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"Beyond Surface: The Invention of Surface Texture," an exhibit featuring four different artists, will open Nov. 8 in Gallery 450 in the Helen Connor Laird Fine Arts Building at the UW-Marshfield/Wood County. The exhibition is the second of four exhibitions following the Visual Arts Series theme "Art and the Culture of Observation, Invention and Expression.”

Artists exhibiting in "Beyond Surface: The Invention of Surface Texture" include William Schulman, Shirley Siegel Schulman, Kristin Thielking and Keven Brunett. A gallery talk and reception with the artists will at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8, in Gallery 450. 

William Schulman will show encaustic paintings, lithographs and other prints and collages.

Shirley Siegel Schulman will show acrylic, oil and watercolor paintings. Thielking and Keven Brunett will show glass and metals works. 

"Texture is a fascinating element of design," said Julie Dierauer, manager of Gallery 450. "It really is the one element of design that moves an image off surface and into environment, both actually and with implication. In that sense, texture is very much a spatial endeavor in the making of art both two-dimensional and three-dimensional art." 

The Schulmans are professional artists, art educators and spouses from Menomonie. Both earned their bachelor’s degrees from the UW-Milwaukee. William Schulman earned his master’s degree from UW-Milwaukee and his ABD from Ohio State University.  Shirley Schulman earned her master’s degree in textile design from UW-Stout. At this stage of their careers, William Schulman works in encaustic painting and printmaking, and Shirley Schulman in painting. 

"The Schulmans’ individual pursuits in the visual arts call upon, not only the textural journeys that an artist takes in visual art, but the texture of life and experiences that are created through longevity with ceaseless curiosity and appreciation that make contributions to fresh art continually," Dierauer said. 

Thielking is an associate professor in sculpture at UW-Stevens Point. She earned her bachelor of arts in Visual Art/Comparative Literature (French and English) at Brown University and her master of fine arts in visual art/sculpture at UW-Madison. She has taught and exhibited widely in the United States and is doing impressively tactile and contemporary work in metal and glass. Thielking and Brunett often collaborate on sculptural pieces.

"I was taken in by the lucid plastic language of their materials when I first saw their work in the Mighty Midwest Biennale II, in December 2004 at New Visions Gallery in Marshfield,” Dierauer said. 

Brunett is an associate lecturer in art at UW-Stevens Point. Along with the collaborative work he has accomplished with Thielking, he also works on individual endeavors in cast iron, glass and light. Brunett's show record is extensive and diverse in the area of three dimensions and sculpture. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s of fine arts from UW-Madison. 

"It is evident by his results that Keven is pursuant of innovative applications of materials with a history of industrial/utilitarian purpose," Dierauer said. 

Gallery 450 is open 11 a.m.–6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and during all performances in the Helen Connor Laird Theatre.