THE EXHIBITION:
Curated by Adriana Barrios
Opening Reception: April 2, 2026 at 6:00 PM
SRISA Gallery is pleased to present two concurrent solo exhibitions featuring the artwork of University of Wisconsin–Madison Art Department Professors Emily Arthur and John Hitchcock. The exhibitions honor the longstanding partnership between UW–Madison and Santa Reparata International School of Art (SRISA). This partnership reflects a commitment to contemporary art as a global conversation, one that values collaboration, critical inquiry, and learning beyond the classroom.
In Land Lines; Water Lines, Emily Arthur is informed by concerns for the environment, displacement, exile, and the return home through screen print and watercolor that incorporate chine collé, papermaking, beeswax, and enclosures. Arthur seeks the unbroken relationship between modern culture and ancient lands, where tradition and story are used to find meaning from dislocation and separation. She works with vulnerable landscapes and waterways that support birds, plants, and animals. The migratory bird imagery in her artwork draws from zoological specimens, including the Anhinga (waterbird) and the Trumpeter Swan, which are accompanied by botanical illustrations.
Tasiwoo / Pau / Buffalo Song by John Hitchcock contemplates the relationship between Indigeneity and spiritual connections to the land, centering on the symbol of the neon buffalo to honor the North American bison, whose repopulation and survival serve as a source of strength for Native peoples. The prominent neon buffalo stands in as a visual for the drum at a powwow or Native gathering, where sound and rhythm honor ancestors and community. Hitchcock employs neon, printmaking, and installation as visual storytelling to understand his relationship with community, place, and culture.
Together, Arthur and Hitchcock examine land as a place of connection, displacement, and resilience. The collected works celebrate the land as a living archive, while positioning transformation as progression toward the future.
About the artists:
Emily Arthur is an American contemporary artist of printmaking, artist books, and sculptural work. Arthur is a Professor of Art at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who works with scientists, historians, and Indigenous scholars to elucidate the craft and knowledge-based disciplines of art and science. Arthur holds the University of Wisconsin-Madison Romnes Faculty Fellow award and the Eleanor M. Garvey Visiting Fellowship in Printing and Graphic Arts at Harvard University award. Her museum permanent collections include the Smithsonian American Art and Portrait Gallery; Harvard University Fine Art Library; Saint Louis Art Museum; Minneapolis Institute of Art; Denver Art Museum; Museum of the American West; Crocker Art Museum; and the Los Angeles Museum of Art.
John Hitchcock is an American contemporary artist, musician, and the Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of Art at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he teaches screenprinting, relief, and installation art. He is an enrolled member of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma, with Comanche and Northern European ancestry, and is based in Madison, Wisconsin. Hitchcock’s exhibitions at major international institutions include the National Gallery of Art; the Portland Art Museum; the International Print Center New York; the New Britain Museum of American Art; the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts; the American Culture Center in Shanghai; and at the 54th Venice Biennale.
Land Lines; Water Lines by Emily Arthur and Tasiwoo / Pau / Buffalo Song by John Hitchcock will be on view in the SRISA Gallery April 1-20, 2026. Both artists will be present during the public reception on April 2, 2026, at 6:00 PM.
SRISA Gallery è lieta di presentare due mostre in contemporanea dedicate alle opere dei professori Emily Arthur e John Hitchcock del Dipartimento di Arte della University of Wisconsin–Madison. Le mostre celebrano la lunga e consolidata collaborazione tra la UW–Madison e la Santa Reparata International School of Art (SRISA). Una partnership che riflette un impegno condiviso verso l’arte contemporanea intesa come dialogo globale, fondato sulla collaborazione, la ricerca critica e un apprendimento che va oltre le mura dell’aula.
In Land Lines; Water Lines, Emily Arthur affronta temi legati alla salvaguardia dell’ambiente, allo sradicamento, all’esilio e al ritorno alla terra d’origine, attraverso la serigrafia e l’acquerello, con l’uso del chine collé, della carta artigianale, della cera d’api e di elementi di chiusura. Arthur esplora il legame ininterrotto tra la cultura moderna e le terre ancestrali, dove tradizione e narrazione diventano strumenti per trovare un senso nel distacco e nella separazione. Il suo lavoro si concentra su paesaggi fragili e corsi d’acqua che ospitano uccelli, piante e animali. Le immagini di uccelli migratori presenti nelle sue opere si ispirano a esemplari zoologici, tra cui l’Anhinga (un uccello acquatico) e il Cigno Trombettiere, accompagnati da illustrazioni botaniche.
Tasiwoo / Pau / Buffalo Song di John Hitchcock è un’opera che riflette sul rapporto tra l’identità nativa e il legame spirituale con la terra, incentrandosi sul simbolo del bisonte al neon per rendere omaggio al bisonte nordamericano, la cui ripopolazione e sopravvivenza rappresentano una fonte di forza per i popoli nativi. L’imponente bisonte luminoso evoca visivamente il tamburo di un powwow o di un raduno nativo, dove suono e ritmo rendono omaggio agli antenati e alla comunità. Hitchcock utilizza il neon, la stampa e l’installazione come forme di narrazione visiva per esplorare il proprio rapporto con comunità, territorio e cultura.
