$2,000 prize for 'Wisconsin Artists Biennial' just latest award for UWGB and Ashwaubenon High alum

Kendra Meinert, Green Bay Press-Gazette
·2 min read
Green Bay artist Dane Schumacher was awarded second place and $2,000 for his painting, "Unsaid," in the "Wisconsin Artists Biennial" at the Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend. The competitive juried exhibition drew submissions from nearly 400 artists.
Green Bay artist Dane Schumacher was awarded second place and $2,000 for his painting, "Unsaid," in the "Wisconsin Artists Biennial" at the Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend. The competitive juried exhibition drew submissions from nearly 400 artists.

Artist Dane Schumacher is on a roll.

The Green Bay native was awarded second place in the “Wisconsin Artists Biennial” at the Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend, an exhibition that attracted works from nearly 400 artists across the state. He was one of 50 selected for the exhibit and one of only six to receive a prize.

Schumacher was awarded $2,000 for his oil on canvas, “Unsaid,” which shows two figures in a snowy parking lot.

“It was meant to be a painting to kind of project regret for feelings and thoughts not verbalized,” he said. “The thing that I’ve realized is as distance grows between interactions, I’m able to kind of see at a distance the weight of moments past, and then you’re able to reflect on what maybe you should have said or the things you wish would’ve happened.”

The painting's strong vertical element creates tension between the two people, Schumacher said, and the vehicles that border them form a valley for them to traverse.

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The recognition for “Unsaid” comes on the heels of two other recent honors at juried exhibitions for the 2016 Ashwaubenon High School and 2020 University of Wisconsin-Green Bay graduate.

Last fall, he won first place for his “Impetus for the Whatif” in the “Roots: Transplanted” exhibit at the Center for the Visual Arts in Wausau. He also received the Gerhard CF Miller Award for Excellence for “Hear, no evil. See, no evil. Speak, no evil.” at the Miller Art Museum’s “46th Juried Annual” in October in Sturgeon Bay.

"Unsaid," oil on canvas, by Dane Schumacher.
"Unsaid," oil on canvas, by Dane Schumacher.

Schumacher, 24, has been submitting to juried shows for six years, ever since he reached the eligibility age of 18. His first was the “71st Art Annual” at the Neville Public Museum in Green Bay. He continues to raise his profile across the state with showings at the Trout Museum of Art in Appleton and the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art.

Born and raised in Green Bay, Schumacher's parents, John F. and Vicki A. Schumacher, allowed him to turn his bedroom into a studio and gave him access to John’s woodworking shop downstairs. He works primarily in paint, but he also does woodworking and photography. With his art based in realism, he derives a lot of his paintings from photos.

Schumacher graduated with a double major in art and graphic design. He just recently moved to Appleton, where he works as a graphic designer at Appleton Sign Co.

To see more of his work, visit https://schumacherdane2.wixsite.com/mysite.

The “Wisconsin Artists Biennial” is on view from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays through April 24.

Contact Kendra Meinert at 920-431-8347 or kmeinert@greenbay.gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @KendraMeinert.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay's Dane Schumacher wins 2nd in 'Wisconsin Artists Biennial'