At RAM’s Wustum Museum

Now in its 58th year, Watercolor Wisconsin was started in 1966 to honor the depth and breadth of watercolor in the state. This year’s exhibition features 80 works by 69 artists from across Wisconsin.

Jurors Tony Armendariz and Shelley Gilchrist considered 200 pieces submitted by 116 artists and curated the works seen in the 2024 exhibition. Armendariz is a contemporary realist artist living and painting in Palatine, Illinois. His work focuses on figurative subjects rendered in watercolor. Armendariz has won numerous awards in regional and national competitions and has exhibited his work in many group and solo exhibitions. Armendariz is a signature member of many national societies, including the American Watercolor Society and the Illinois Watercolor Society, where he also served as director. Gilchrist is an award-winning abstract artist based in Evanston, Illinois, working in two and three dimensions in a variety of media, including acrylic. In 2006, her work turned toward abstraction when she began to shape her painting surfaces and explore line and color in her designs. Gilchrist has juried shows at Woman Made Gallery and ARC Gallery in Chicago. She is a member of Chicago Sculpture International and the founder of FUSEDChicago, a professional group for artists using encaustic.

Similar to previous years, Executive Director and Curator of Collections Bruce W. Pepich used memorial purchase award funds to obtain four works from this exhibition for RAM’s collection holdings. Thanks to generous donors over the years, and the ability to use specified funds to acquire work, RAM can count almost 600 watercolors as part of its works on paper collection.