Your overall theatre experience is expanded with art exhibits in our lobby gallery. Be sure to check out the beautiful work of these visual artists on your next trip to Next Act.
Curator Jim Toth creates a unique collection of works to complement each Next Act production.
Disturbances in the Field
Photography-based digital images by Sara Risley
In my mind, Sara Risley is a duchess in her own right. Her long career as an artist has led her to an unapologetic, abstract expressionistic vision that both challenges and excites. Her photographic creations begin with her own digital photographs which she then lets her quirky vision blend and meld different images into fine artwork. As she explains…
I am wildly attracted to that which disturbs the norm. I adore the odd angle, the quirky outlook, the extreme emotion. We have the choice to embrace these disturbances or ignore them. I choose to allow them to inform what I create.
My photography-based digital images disturb the notion of what photography is. My images all start in camera. The subjects I choose might be from nature, my own abstract artwork, or anything I might see while walking around this world. Rust on a sidewalk, peeling paint, or reflections in puddles may become the source for one of my pieces. I disturb these mundane images, layering, saturating, manipulating until they become an abstract expression hardly reminiscent of their original source. By digitally disturbing the pixels, I create that which may disturb the viewer for its lack of easy answers.
My creative process is playful and energetic. The intense hues and sensual shapes remind the viewer of abstract expressionist paintings and lure them in to the intricacies of my digital “brush marks.” I love that my images may challenge the viewer’s idea of traditional photography.
Sara Risley lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and in the depths of winter, wonders why. Born and raised in Elgin, Illinois, she got her BFA in photography and film arts from Southern Methodist University and, after a 27 year career as a portrait photographer making everyone look pretty, she was sick of reality and escaped into abstract art. She paints, collages, and creates photographic art all abstractly. She loves going to the theater, writing, and reading. See more of her work at sararisley.com as well as on stage as part of the set for DINNER WITH THE DUCHESS!
Since the 2014-15 season, Jim has been curating and installing art exhibits for Next Act’s lobby gallery. Drawing on his connections as an artist and retired art educator, he has brought in a wide variety of local artists whose work complements our productions and enriches our patrons’ theatre experiences. He is especially pleased when the art and the play seem to have been meant for each other, as with Michael Andrysczyk’s detailed drawings of winter scenes paired with ALMOST, MAINE and Coree Coppinger’s powerful black and white photographs of MMA fighters paired with THE ELABORATE ENTRANCE OF CHAD DEITY. Before retiring, Jim had a two-career history, first as an Art Teacher and K-12 Art Coordinator for the South Milwaukee School District and then as the Director of Exhibits for the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum. In addition to his volunteer work for Next Act, he serves on the board for the Milwaukee Area Teachers of Art and as president of the south side community choir Cantare Chorale. He is also an artist who has show his sculpture at numerous art fairs including MAM’s Lakefront Festival of Arts and in many small group and gallery exhibitions. Jim and his wife Karen are long-time residents of Bay View.