Artful Evening

Art, design, fashion, the who’s who of Madison … my head is still spinning over how these elements came together so beautifully last night at Design MMoCA. I have to say, last night’s preview gala was one of the best events I’ve attended so far this year.

Designers, retailers and arts enthusiasts mingled with the likes of Jerry Frautschi and Pleasant Rowland, Toni Sikes of The Artful Home, Valerie Kazamias from MMoCA, chocolatier Gail Ambrosius, Food Fight’s Daryl Sisson, Lisa Sisson of shopbop.com, Christi Weber and Sonya Newenhouse from Madison Environmental Group, and many others.

The show—in which sixteen local and regional designers created “rooms” based on works of art from the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art’s permanent collection—continues on through Sunday.

Here are some highlights:

• The bedroom (above) from Mark Jenssen’s of Jenssen Design is one of the most intriguing vignettes. In it, a canoe form and lattice structure are suspended over a minimalist bed. The shapes are also found in the inspiration artwork, Robert Stackhouse’s Diviners.
• The living room space by Natasha Vora of Indocara Global Home Furnishings and Jodie Amerell of Inner View Consulting is a cozy and cool celebration of natural colors and textures that complement Lee Weiss’s organic, rhythmic Beach Stones watercolor.
• Flad Architects showcase an office space based on Ellsworth Kelly’s simple Oranges lithograph of three circles. Streamlined furniture includes clean white circular chairs and a light wood desk. The designers show a sense of humor by placing a bowl of oranges on a shelf.
• Chuck Close’s Robert Manipulated reveals a face out of grid of gray squares. Davison Architecture + Urban Design nicely echoed the style in sleek furniture and the format in a floor of gray squares.
• Bungalow Pros provide a break from clean lines and funky forms with a dining room featuring heavier wood pieces, while the Madison Environmental Group’s contemporary living room quells any concern that green design can’t be cutting-edge cool.

These are just a few of the creative, innovative and inspiring features that caught my eye. Check out the show and find your own favorites.

Design MMoCA runs 11 a.m.–8 p.m. April 25, 10 a.m.–8 p.m. April 26, and 11 a.m.–4 p.m. April 27. Visit mmoca.org for a schedule of lectures, gallery talks and a designer meet and greet. 

Thanks to Amy Lynn Schereck for the photos.

An Artistic Addition

Madison has a newcomer to its visual arts scene: Bungalow 1227, a laid-back enclave for artists and art lovers at 1227 E. Wilson St.

Set in a cozy brick bungalow, the gallery is the latest undertaking of Pat Dillon, a Madison artist and writer (she’s written about travel for Madison Magazine).

“This is one thing I’ve been wanting to do for a long time,” she says.

Dillon transformed the former home into a rustic gallery, exposing stone walls and keeping the original wood floors intact. Paintings and drawings fill the walls—as well as windows covered with sheets of corrugated metal—and pottery is displayed on shelves and tables.

That the gallery was a concept brewing in Dillon’s mind for years allowed her to keep tabs on artists she’d one day like to represent. She created Bungalow 1227 to be a relaxed space where local and regional artists can display their work. But she’s thrown some international artists into the mix, too.

Dillon also intends for the gallery to be welcoming the public. Art lovers of all stripes can pop in straight from the adjacent bike path or from a stroll along East Wilson Street to look, shop and talk art.

The gallery’s opening is May 2, in conjunction with the city’s spring Gallery Night. Her first show is Women Inspired Art, which runs through June 30.

Proceeds from all her shows will benefit a charity, this time the YWCA’s Third Street Program.

COMING UP: A few events and performances to check out this week.

Design MMoCA takes over the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art Friday through Sunday for a showcase of interior design based on works from the museum’s permanent collection.

Thursday through Saturday, the UW Dance Program offers its Spring Program Concert at Lathrop Hall.

The Madison Symphony Orchestra brings the sounds of Russia to Overture Center with concerts Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Also at Overture is a free Community Hymn Sing Saturday morning in which the public can sing along with the concert organ.

The city will be filled with runners taking part in the 27th Annual Crazylegs Classic on Saturday. The 8K run starts and the Capitol Square and makes its way throughout the downtown.

And hundreds of alpacas and fans of the fuzzy animals will meet up at the Alliant Energy Center Saturday and Sunday for the Great Midwest Alpaca Festival.