> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.fsm.ink/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Highlights from the TMA Contemporary Exhibition at the Trout Museum of Art - URL: https://www.fsm.ink/tmacontemporary2023/ - Published: 2023-08-12T16:25:03.000Z - Updated: 2026-06-03T18:34:14.000Z - Author: Isabel Dorn - Tags: Exhibtion Review, #Import 2026-08-03 09:59 *By Isabel Dorn* The annual TMA Contemporary exhibition, which showcases modern art from all over Wisconsin, is currently on display at the Trout Museum of Art in downtown Appleton. This year, the gallery features 112 works including paintings, sculpture, textile, metalwork, mixed-media art, and more. The exhibition opened on June 10 and will remain open to the public until August 13, 2023. Nestled casually amongst the coffee shops, boutiques, and restaurants of College Avenue, the Trout is Appleton’s hidden treasure trove for fine art. Visitors enter through a cheerful but unassuming gift shop that belies the breathtaking exhibition rooms, including the gleaming white three-story gallery that houses the TMA Contemporary exhibition. Just beyond the entrance hangs *CC003*, a net handcrafted from hand-dyed wool by Thom Romero of Delevan, WI. The colors blur seamlessly from brilliant scarlet to golden yellow and deep navy, and the vibrant yet peaceful palette provides striking contrast to the fabric’s rich texture, taking the eye on a three-dimensional journey. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b7/d1/b7d1b6d1-443f-4e09-b301-d344accb0bbe/content/images/2023/08/DSC_5437-1.jpg) *CC003\.* Thom Romero *Clean Me Up* by Madison’s Cate O’Connell-Richards uses five brooms bound in yellow chains to explore themes of oppression and ostracization. The piece frames brooms as symbols of both domestic labor and witchcraft—both of which were weaponized against marginalized people. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b7/d1/b7d1b6d1-443f-4e09-b301-d344accb0bbe/content/images/2023/08/DSC_5438.jpg) *Clean Me Up*. Cate O’Connell-Richards Beth Schueffner of Neenah juxtaposes serene images and troubling themes in the painting *The Most Sacred Part of Her, Her Awareness*. Although the luminous naked figure lying in tall grass initially resembles a Classical goddess lounging in indulgence, the painting’s lush imagery was actually inspired by Schueffner’s notes from therapy sessions and experiences with panic disorder, anxiety, and OCD. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b7/d1/b7d1b6d1-443f-4e09-b301-d344accb0bbe/content/images/2023/08/DSC_5440.jpg) *The Most Sacred Part of Her, Her Awareness*. Beth Schueffner At the center of the first floor stands *Thoughts and Prayers*, a haunting plaster sculpture by Milwaukee’s Callie Kiesow. A veiled figure in white kneels before seven sculpted pistols arranged in the shape of a cross, a chilling condemnation of society’s complicity towards gun violence. The sculpture absorbs the room’s elegant pillars, grand staircase, and high ceilings into its aesthetic, giving the Trout’s entire lower level the solemn, eerie atmosphere of a monument. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b7/d1/b7d1b6d1-443f-4e09-b301-d344accb0bbe/content/images/2023/08/DSC_5442.jpg) *Thoughts and Prayers.* Callie Kiesow Behind this statue sprawls *Ellison Women*, a series of 20 cyanotype prints by Allison Calteux of South Milwaukee. Archived 35mm photographs of women from Calteux’s family appear against a backdrop of vintage deep blue doilies of varying sizes and designs, resembling an exquisite cluster of stars. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b7/d1/b7d1b6d1-443f-4e09-b301-d344accb0bbe/content/images/2023/08/DSC_5445-1.jpg) *Ellison Women.* (Detail). Allison Calteux Two relief ink blocks by Green Bay’s Alora Clark—*Meal Prep* and *A Place of* *Uncanny Scarlet*—draw the viewer into a dizzying world drawn completely in black, white, and red. The block on the left shows a cadaver being sliced into pieces of meat for cooking, while the block on the right features a frightful room complete with a skeleton, a floor covered in eyes, and a bookshelf that leaks blood. Despite the gruesome horror-film themes, the eye-catching, slightly cartoonish style lends these works a cheeky, satirical tone. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b7/d1/b7d1b6d1-443f-4e09-b301-d344accb0bbe/content/images/2023/08/DSC_5447.jpg) *Meal Prep* and *A Place of Uncanny Scarlet.* Alora Clark As viewers ascend the staircase to the second level, they approach a wall of intricate pop-up books depicting Appleton artist Benjamin Rinehart’s *7 Hopes for* *Humanity*: access to food, shelter and water; universal healthcare; mental and emotional support for people experiencing hardships; equality for marginalized communities; accountability and reparations for society’s previous failures; healthier and more sustainable interactions between humans and the planet; and love for both oneself and others. Each book portrays utopian ideals in simple, eye- catching three-dimensional cutouts. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b7/d1/b7d1b6d1-443f-4e09-b301-d344accb0bbe/content/images/2023/08/DSC_5449.jpg) *7 Hopes for Humanity.* Benjamin Reinhart *No Means No*, created by a Madison artist using the pseudonym Spooky Boobs, proclaims the importance of consent with an eye-catching poster of a multicolored, geometric rose and the words “No Means No and Other Things We Shouldn’t Have to Say Twice”. The rose’s petals are a series of layered octagons, resembling a pile of stop signs. Beneath the poster lie colorful tiles that are similarly shaped like stop signs, which bear the word no in a variety of languages. The work’s bold colors are cheerful yet dynamic, creating a powerful statement against sexual violence. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b7/d1/b7d1b6d1-443f-4e09-b301-d344accb0bbe/content/images/2023/08/DSC_5454-1.jpg) *No Means No.* Spooky Boobs One of the most peculiar yet thought-provoking works is Milwaukee artist Molly Brennan’s jewelry, titled *Pay Attention*; *Get Some Rest*; Stay Regular; *Get* *Happy*; and *Painless*. The set consists of three necklaces and two rings, each made of sterling silver. At the heart of each piece lies a cluster of pills trapped in resin— Adderall, sleeping aids, fluoxetine, gabapentin, and even stool softener. Through this ironic yet relatable piece, Brennan provides a visual representation of how medication interacts with the human body and mind and the narratives we craft surrounding personal health. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b7/d1/b7d1b6d1-443f-4e09-b301-d344accb0bbe/content/images/2023/08/DSC_5456.jpg) *Pay Attention*; *Get Some Rest*; Stay Regular; *Get‌ ‌Happy*; and *Painless*. Molly Brennan Nora Murphy of Milwaukee blends stunning film photography and avant-garde mixed-media printmaking in two works collectively titled *Excess*. On the left, a simple yet elegant black-and-white photograph depicts a faceless person pinching the flesh under their arm. On the right, Murphy uses an old recipe as material for blackout poetry, crossing out every line until only three words remain legible: “Trim excess fat”. Together, these pieces address the relationship between food and the body, explaining that humans’ dissatisfaction with their bodies often causes them to see food as an obstacle to weight loss rather than a source of nourishment. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b7/d1/b7d1b6d1-443f-4e09-b301-d344accb0bbe/content/images/2023/08/DSC_5452.jpg) *Excess.* Nora Murphy With over 100 works of Wisconsin’s finest art, it’s impossible to encapsulate all the beautiful, unique, and thought-provoking jewels of the TMA Contemporary. I hope visitors will explore these works for themselves and find something inspiring within this diverse collection. > **TMA Contemporary** > June 10th—August 13th, 2023 > Trout Museum of Art > 111 W. College Ave., Appleton, WI 54911