Insieme, Arthur e Hitchcock interrogano la terra come luogo di connessione, sradicamento e resilienza. Le opere in mostra celebrano il paesaggio come archivio vivente, ponendo la trasformazione come movimento verso il futuro.
Biografie
Emily Arthur è un’artista contemporanea americana attiva nella grafica d’arte, nei libri d’artista e nella scultura. Insegna Arte presso la University of Wisconsin–Madison, collabora con scienziati, storici e studiosi indigeni per approfondire le discipline artistiche e scientifiche fondate sul sapere e sulla manualità. Arthur è titolare del riconoscimento di Romnes Faculty Fellow presso l’Università del Wisconsin–Madison e della Eleanor M. Garvey Visiting Fellowship in Printing and Graphic Arts presso l’Università di Harvard. Le sue opere sono presenti in collezioni permanenti museali quali lo Smithsonian American Art and Portrait Gallery; la Fine Arts Library di Harvard University; il Saint Louis Art Museum; il Minneapolis Institute of Art; il Denver Art Museum; il Museum of the American West; il Crocker Art Museum; e il Los Angeles Museum of Art.
John Hitchcock è un artista e musicista contemporaneo americano, nonché Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of Art presso la University of Wisconsin–Madison, dove insegna serigrafia, stampa a rilievo e installazione. È membro iscritto della Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma, con ascendenze Comanche e nord-europee, e vive e lavora a Madison, Wisconsin. Le sue opere sono state esposte in importanti istituzioni internazionali, tra cui la National Gallery of Art; il Portland Art Museum; l’International Print Center New York; il New Britain Museum of American Art; il Museum of Contemporary Native Arts; l’American Culture Center di Shanghai; e alla 54ª Biennale di Venezia.
THE ARTIST:
Emily Arthur is an American contemporary artist of printmaking, artist books, and sculptural work. Arthur is a Professor of Art at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who works with scientists, historians, and Indigenous scholars to elucidate the craft and knowledge-based disciplines of art and science. Arthur holds the University of Wisconsin-Madison Romnes Faculty Fellow award and the Eleanor M. Garvey Visiting Fellowship in Printing and Graphic Arts at Harvard University award. Her museum permanent collections include the Smithsonian American Art and Portrait Gallery; Harvard University Fine Art Library; Saint Louis Art Museum; Minneapolis Institute of Art; Denver Art Museum; Museum of the American West; Crocker Art Museum; and the Los Angeles Museum of Art.
John Hitchcock is an American contemporary artist, musician, and the Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of Art at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he teaches screenprinting, relief, and installation art. He is an enrolled member of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma, with Comanche and Northern European ancestry, and is based in Madison, Wisconsin. Hitchcock’s exhibitions at major international institutions include the National Gallery of Art; the Portland Art Museum; the International Print Center New York; the New Britain Museum of American Art; the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts; the American Culture Center in Shanghai; and at the 54th Venice Biennale.
Website:
Emily Arthur è un’artista contemporanea americana attiva nella grafica d’arte, nei libri d’artista e nella scultura. Insegna Arte presso la University of Wisconsin–Madison, collabora con scienziati, storici e studiosi indigeni per approfondire le discipline artistiche e scientifiche fondate sul sapere e sulla manualità. Arthur ha ricevuto il riconoscimento di Romnes Faculty Fellow presso l’Università del Wisconsin–Madison e della Eleanor M. Garvey Visiting Fellowship in Printing and Graphic Arts presso l’Università di Harvard. Le sue opere sono presenti in collezioni permanenti museali quali lo Smithsonian American Art and Portrait Gallery; la Fine Arts Library di Harvard University; il Saint Louis Art Museum; il Minneapolis Institute of Art; il Denver Art Museum; il Museum of the American West; il Crocker Art Museum; e il Los Angeles Museum of Art.
John Hitchcock è un artista e musicista contemporaneo americano, nonché Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of Art presso la University of Wisconsin–Madison, dove insegna serigrafia, stampa a rilievo e installazione. È membro iscritto della Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma, con ascendenze Comanche e nord-europee, e vive e lavora a Madison, Wisconsin. Le sue opere sono state esposte in importanti istituzioni internazionali, tra cui la National Gallery of Art; il Portland Art Museum; l’International Print Center New York; il New Britain Museum of American Art; il Museum of Contemporary Native Arts; l’American Culture Center di Shanghai; e alla 54ª Biennale di Venezia.
Sito:
EXHIBITION OPENING:
EXHIBITION DETAILS:
OPENING:
April 2, 2026 at 6:00 PM
DATES:
April 1-20, 2026
Opening hours:
MondayーFriday: 10 am ー 7 pm
Saturday: 1 pm ー 7 pm
Sunday: 1 pm ー 4 pm
Free entrance
SPACE:
ADDRESS:
SRISA Gallery - Santa Reparata International School of Art
Via San Gallo 53/R, 50129 Firenze