Fresh 40, an art exhibition showcasing the original works of local artists, was held for its second year at the Shorewood Hub on Capital Drive. The exhibition, sponsored by Dominion Properties, was open to the public on Saturday, April 13 and Sunday, April 14.

The event featured the works of 40 local artists, all completed within the last two years. In total, 300 pieces were hung on the walls of the Shorewood Hub office floor serving as a gallery.

“Artists are always grateful to have their art shown somewhere,” said Erin Joslyn, co-founder, artist liaison, and featured artist. “This show is really professional in the way it’s hung and advertised and labeled. You feel like you’re in a New York art gallery…the names of the artists are in letters on the walls next to their work.”

All artworks were available for the public to purchase, with profits going both toward artists and to two foundations: Milwaukee Rotary Club and Shorewood SEED.

“If an artist is going to sell their work in a studio, any studio…a typical percentage that they receive of the art is between 50% and 60%,” said Pat Algier, co-founder, event producer, and featured artist. “In our show, artists get 60%, and 30% is split between SEED and Rotary, 10% is deferred expenses.”

According to Joslyn, extensive preparation is required for a successful show.

“It takes at least six or seven months to get it going,” Joslyn said. “We met biweekly during that whole period, and we have representatives from [the foundations], and they have lots of volunteers that help us pull off the show.” 

The process for selecting featured artists this year differed from last year’s exhibition.

“Last year it was juried, which means we reached out to a couple hundred artists or more and asked them to submit work to be juried by local professionals…this year, it’s invitational,” Algier said. “We reached out to all the same artists, but we invited them. So we invited [approximately] 150 artists and then the first 40 who responded by March 18 were in the show.”

25 of the participating artists were also featured in the show last year. Among those returning were Joslyn and Algier, whose own artworks were displayed in the gallery.

“I specialize in something called alcohol ink, which is a relatively new art form…I would say I’m a leader in this particular type of art in the country,” Joslyn said. “I always get questions about my medium because it’s unusual and people are not familiar with it. So [the public] can learn about different techniques [through the event] or ways people make art as well.”

There is a wide variety of art displayed in the gallery, including both painting and photography. The artists featured come from differing backgrounds and work within a range of mediums.

“I love color and I do landscapes and florals mostly…I’m inspired by Pierre Bonnard, Van Gogh, and a lot of those artists,” said Audrey Dulmes, featured artist. “I think it’s great that [Fresh 40] is partly a fundraiser as well because I think that inspires people to buy.”

“I have an emphasis in painting and photography in college from Madison and I actually took professional photography courses at MATC,” said JJ Joyce, featured artist. “My whole objective is that I want the person to walk into the painting so when [I] paint the edges…I have to be really careful that they wrap around just right.”

In addition to benefiting artists, Fresh 40 allows community members to discover local art for themselves.

“[Shorewood artists are] probably the biggest group represented outside of Milwaukee City,” Joslyn said. “It’s great because people are interested in art and for the two days that are open days, anyone can just come and enjoy it and get a better sense of what’s going on in their immediate art community.”

As Algier points out, the show benefits both the artists and the guests in several ways.

“We’re bringing them an audience…there are several private events and then there are events for the community,” Algiers said. “We’ve really reached out to give this group of artists an audience of potential buyers…[while] community members [get to see] that Shorewood is a creative community and that there are a number of Shorewood artists in the show.”