Past Exhibits

Nik Nerburn’s exhibition tends to personal and familial stories, using regional vernacular artistic forms like yard art, model making, dollhouses, and tramp style wood carving. His photographs reveal miniature domestic spaces unraveling by way of personal and mythological disaster. Mostly composed inside of dollhouses, his photographic tableaus embody precariousness and turmoil rather than the dollhouse’s middle class ideal. Using traditional processes such as whittling, chip-carving, frame making, and metal casting, Nerburn braids narratives of both whimsy and catastrophe. This is where a giant secret lives in a tiny house, stuck like a piano you can’t fit out the door.

The (Intuition) Collective is an artist/inspiration group established November of 2020 on Facebook by Andrew Egan and has grown to almost 800 members. Egan created the collective to inspire people to express themselves and follow their dreams and to build a community around pursuing artistic passions. The (Intuition) Collective community has seen art/makers days, photo explores, Community murals and daily activity on the social media platform. This exhibition will highlight active members of the collective who live in the surrounding area. All are welcome to join the collective on Facebook @theintuitioncollective.

The NNAC opening reception is always a remarkable evening in celebration of the artists whose work has been chosen for the exhibition, and the public is invited to experience that work. Everyone is invited to take a leisurely stroll to savor the exhibition and then join Lenny as he shares his remarks on the curation of this prestigious national show.

*Tickets are $20 and include heavy appetizers, refreshments, entry to the opening reception, and thoughtful commentary by the judge. Tickets must be purchased in advance and are available Childs Frame Co. in Rhinelander, and from members of the Northern Arts Council. The call for artists/registration for the 36th NNAC will open in CaFÉ on January 9.

The 36th Northern National Art Competition (NNAC) is a juried art exhibition in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, co-sponsored by Nicolet College and the Northern Arts Council. NNAC began in 1987 and now attracts the work of artists from all across the United States and showcases a wide array of contemporary art in a variety of two-dimensional mediums.

Known internationally for narrative-driven paintings and drawings and technology-infused mixed media works, 2023 Juror/Judge Florencio Lennox “Lenny” Campello has worked as an artist, gallerist, curator, art critic, instructor, author, and arts blogger in the Greater Washington, DC area for more than three decades. He was named one of DC’s “most interesting people” by the Washington City Paper in 2016.

The NNAC opening reception is always a remarkable evening in celebration of the artists whose work has been chosen for the exhibition, and the public is invited to experience that work. Everyone is invited to take a leisurely stroll to savor the exhibition and then join Lenny as he shares his remarks on the curation of this prestigious national show.

*Tickets are $20 and include heavy appetizers, refreshments, entry to the opening reception, and thoughtful commentary by the judge. Tickets must be purchased in advance from Childs Frame Co. in Rhinelander or from members of the Northern Arts Council. 

Nicolet College, Lakeside Center 2nd Floor Commons, Rhinelander
Instructor: Jenny Bonardelli
Free admission – Advanced registration required at nicoletce.tix.com

Take a trip down memory lane in the post-war era when architecture and interior design became inspired by clean, simple lines and honest use of materials. From its humble beginnings in 1945 and the atomic age through 1969, we will explore the visual and cultural evolution of what is now the ubiquitous design movement – Mid-Century Modern. We will also discuss the 1968 design of the structures that make up the Nicolet College campus and how they are arguably prime examples of this beloved style.

Raised in a mid-century home near Tomahawk, Jenny Bonardelli has always been passionate about design and architecture of the era. Holding a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a concentration in Interior Design from UW-Stout and 15 years of architectural work in Los Angeles on MCM structures, Jenny was immersed in the nuance and language of the movement. Life in southern California allowed for many opportunities to explore her MCM passion, from attending numerous conferences and visiting iconic furniture manufacturers to kicking the tires on notable structures by Richard Neutra, Pierre Koenig, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Charles and Ray Eames. Her current work at Nicolet College in the Facilities Department offers unique insight on how MCM and its players influenced the campus design.

Free admission – No advanced registration required

Nicolet students exhibit their drawings, paintings, ceramics, and. photography resulting from a variety of exercises assigned by their instructors. The students are working with foundational principles of art such as composition, contrast, design, color, line, shape, and value. In life-drawing classes, students gain a better understanding of anatomy in order to draw and paint portraits and figures. 

Opening Reception: Thursday, April 20
5 - 7 pm
Nicolet College Art Gallery
Free admission – No advanced registration required

Nicolet students exhibit their drawings, paintings, ceramics, and. photography resulting from a variety of exercises assigned by their instructors. The students are working with foundational principles of art such as composition, contrast, design, color, line, shape, and value. In life-drawing classes, students gain a better understanding of anatomy in order to draw and paint portraits and figures.