Past Exhibitions

Big Ideas/Small Packages:  Magnificent Glass Under 20

November 1, 2008 through February 21, 2009

This exhibition honors the paperweight tradition on which Bergstrom-Mahler Museum was founded. It explores the processes of glass techniques used in paperweight making and earlier, to examine the continuum of  glass working methods today.

Many of the techniques used in working and decorating glass did not begin and end in one era.  Glass is a material that evolved over centuries with a long history of use for creating decorative and functional objects. The earliest objects were small precious inlays, beads, unguent jars and containers for oils and perfumes.  These can be traced back to Egyptian use, at least 6,000 years ago or earlier.

This exhibition examines the dynamic possibilities of these ancient glass methods, expanded upon by technology, creativity and contemporary thought, in small scale to honor the initial direction of Bergstrom-Mahler Museum and discover the unending possibilities of the material.

The visual surprises are many as you explore the profound ingenuity of the artists using this historically alluring, versatile and dynamic material: glass.

Myth and Magic: the Artwork of Gerald McDermott

Telling Stories Out of School: the Illustrations of Midwest Artists, Arthur Geisert, Kevin Henkes an d Carson and Tina Kugler. With Glass artists, Allegra Marquart, Emily Brock, Tim Tate and Jim D'Onofrio

April 21 through June 21, 2009

Selected Image Copyright 1975 Gerald McDermott.  This exhibition was organized by the National Council for Children's Illustrated Literature, Abilene, Texas.

July 5th - September 20, 2009

This intriguing examination of flowers included paintings by Helen Klebesadel, Winifred Godfrey, Nina Bednarski, Bruce Hustad, Peggy Zalucha and Jean Crane.  Additionally, this exhibition showcased exemplary paperweights from Bergstrom-Mahler Museum’s permanent collection of antique and contemporary work. Lending themselves to the interpretation of floral language popular during the Victorian Period, the glass paperweights highlighted portions of the exhibition.

The Italian Influence in Glass
October 10- February 21, 2010

The Italian Influence in Glass considered the origins of techniques from the Romans, to the considerable innovations in style of the Venetians, and now the work that artisans of Murano are presenting for glass artists to infuse into a new bold statement. Examples of the Italian influence in this exhibition are objects created with mosaic techniques from the Roman Empire of the mid first century B.C.E. to the mid first century.
The influence continues to the paperweight form of the 19th century and carries through to the current period with the innovative work of the Venini, Barovier, and Seguso factories.  As before, these artists have influenced the work of contemporary glass artists such as Harvey Littleton, Dale Chihuly, Lino Tagliapietra and Richard Ritter, and others. Wisconsin artists include, Michael Meilahn, Wes Hunting, Jeremy Popelka and Charles Savoie.

These exhibitions have been funded in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the state of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts

April10th - June 19, 2010

Experience your favorite story books from a new perspective with the Wizards of Pop. This children’s book exhibition includes over 60 images from 13 picture and pop-up books by celebrated children’s book creators Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart.

The exhibition features innovatively engineered, three-dimensional pages from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the Encyclopedia Prehistorica series, Cinderella, STAR WARS: A Pop-up Guide to the Galaxies, and Young Naturalist's Pop-Up Handbook: Beetlesand Butterflies, as well as imaginative two-dimensional artworks from such books as Saint Valentine, The Blizzard's Robe, and The Paper Dragon. Several books from the exhibtion will be available for purchase in The Museum Shop.

The National Center for Children's Illustrated Literature, Abilene, Texas organized the exhibition. This exhibition is funded in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the state of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.This exhibition is also funded in part by a grant from the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region and the Richard  L. Johnson Memorial Exhibition Fund. Thank you to the BOLDT Company for sponsoring youth programming transportation.