy Schmutte
Upcoming Events
Holiday party and Art reception
December 3, 2023 4:00- 8:00 p.m.
Amy Schmutte
Art and Love Reflect One Another. Two people in Love… Reflect One-Another. This Passion felt in Love and in Artistic Creation are similar.
In my Abstract Photography of Glass, I’ve always strived for a Transcendence from daily Life, the Awe of Transparency, a Celebration of Light, and an Indulgence in Layers of Complexity. These same ideals cross over into Life and Love. Our passions, as people, are Translated through our own Individual Lenses. Yet, we all desire these same Ideals.
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This series is a Celebration of the Commonalities between the creative qualities of Love and Art. I invite the viewer to Experience their own Creative Transcendence, through their Individual Perception-of-Love Lenses. See it Through, with me as your Guide.
-Amy Schmutte
Sharon Mergener
Artist statement:
Ever since I was a kid, I have had a constant need to create, and painting is one of my main outlets. My process has evolved as a mixed media artist, and I oftentimes feel more like a scientist. My art involves different materials, and some among them are other paints, cold wax (beeswax), and encaustics (beeswax + damar resin). The content is environmentally influenced – with nature, music, and travel as key inspirations. My experimental process is a form of meditation for me as I lose myself in the best way. I hope others can lose themselves a bit and connect with my art as a joyful escape.
Bio:
After years of dreaming of being an artist and DJ, in the mid-’90s, Sharon graduated from UW-Milwaukee with BFA in Painting and Drawing, along with a Master of Arts in Teaching in 2009 from Cardinal Stritch University. Since she was a kid and continued into adulthood, she has been creating art (primarily painting) and participating in various local art shows for the last 25 years. She also has been an educator for over the last 25 years; teaching art classes and workshops at The Milwaukee Art Museum, Walker’s Point Center for the Arts, and at Summerfest, as well as an elementary teacher for 15 years and an adjunct professor for five years, where she taught integrating the fine arts and differentiation in the classroom. She currently teaches math, science, and art online, focusing on meaningful and in-depth cross-curricular connections. In addition, she remains active in the arts community as she is currently an Artist-in-Residence at The Muse Gallery Guesthouse, sits on the Visual Arts Committee for The Jazz Gallery, and curates art for Component Brewing Company. She creates in her studio most days while residing in Milwaukee (Bay View) with her husband and two cats.
Joel Richter
Joel Richter
Bio:
I am an artist, art director and graphic designer currently based in Oak Park, Illinois, but lived in Bay View for many years.
I have a Studio Art degree from New York University with a concentration in photography, art history, and criticism. My work has been exhibited in New York, Milwaukee, Madison, and Stevens Point, Wisconsin. I am in line to join the board of the Oak Park Area Arts Council.
Artist Statement:
As a well-traveled Canadian-American artist, I have a curiosity and passion for exploring landscapes, cityscapes, nature and capturing the extraordinary in the ordinary. In much of my work, I seek to see things from an unusual perspective and to convey a mysterious, ethereal, intriguing view of our world. While I primarily work in photography, I am also exploring more mixed-media art again recently.
Contact:
414-339-7531
Artist Natalie Shumylo
Natalie Shumylo
My name is Natalie Shumylo. I’m a self taught artist from upstate New York, and an MS patient. I have always loved using my acrylics and pastels to capture the commonly unseen and imperfect things in this world celebrating that this world is perfectly imperfect.
Stacy Lee Ollmann
I am a Milwaukee artist working primarily in mixed media sculpture. My latest series, however has been a series of paintings featuring a moon face looking over famous and iconic Milwaukee scenes and places.
My studio time has evolved into a mindfulness practice. The studio is my temple and the creative process my mediation.
Stacy Lee Ollmann
www.stacyleeollmann.com
stacy.ollman@gmail.com
Find me on Facebook!
Thom J. Ertl
I was born and raised on a multi-generation vegetable farm and orchard in southeastern Wisconsin owned and operated by the family for over 100 years. Along with the expectation of being a “farm kid” I always made time to be inspired by the environment and the world around me.
Creativity has always been central in my life, and I was fortunate enough to have had a childhood that included time with a thoughtful and creative grandmother who encouraged me to think beyond the expectation. Grandma Patterson and I spent our time together doing arts and crafts. I remember my childhood as a magical time to explore and realize what life had to offer, and I could count on Grandma’s permission to do it. She was always able to guide what I was doing without turning it into her project, her creation or her end result. Grandma’s love, support and influence have been invaluable in the creative process I employ today.
John Kowalczyk
Painter.Muralist.Mixed Media Artist
John Kowalczyk describes his art as "shrine-like, shiny, symmetrical, and seductive figurations that become maps of my mind combining myth, math, and magic. His workconsists of mixed media paintings, murals, sculptures, and larger than life installations that incorporate clashing patterns, bold colors, and rich layers of texture, narrative and history. Kowalczyk believes in the power of art to connect, convene, and build communities.
Born in Chicago in 1988, John Kowalczyk currently lives and works in Milwaukee,
WI as a community artist who utilizes art as a vehicle towards a more equitable society.
He received his BFA in painting from Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design in 2010, and
began a three year residency with RedLine Milwaukee soon after, where he curated
gallery exhibitions and developed a passion for community art. Kowalczyk served as the
Program Director with the non-profit organization Artists Working in Education where he
oversaw community art projects and programming working with artists, community
stakeholders, and youth across Milwaukee over the past 7 years. He has recently
partnered with Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, The Medical College of Wisconsin,
The Greater Milwaukee Foundation, Milwaukee Public Schools, The City of Milwaukee’s
Department of Public Works, Milwaukee Downtown BID, and others to facilitate
community art programming and projects. Kowalczyk’s work has been exhibited at the
Siena Art Institute in Italy, The Charles Allis Art Museum, The Museum of Wisconsin
Art, Cedarburg Cultural Center, John Michael Kohler Art Center, and D.Varelli Gallery in
Chicago along with other galleries across the U.S. Kowalczyk is represented by Scout
Gallery in Milwaukee, WI.
John led a community art project in 2021 at The Muse Gallery Guesthouse where 100 neighbors, friends and family painted a mural together on a wall at the property.
www.johnkowalczykart.com kowalczykart@gmail.com
Elias Zananiri
Elias’s artistic expression has taken form in Middle Eastern dance and more recently has shifted to painting. His teachers were Flora Bowley and Fred Bell. His lavish style is very detailed and ornate utilizing a vivid color pallet. Zananiri has a very specific style. His dreamlike compositions which are largely abstract feature dense forests of lush floral or geometric forms, human figures (male, female or transgender), or a mix of all.
Find him on Facebook as Elias Thunderpoet Zananiri, Instagram @zananirielias
Artist Jamie Allard
Jamie Allard
I am a Milwaukee-based artist with a heavy focus on mixed media art. My work ranges from the irreverent to the magical and often combines collage style imagery with bright colorful acrylics.
I currently have my work in multiple galleries in the Milwaukee area.
jamiedimartino79@gmail.com