Jack Earl, one of the first Arts/Industry artists-in-residence, said the residency in the Kohler Co. factory felt like a “mad dash at something.” All the founding partners—the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Kohler Co., Ruth DeYoung Kohler, Herb Kohler, factory associates, and artists—found an energetic delight in simply seeing what could emerge from a residency program rooted in an industrial setting.

Mad Dash: 50 Years of Arts/Industry is a chronological installation of artworks, letters, photographs, and promotional materials dating from 1974 to the present. It reveals the origin and history of Arts/Industry through the artists themselves. Key moments, such as the first artist to work in the foundry and a notable performance on the Kohler Co. campus, display a range of concepts and material explorations that artists have pursued over the program’s five decades.

Every artist donates an object made during their residency to the John Michael Kohler Arts Center’s collection. Mad Dash presents artworks from this collection to encapsulate the experience of art making within Kohler Co. and highlight various stages of the artists’ careers. These works, along with the ephemera, evoke the substantial impact Arts/Industry has had on participants from all over the world.