Falkman-Manger Exhibit

Between the Earth and Sky

Susan Falkman is the talented sculptor who designed and installed the magnificent fireplace “Streaming” in the Kuttemperoor Grand Hall as well as “Water’s Way” located in our back yard. She describes her new work as, “The most challenging pieces of my career”.

Barbara Manger, an artist, printmaker, and author, will be showcasing monotypes and drawings that reflect natural phenomena.

Both artists are exhibiting together.

ARTISTS STATEMENT

SUSAN FALKMAN

The stone I use to carve my sculpture seems timeless, existing in its own realm. Stone’s clock is geological, millions of times slower than ours. All of human history, all our daily concerns is a wisp to stone. When carving I speed up stones time, wearing it away faster than would the wind and the waves. I slow down human time, with the patience, care and focus needed to transform stone into sculpture.

My sculpture grows spontaneously from the deep currents of my life as it happens. I am open to allowing the creative process to flow through me. This is the way of art, the way of life. Each piece I create is an exploration, a letting go into the creative moment, putting the intellect aside, trusting the intuitive impulse.

My sculpture has always been a healing and guiding force in my own life. After many years of carving, I see and understand that my sculptures can touch others in a deeply meaningful way. Each of our “healing” weaves into a “healing net.” The more threads woven, the more support for us all. My carving is my weaving.

BARBARA MANGER

Living near lakes and rivers, and my love of paddling kayaks and canoes, partly inform these monotypes. I observe the path of a river as it travels from its origin in places I know not, moving past to unknown destinations. Rhythms and forces of growth and bloom, death, decay and renewal are aspects of nature and landscape that intrigue me. Small shreds and fragments of nests, bark or roots and features grander in scale such as a river or a gorge–and the stories they old and tell influence me.

I gather dried grasses, sticks and other natural materials and print with them on an etching press using oil-based inks on paper. With the tangles, overlaps and apparent disorder, I attempt to convey the spirit of nature around me.

ARTISTS BIOGRAPHY

Susan Falkman, 78, began carving marble 50 years ago on the Greek island of Naxos. She carved there for five years before moving to Carrara, Italy, to continue her artistic development for eight more years. Falkman, trained under marble carvers in Greece and Italy, and combines modern technical skills with an eye that embraces the ancient carving traditions of the Mediterranean. Her work has been shown in galleries in Athens, Carrara, Milan, Chicago, Palm Springs, Indianapolis and Milwaukee. Falkman’s work, in marble, granite and limestone is owned by museums, public budlings and spaces, and private collectors all over the world. Since 1989, she has worked from her studio in Mequon, Wisconsin.

A 40-foot high, deep relief, limestone carving is the focal point at the Wilson Center for the Arts in Brookfield, Wisconsin. At the Boerner Botanical Gardens in Milwaukee, Susan has carved a site specific sculpture, composed of eight two ton, limestone carvings. In Madison, a three-part sculpture can be found at the University of Wisconsin’s Botanical Garden. She has installed a number of other large scale public sculptures. Most recently she installed a 50 ton 2 part red granite sculpture for a Leed’s building in Superior, WI. See more of Susan’s work here.

Barbara Manger is an author, artist and art educator. She has shown her work widely including the Oakland Museum; Lausaunne, Switzerland through the Wisconsin Arts Board; Musee Nationale of Haiti-group show traveled to Dominican Republic and Guyana; numerous sites in the Midwest. Drawings and prints are included in numerous private and public collections.

Manger has taught at Cardinal Stritch University and Alverno College. Her artwork has been exhibited nationally, and her prints and drawings are included in a number of public and private collections. She has served on the board of numerous nonprofit organizations, including the Board of Trustees of Beloit College. Manger is the recipient of the Governor’s Award in Support of the Arts for having founded Artists Working in Education Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides meaningful art experiences in schools and parks for thousands of at-risk children.

Barbara earned a BA in Art/Spanish at Beloit College and MS and MFA Degrees at UW-Madison. Her greatest teachers have been nature and Toshi Yoshida who taught her woodblock printing in Japan. She has authored three books including Mary Nohl: Inside & Outside published by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation in 2010. See more of Barbara’s work here.