Exhibits
Many years ago, the Wimmer family made a commitment to creatively sculpt
neighborhoods and buildings in a way that allowed our residents to actively
engage life while being anchored by the security and warmth of a home. That
mission requires a commitment to quality in design, craftsmanship, and
respect for our residents.
The Wimmer Communities’ collection of contemporary art on exhibit in our
Community Centers is an extension of that commitment. Throughout time,
art has colored our lives with an excitement for discovering new meanings in
our surroundings and the communities where we live. Art expresses joy and
beauty. It makes us look twice at how things were and how they might be.
It should not be surprising then that Wimmer Communities has committed
itself to showcasing some of today’s finest contemporary artists. These artists
demonstrate a unique vision and insight expressed with a quest similar to
our own commitments. By showcasing their work in our Community Centers,
we hope that it also contributes to a resident lifestyle that is meaningful, exciting, and fun.
Wimmer Communities’ collection of contemporary art is on exhibit in our
Community Centers throughout the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The growing
collection includes original works, limited edition serigraphs, and sculptures.
Currently featured in the contemporary collection are signature works from
world-renowned artists as well as bold works from up and coming local artists.
Richard Taylor
A Milwaukee artist whose two and three-dimensional steel, aluminum, and pine artwork is displayed both publicly and privately worldwide. He earned his BA in Art History and MFA in Painting & Drawing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where he went on to work as an instructor. Taylor also served as Artist-in-Residence at Quad/Graphics in Pewaukee, WI and has received international recognition as a semi-finalist in the Tokyo, Japan Kajima Sculpture Competition in 2005 and Milwaukee Art Board’s Artist of the Year in 2011.
Nicholas A. Bowers
Nicholas A. Bowers is a Cedarburg native who studied at Alberta College of Art & Design, Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, and Dale Chihuly’s Pilchuck Glass School. His commissions have included the Wisconsin Heart Hospital, Cathedral Place Condominiums, and Dale Chihuly’s Pilchuck Glass School, in addition to Wimmer Communities’ commission of an original handmade mouth-blown artwork that embodies the spirit and energy of The Club at Brookfield Hills.
Tom Noll
Tom Noll has always been interested in art. As a child Noll loved drawing, and later expanded to watercolors, followed by acrylics and oils. As a young man he earned degrees in Printing & Publishing as well as Graphic Design & Illustration, which he utilized professionally in the print and advertising field. Noll and 2 teammates earned 2 State Championships and the People’s Choice award for snow sculpting, as well as 3rd in the nation at the 2008 U.S. National Snow Sculpting Competition. His oil & acrylic on canvas rock series is marketed worldwide.
Tom Noll
Wimmer Communities commissioned a giant Les Paul Gibson Guitar from artist Tom Noll that is now on display at RiverWalk on the Falls in Menomonee Falls. Check it out!
Find out more about Tom and his incredible artwork on Tom's website.
Learn about Waukesha's Guitartown and the Les Paul Museum.
Patricia Erickson
Born in Philadelphia, PA, Patricia is a self-taught artist. Her paintings are characterized by faceless people, rich colors and interesting shapes. When asked about the faceless images Erickson replied, “Whose face would I put? The paintings are deeply and profoundly about us all. The people in my paintings make lives, truly graceful lives, out of the very simple things. Out of watching, observing, and protecting each other. That is all we know about the rather private personalities that I paint. People going about the small business of life.”
John Mominee
Born in Evansville, IN and earned his BA from the University of Evansville as well as his MFA from Southern Illinois University. He served as the Director of the Center for the Arts at the University of Wisconsin–Platteville. Mominee has been a full-time painter/printmaker since 1994 and his collections hang in American museums, law firms, hotels, and architecture firms, to name a few. Wimmer Communities commissioned Mominee for a site-specific large colorful monotype, of the type for which he is well known.
Robert Cook
Robert Cook is a self-taught artist who has painted professionally since 1989. Traditional landscapes as well as contemporary and figurative works are his subjects. He uses acrylic and layered glazing on textured canvas to complete an old world finish that most mistake for oils. He paints “moods, late evening, early morning, impressions of melancholy or lonesomeness ... the feeling you get when fall comes and the shadows change.” Robert Cook’s paintings are found in numerous private and corporate collections, both nationally and internationally. His work is also represented in prestigious galleries in the United States, Canada and Europe
Elena Madden
Elena Madden earned her BFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design. Her work is a meditative exploration of water, light and ever-changing fluid surfaces. A South Carolina native, Elena feels most alive on the water – an environment abundant in the low country she calls home. Water has been an influential and integral part of her life since early childhood, and she considers it to be her biggest inspiration. Madden practices the eastern philosophy of painting from memory and interpreting what is seen.
Roy Fairchild-Woodard
Roy Fairchild-Woodard’s symbolic art has a signature technique that is recognized internationally. A former commercial illustrator, his work is colored by his immersion in Renaissance art and includes golden tinged paintings, prints, and sculpture. The artist lives and works most of the year in his English country home. This peaceful environment and his regular visits to Europe, particularly Italy, to study Renaissance techniques, fuels the inspiration for his work. Fairchild-Woodard uses various media including fabric and flowers in his work. His study of ancient, crumbling frescos influenced his use of plaster as a base for his acrylic and oil overpaintings. From still life to nudes, the artist prefers serigraphy where the rich colors in his work are furthered by the medium as well as his selective use of threads, petals, and gold.
