The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

New exhibit at Haggerty

Starting today, the Haggerty Museum of Art presents an exhibit from a highly regarded, innovative contemporary artist, Peter Sehringer. This is the first time Sehringer’s work will be shown in the United States.

The exhibit, entitled “Peter Sehringer: Contemporary German Painting,” kicks off with a gallery talk with Sehringer scheduled for tonight at 6 p.m., followed by a reception at 7 p.m. Both events are open to the public.

“I think that everyone, including students, can appreciate the beauty of Sehringer’s work,” said exhibit curator and Haggerty director Curtis L. Carter. “The works are physically very strong, both abstract and figurative at the same time.”

The mainly abstract works include floral motifs, animals, decorative patterns and military figures.

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Sehringer works on a large scale, applying layers of acrylic paint to both wood panels and canvas.

“I visited Sehringer’s studio two or three times, and his process is quite complicated and fascinating,” Carter said. “He spends a lot of time preparing the wood, sanding and smoothing it.”

Carter believes this preparation is evidence of the amount of thought Sehringer puts into his paintings.

“Each work is a provocative scene or image from Sehringer’s mind,” Carter said.

Sehringer takes these imagined images and brings them to life using self-created forms and natural forms, according to Carter.

Some of Sehringer’s works also include social messages, such as the armed soldiers in his work “Der Hauptman.”

“While the viewer may not fully comprehend Sehringer’s method, the works still convey a very strong consciousness,” Carter said.

Sehringer studied at the State Academy of the Arts in Stuttgart, Germany, winning special prizes for young artists and later scholarships from art foundations. His work has been exhibited in galleries across Europe, including the prestigious Staatsgalerie in Stuttgart.

The exhibit will run through Nov. 30. The exhibition is sponsored by the Mary Martha Doerr Endowment Fund and the Wisconsin Arts Board.

The Haggerty Museum of Art’s hours are Monday-Wednesday, Friday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.,”Colleen O’Shea”