Photo by Peter Kleppin

After four long years, the lattice of scaffolding obscuring the Chazen Museum of Art’s Conrad J. Elvehjem Building has finally come down. A trained eye might notice that the exterior stone cladding looks new, but other than that, it would seem not much has changed. In fact, the opposite is true.

As it turns out, this much-needed exterior construction is only part of an ongoing, large-scale reimagining of the museum’s permanent collection that will shift the way patrons experience the Chazen into the future.

The extensive renovation project in the older of the museum’s two buildings, the Elvehjem, unfolded behind scaffolding, inside the building’s walls and on its roof and skylight systems. It involved thousands of work hours, tons of materials, and highly specialized knowledge and craftsmanship, all resulting in improved energy efficiency and climate control. These improvements make the Elvehjem a more temperate place for the Chazen’s galleries and visitors, as well as the academic faculty, staff, and students who rely on the building.

The nuts and bolts of the construction project may not be flashy, but they’re critical.

“On the outside, the changes are so subtle visitors may not be able to put their finger on precisely what’s been done,” says Chazen Director Amy Gilman. “While the newly reinstalled galleries on the inside will be more noticeably different to visitors, it’s actually both things — exterior and interior — that together will help keep the Chazen’s collection accessible, safe, and enjoyable for many more years to come.”

The four-foot-tall plywood fence surrounding the construction site of the Elvehjem Art Center, splashed with student musings and advertisements for co-ops. (Courtesy of UW Archives)

Building on history

When the Elvehjem was conceived fifty-some years ago, supporters were more focused on the visible parts of the building. Unfortunately, this would lead to some structural challenges in the future.

According to A Century of Capricious Collecting, a monograph on the museum’s history by Professor Emeritus of Art History James Watrous, supporters wanted more than a university building. They wanted a museum worthy of the university’s growing art collection and the generosity of its patrons. Concerned about the building’s aesthetics, they were relieved when the state appointed noted architect Harry Weese of Chicago, who also designed the Elvehjem’s next door neighbor, the Mosse Humanities Building.

At the time, Weese had a thriving firm, having landed numerous large projects including the lauded Washington, D.C., metro system. Five preliminary designs for the Elvehjem were rejected, but Watrous writes that the “ingenious designer … developed a personal interest in the art center. One evening when a small group was assembled at the State Architect’s office, Weese led a brainstorming session from which the sixth and basic design of the Elvehjem evolved.”

The building opened as the Elvehjem Art Center on Sept. 12, 1970. (It became the Elvehjem Museum of Art in 1978, and in 2005, in honor of a lead gift toward expansion into two buildings, was renamed the Chazen Museum of Art.)  The original building’s exterior echoed some of the Brutalist elements of the neighboring Humanities building, but with more refinement. Instead of dominant concrete, it featured a type of dolomitic limestone cladding known as Lannon stone, mined from quarries around the village of Lannon, just west of Milwaukee. The building also had extensive sloped skylights and a copper mansard roof. Inside, two floors of galleries and a mezzanine surrounded a central courtyard clad in porous travertine limestone, and an atrium extending up to the building’s pyramidal skylights.

Addressing hidden areas for improvement

Within its walls, however, the building had minimal insulation, no vapor barrier, and large air gaps between its exterior stone cladding and concrete block inner structure. Given Wisconsin’s extreme summer-to-winter temperature swings, humidity and temperature control were ongoing issues. The skylights and the recessed drain systems on the roof began leaking, creating significant challenges to protecting the art in the galleries.

“It looked like the walls were weeping,” says Lindsay Grinstead, the Chazen’s chief of staff and liaison to the renovation, of the drip marks visible on the gallery walls where the lack of insulation was trapping moisture behind the paint.

Chazen staff had been making a case for renovating the Elvehjem for some time. In March 2022, during inspection of several university building exteriors, engineers found significant issues with the Elvehjem’s stone cladding. Safety officials closed the building’s entrances and put up fences “out of an abundance of caution,” according to a university statement at the time. Access to the building was limited to the third-floor bridge connecting the Elvehjem to the Chazen building until protective scaffolding around the facility was installed.

Construction fencing is erected around the Conrad A. Elvehjem Building exterior at the University of Wisconsin–Madison at dusk on March 14, 2022. Photo by Jeff Miller / UW–Madison

An evolving project

Construction on the renovation project began in 2023. UW–Madison Facilities Planning and Management staff managed the project from the university side, with McGowan Architecture of Madison as the primary architect. And since the Elvehjem is on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Bascom Hill Historic District, a historic preservation architect was also involved, along with consultants in masonry and other specialties.

Building Envelope Professionals Group of Oregon used drone-based, 3D cameras and modeling technology to conduct initial visual assessments of the cladding. Combined with thorough manual inspection and laboratory tests, they graded the condition of each stone and determined it all needed to be replaced. Building Restoration Corporation handled the exterior stone removal and replacement, as well as installation of vapor barriers and insulation.