Peter Skidd
Peter Skidd is a full-time professional artist holding an MFA from the New York Academy of Art in Manhattan. Specializing in custom metal sculpture, Skidd has built a distinctive art business dedicated to creating amazing spaces within the luxury residential, hospitality, healthcare, and corporate environments. Skidd’s meticulously built indoor/ outdoor metal sculpture is crafted using an intense process of plasma cutting, forming, grinding, welding, and painting - producing high impact, stunning, statement artwork. Calling Arizona home, Peter works with numerous art consultants, designers, and private clients to seamlessly create stunning, memorable environments.
Will Armstrong
Will Armstrong’s art tells a story in multiple layers.Vintage show posters, sheet music, maps and book pages are used to prepare the canvas with an intricate collage. The collage is white-washed, tea-stained and sealed before the painting can begin. At this point, the artist starts the sketching process, using soft-lead pencils and watercolor pastels. When the line work is complete, the artist chooses the perfect line from his sketch work and outlines it in a heavy-body ink using pen quills and Chinese lettering brushes. The depth and shading of the work is created using loose graphite and an ink wash. If a piece benefits from color, the artist will finish the painting with pigments, oils or acrylics, depending on the impact needed.
Jesse Meyer
Jesse Meyer is a graduate of the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design (MIAD) and has always had a profound desire to be creative. He feels that perfecting his ability to control any given medium better equips him to develop a creative thought into its fullest potential. He’s currently exploring and developing a fabrication process that involves cold forging via hammer and anvil, sheet metals such as steel, stainless steel, and bronze into individual forms. These forms then become facets that collectively give shape to a form. Piece by piece he painstakingly templates, cuts, hammer-forms, grinds, polishes, and layers the individual pieces onto the overall sculpture.
Michael Frede
Michael Frede is a third-generation woodworker, who in his “day job” works as a geotechnical engineer. During the course of his construction site work, he witnessed countless trees being cut down to make way for development, only to be discarded or chipped up. This waste inspired him to see the potential in these trees, believing they have a purpose beyond their life. Michael transforms timber into custom, handcrafted works of art, from furniture to statement pieces. His beautiful art can be found in private homes and hotels, as well as multi-family and corporate settings.
Geoffrey Lardiere
Geoffrey Lardiere graduated from the College of Design at North Carolina State University and was an awardwinning National Advertising Art Director and an assistant professor. For most of his professional career he has worked full-time as a painter, operating the Lardiere Gallery & Studio in Door County, Wisconsin for 24 years. Lardiere’s works are displayed in numerous public, private, and corporate collections, including IBM, American Express, Bank of America, HBO, Walt Disney World, and AT&T.
Mackenzie Thorpe
Mackenzie Thorpe’s paintings, sculptures, and prints are exhibited in galleries worldwide. As one of today’s masters of pastels and sculpture, his colorful images express universal ideas about love, struggle, family, and friendships. Growing up in an economically depressed region of England and faced with personal challenges, the artist found comfort in painting and drawing. Thorpe’s artistic journey expresses relationships and core human experiences of love, acceptance, and growing.
Terry Brabazon
Local artist Terry Brabazon believes that creativity can be found in the everyday. With a background in stained glass, painting, and various other arts, Terry’s work invites viewers to discover beauty in the ordinary. As an art student at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD), Terry continues to explore and experiment with different artistic forms, reflecting an ongoing journey of personal and creative growth. We are honored that Terry was our first Artist In Residence at the CrossTown Clubhouse within the Poplar Creek Town Center.
Jeannie Petyarre
Jeannie Petyarre, an artist from Central Australia’s Utopia region, draws on her Anmatyerre heritage and Dreamtime stories. Known for her vibrant depictions of Bush Yam Leaves, her work captures the deep spiritual and cultural connection to the land. Jeannie’s paintings have been exhibited internationally, including recent showcases at The Foundation Burkhardt Felder Arts et Culture Museum in Switzerland and the National Museum of Australia.
Markus Pierson
American born artist, Markus Pierson is best known for his “Coyote” series. A former billboard painter, this artist presented his initial coyote drawing as a wedding gift. Within a year, his work was exhibited in galleries throughout the country. Pierson’s Coyote is all about attitude - the attitude in which we see ourselves and others is playfully expressed in Pierson’s colorful characters.
Tom Wargin
Tom Wargin is a graduate of the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design (MIAD) where he studied Industrial Design. He believes that his work in its entirety represents who he is, his interests, abilities, and what lies beneath his subconscious mind. His goal is to engage the viewer and stimulate both their minds and visual senses. He wants the viewer to go to a place that they can only dream of or hope to be part of. Tom shares that he is sometimes intrigued by childhood stories and interprets those stories in a fashion that captures his viewer and stirs them into a new way of looking at the story.