Tom Uttech acquired by Crystal Bridges Museum    
The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas acquired a recent migration painting by Tom Uttech for its permanent collection. The massive work, Enassamishhinjijweian (detail left), entitled in Otchipwe, measures over eight feet tall and nine feet wide, is painted in oil on linen and was completed in 2009. Uttech's work joins a Wayne Thiebaud painting in the museum's latest unveiling of recent acquisitions to their growing collection of paintings and sculptures by American artists from the Colonial Period through the modern era. www.crystalbridges.org

Jan Serr named UWM Distinguished Alumni    
Wisconsin artist, Jan Serr will be one of four professionals named UW-Milwaukee's 2010 Distinguished Alumni at a celebration on May 15. Serr will be honored in the field of Art and Design. She received her BFA from the University in 1966 and her MFA in 1968. The prolific artist has works in major collections throughout the US and Canada. www4.uwm.edu

Bill Reid at Museum of Wisconsin Art
The Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend will feature the colorful steel sculptures of Bill Reid from May 12-June 20, 2010. Reid's exhibition, Weighting in the Wings features works in a variety of sizes, each playing with the theme of weight. The exhibition is part of the Museum's One from Wisconsin series showcasing the Museum's dedication to contemporary Wisconsin artists. www.wisconsinart.org

Wilde, Solien & Stonehouse at Rockford Art Museum    
The Rockford Art Museum proudly presents Alchemy and Image, an exhibition examining the influence of Wisconsin's leader in Magic Realism, John Wilde on the next generation of the state's standout artists, TL Solien and Fred Stonehouse. Solien and Stonehouse teach painting at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and their works are exuberant and quirky celebrations of the natural world. The exhibition runs May 7 - August 29, 2010. Rockford Art Museum

Nechvatal Commission and Chazen Museum Purchase
The Chazen Museum at the University of Wisconsin-Madison recently acquired a mask painting by Dennis Nechvatal. From the artist's Code Series, the work is acrylic on hand-cut and formed tin masks and is now part of the museum's permanent collection. Nechvatal also recently completed a major commission for the UW-Madison Hospital. ECHO is a massive (5 ft x 14 ft) seven-panel landscape painting profuse with animals, flowering greenery, and billowing clouds. www.chazen.wisc.edu

American Academy of Arts Honors Tom Uttech    
Congratulations to Tom Uttech who was awarded an American Academy Award in Art. The award honors exceptional accomplishment and encourages future creative works. The awards will be presented in New York City in May at the Academy's annual Ceremonial. The award winners were chosen from a group of 37 artists who had been invited to participate in the Invitational Exhibition of Visual Arts, which opened on March 11, 2010. www.artsandletters.org

Solien Awarded 2010 WAB Fellowship    
T.L. Solien is one of eight Wisconsin artists awarded an Individual Artist Fellowships from the Wisconsin Arts Board for 2010. The statewide program provides $8,000 awards to outstanding professional artists in recognition of their significant contributions to their field. The Wisconsin Arts Board received 176 applications from visual artists and 9 applications from media artists throughout the state. The Artist Fellowship Awards program offers fellowships in a variety of disciplines over a two-year cycle. Wisconsin Arts Board

Sofia Arnold in New American Paintings    
Lynne Warren, curator at the Museum of Contempory Art in Chicago has chosen Sofia Arnold's paintings to be published in the juried exhibition-in-print, New American Paintings, Midwest volume #83, published by The Open Studios Press. With over 5,000 artists reviewed annually, this publication is America's largest juried art competition. Warren notes in her juror's comments that, "Among the artworks I didn't recognize, I was particularily taken by Sofia Arnold's sweet imagery of strange things." Arnold's debut exhibition at the Tory Folliard Gallery is in January, 2010. newamericanpaintings.com

Patrick Farrell at the National Arts Club    
As an honorary member of Allied Artists of America, Inc. (AAA), Wisconsin painter, Patrick Farrell will be part of their 96th Annual Exhibition at the National Arts Club in New York City. Farrell's exquisite painting, "Fruit in a Glass Bowl" (detail left), will be on display in the juried exhibition through December 1, 2009. Founded in 1914, the AAA is dedicated to furthering the advancement of contemporary American artists through their annual exhibitions. Membership into the AAA is by invitation only. alliedartistsofamerica.org

Gallery Artist featured in the White House    
Illinois Landscape No.120 by Harold Gregor is prominently on display in the Oval Office Dining Room. Nationally known for his photo-realist paintings of America's rural landscape, Gregor brings the beauty of the Midwest to the White House. Among his many distinctions, Harold Gregor is the recipient of a 1993-1994 National Endowment of the Arts grant and a NEA Midwest Fellowship. In 1993 he was awarded the Illinois Academy of Fine Arts Lifetime Achievement Award. The Tory Folliard Gallery has represented Harold Gregor since 1999.
Click here to view Gregor's painting in the White House.

Rodger Bechtold featured in Landscape Painting Book
Distinguished landscape painter, Rodger Bechtold shares his insights in a new book, Landscape Painting: Essential Concepts and Techniques for Plein Air and Studio Practice, written by Mitchell Albaba and published by Watson Guptill, the preeminent publisher of how-to books in the arts. Three full color reproductions of the artist's paintings are also featured. www.mitchellalbala.com

Gallery Artists in US Embassy-Lithuania    
The Gallery is pleased to lend two large landscape paintings by Jeff Aeling and Mark Horton to the US Embassy in Vilnius, Lithuania. The works were chosen by US Ambassador, Anne Derse in an effort to present quality American artworks to the world and will be displayed for approximately two years as part of the ART in Embassies program. http://aiep.state.gov

Jason Rohlf awarded first public commission in NYC    
Milwaukee native Jason Rohlf has recently begun work on a major commission for the MTA's Arts for Transit program, which encourages the use of public transit by presenting visual arts projects in subway and commuter rail stations. For the commission, Rohlf will travel to the Franz Mayer Studio in Munich, Germany to assist in the large-scale reproduction of one of his signature bird paintings in laminated and fused glass. www.mta.info

Russ Vogt's work to appear in US Embassy-Athens    
The Gallery is pleased to loan Russ Vogt's vibrant landscape UNTITLED #853 to Athens, Greece. Vogt's work will be displayed in the US Embassy in Athens for approximately three years as part of the ART in Embassies program. http://aiep.state.gov

Gallery artists in US Embassy-Kazakhstan    
The Gallery is pleased to lend two large landscape paintings by Anne DeCoster and two intimate farmscapes from Kathy Hofmann to the US Embassy in Astana, Kazakhstan. The works were chosen by US Ambassador, Richard Hoagland in an effort to present quality American artworks to the world and will be displayed for approximately two years as part of the ART in Embassies program. http://aiep.state.gov