FDL Native And NY Artist Open Exhibits At Thelma

Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts (THELMA) announced that it will host a free reception for artists Nick Lamia and Tom Berenz Thursday, January 14, from 5 to 8 p.m.

Berenz’s exhibit, Three Feet Under, features paintings that represent Berenz’s relationship to the world around him; cerebral, physical, intellectual and visceral. 

“Fond du Lac is my hometown and THELMA is an extraordinary place,” Berenz said. “I am honored and grateful to have an exhibition at THELMA.”

Berenz uses the disaster motif as a metaphor to discuss personal, sociopolitical, environmental and ideological issues. Through the motif of disaster, he explores the existential self and examines personal narratives, with some being more literal and others more enigmatic.

Berenz earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and his Master’s in Fine Arts at the UW-Madison. He is an Assistant Professor of Art at UW-Parkside. He lives and works in Milwaukee.

Lamia’s exhibit, Threads, is a show of works on paper that will allow audiences to see a range of his styles and how they interweave and fit together.

“I am thrilled at the prospect of an exhibition in Fond du Lac, for, although I’ve spent a great deal of my life outdoors, I have no experience with the Midwest in deep winter,” Lamia said. “I am excited to experience, in person, the landscape and weather associated with that time and place, and to see, going forward, how the experience might affect my work.”

Lamia is an award-winning artist whose work includes drawing, painting, printmaking, installation, and sculpture. He received a Bachelor’s degree in environmental science from U.C. Berkeley, a Master’s in Fine Arts in painting from Boston University, and also attended the New York Studio School for painting. He is the recipient of a Guggenheim fellowship as well as residencies at Wave Hill, The MacDowell Colony, the Robert Blackburn Print Workshop and the Triangle Artists Association where he is now a member of the board of directors.

Both exhibits will be open through February 28.

THELMA’s Contemporary Wing is free to the public, thanks to the generosity of Horicon Bank and the Wisconsin Arts Board.