July 12 – August 31, 2013

Curated by Fred Stonehouse

The heraldic nature of tattoos has historically tied its imagery to the symbolism of animals. If one could argue that tattoos constitute a sort of “psychic armor” then this imagery and symbolism seems to make complete sense and the pervasiveness of it in tattoo design is understandable. Of course, artists are drawn to animal imagery for a host of reasons, but for this exhibition we decided to focus on animal imagery in the art of tattooists and other artists as a way to think about the possible correlations and overlaps between related practices.

This exhibition will bring together the work of a diverse group of artists, linked primarily by the fact (other than the common subject matter) that I know them all. Large scale pieces from the renowned tattooer Don Ed Hardy, the exquisite hand-colored etchings of Briony Morrow Cribbs, the boldly graphic paintings of New York tattooist Bert Krak and the Japanese inflected works of Milwaukee’s own Jon Reiter will all be part of the mix. – Fred Stonehouse

Read the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel review by Rafael Salas HERE.

• • •

Milwaukee Public Television highlights “The Beast Within.” Watch the video below:

Featured Artists

Stephen Warde Anderson, Julio Avila, Steve Boltz, Nick Bubash, Nick Colella, Mario Desa, Thomas Ferrella, Tony Fitzpatrick, Ben Grant, Ellen Greene, Don Ed Hardy, Ryan Heshka, Laurie Hogin, Josh Howard, Teresa James, Jeremy Kirk, Bert Krak, Dr. Lakra, Flora Langlois, Robert Lostutter, Greg Luckeroth, Nancy Mladenoff, Briony Morrow-Cribbs, Charles Munch, Josh Nemec, Michael Noland, A.J. Nordhagen, Eli Quinters, Bret Rees, Jon Reiter, Dan Santoro, Elizabeth Shreve, Brook Slane, Patrick Smyczek, Fred Stonehouse, James Tomasello, Tom Uttech, John Wilde, Peter Zokosky