Art in Kohler
From an art-filled visit to the John Michael Kohler Art Center, an artful escape to the John Michael Kohler Art Preserve, or exploring the A/I Collective at The Shops at Woodlake, we invite you to discover the inspiring and rejuvenating power of creativity in Kohler.
The John Michael Kohler Arts Center presents a contemporary American art with an emphasis on craft-related forms, folk traditions, new genres and the work of self-taught artists. One gallery presents works from the Arts/Industry Program, which brings artists to work in studios within the Kohler Co. factory. Another gallery features interactive mediums for children. There are eleven galleries in all to explore.
The Art Preserve is an experimental space designed to house the Arts Center’s collection of over thirty-five artist-built environments. More than a building, it is a platform for ongoing explorations and investigations into these environments, their makers, and the Arts Center’s role as their institutional steward. It embodies the Arts Center’s conviction that significant, original, and compelling works of art are created everywhere, by people from a broad spectrum of life experiences.
The Arts/Industry 50th Collective is a new exhibition celebrating 50 years of artwork from the Arts/Industry residency program. Unique works from 39 artists are on display, selected from the Kohler Co. Art Collection.
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The American Club, Inn on Woodlake, and the entire Village of Kohler offers a curated Artwalk consisting of more than 50 pieces of sculptural art. The unique artwork was created in the Kohler Co. factories through the company’s partnership with the John Michael Kohler Art Center and their 50-year-old artist-in-residency program named Arts/Industry.
Renowned curator, former Arts/Industry resident and 2021 Guggenheim Fellowship recipient, Michelle Grabner, provided curatorial oversight for the Art Walk.
During meeting breakouts, lunchtime breaks or sunset walks, the self-guided tour allows guests of the hotels and visitors of the Village to take in the beauty of the art and cultural relevance of the area. For instance, The Immigrant, a sculpture placed outside The American Club, was inspired by the 1850s immigration story of Kohler Co. founder John Michael Kohler and by the origins of the hotel, originally opening in 1918 as a dormitory and cultural hub for Kohler Co.’s immigrant workforce.