A 'Sublime' Sampler: Mary Nohl

August 23, 2007

"Sublime Spaces & Visionary Worlds: Built Environments of Vernacular Artists," the current 16,000-square-foot exhibition of the works of 22 artists who transformed their homes, yards and other spaces into large-scale, multifaceted works of art, is the largest and most in-depth show ever mounted at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center. This weekly series showcases each of those artists and offers a glimpse into the time, era and place in which each artist lived and worked. Admission to the exhibition is free. For more information, call or visit www.jmkac.org.

Mary Nohl ()

In and around her cottage on the Lake Michigan shore, just north of Milwaukee, Mary Nohl created a vivid, multi-dimensional environment. She viewed virtually anything as potential material for making art, and tried her hand at everything. Nohl similarly viewed all interesting ideas worth exploring on her own, and looked at art and culture from the world over.

What influenced her the most, however, was the immense lake lying just outside her door. Nohl envisioned a fantasy world beneath the waves, where creatures lived funny and interesting lives. A cast of characters reemerged in her paintings, sculptures and in the bas-relief wooden friezes that enveloped her small home.

The environment Nohl made was highly expressive of both her artistic character and that of her lakeshore cottage and yard. Nohl worked with Kohler Foundation and the Arts Center to ensure that both her environment and the works that extended beyond it would be cared for into the future.