Grinstead says there were manufacturing delays with stone suppliers, along with quality control and color-matching issues. “They created a sorting system and the architects practically had to hand-select every stone,” she says.

On the roof, workers removed the sloped stone and added vapor barriers and insulation before recovering it with new stone.  They removed and replaced copper gutters, sloped skylights, and flat sections of the roof that were previously covered by copper.

After work was completed on the roof, the Elvehjem began experiencing a new set of water leaks where there hadn’t been any before. Grinstead says the leaks prompted a redesign of the roof’s drain system, additional engineering reviews, and custom fabrication of unique components by local plumbing contractor H.J. Pertzborn.

The final major piece of the puzzle was removing and replacing the building’s leaking pyramidal skylights. The new skylights were designed, fabricated, and installed by Madison’s Lake City Glass in Spring 2026.

Now, with the project largely wrapped up, it’s the less noticeable things that will be bearing fruit for the art collection and visitors for years to come. Visitors may not be able to detect the more consistent temperature and humidity levels in the galleries, but it matters.

“That’s the hard part about it,” Grinstead says. “A lot goes into creating a proper environment for the collection that you can’t see. But for the patrons and the objects on display, that’s often the most important part.”

The post Clad in new stone and new roof, the Elvehjem Building readies for the next chapter appeared first on Chazen Museum of Art.

Isthmus Picks Infrastructure Bodies/Injury Systems by Anne Stoner 4-20-2026

The New York Times museum special section 4-19-2026

Urgent Matter Infrastructure Bodies/Injury Systems 4-7-2026

Newcity 3-25-2026, Chazen Museum Presents Anne E. Stoner’s “Infrastructure Bodies/Injury Systems”

The post Chazen in the News appeared first on Chazen Museum of Art.

Screenshot of 12-18 Artdaily front page showing IPF gift press release

Artdaily 12-18-2025 front page (left) and jump

Why Madison, WI, Should Be on Your 2026 Travel List

REFRESH: Indoor Activities Blog

What Chicagoans Might Be Surprised to Learn About Madison

Artnet news 12-14-2025 Petah and Toshiko

ArtNews Basel Miami 12-5-2025

Petah Coyne and Galerie Lelong at Art Basel 12-8-2025

The Vault museum dressing 11-17-2025

New City Art, 11-25-2025, Takaezu

Hyperallergic, 11-27-2025, PCR

The Art Newspaper Petah at the Lowe, 12-1-2025

Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle 11-4-2025 Violins of Hope

Channel3000 11-4-2025 Sip and Shop

The Africanist 10-25-2025 Margaret/ Insistent Presence

Door County Pulse, The Afterlife of Art, Nov 6, 2025

The post Chazen in the News appeared first on Chazen Museum of Art.

In spring 2026 the Chazen Museum of Art and UW–Madison Art Department will team up to present a series of public workshops led by current UW–Madison graduate students. The workshops will be free, hands-on opportunities for members of the public to dive into artistic techniques or museum-related practice. The selected students will receive a $350 honorarium for their contribution, the experience of leading a public workshop, and mentorship from Chazen and Art Department staff.

Workshop Details

• Both drop-in and step-by-step workshop formats are accepted.
• Workshops should accommodate at least 25 attendees for communities on and off campus. No prior experience or knowledge should be required for participants.
• Workshops will take place in the Chazen Museum of Art’s Mead Witter Lobby.
• Workshop duration should ideally be between 1-2 hours.
• Preference will be given to workshop proposals that relate to place (the Chazen and its collection, UW–Madison, Wisconsin, etc.).

Workshop Supplies

• Workshop organizers can request up to $200 for supplies.
• Workshop organizers will be responsible for procuring supplies in conversation with Chazen staff.
• The Chazen will provide basic infrastructure, such as tables, chairs, reusable materials (like scissors), and event support staff.

Stipend

• $350 artist fee upon completion of the workshop.

Eligibility

• You must be a UW–Madison graduate student. Students from all disciplines are encouraged to apply.

To Apply:

• Apply using the link below with a pitch that includes a program proposal, tentative title, supplies list, and supplies budget. You will also be asked to share spring availability and submit a CV/resume as well as a brief biography / artist statement.
• Applications should be submitted virtually: https://tinyurl.com/2026chazengradworkshop

Timeline:

• Application deadline: January 12, 2026, at 11:59 p.m.
• Applicants will be notified by January 21, 2026. If your proposal is not selected for spring 2026, the museum will keep your information for future opportunities in 2026–27.

Questions:

Please contact events@chazen.wisc.edu with any questions in the submission process.

The post Call for Proposals: UW–Madison Student Teaching Artist Hands-On Workshop Application appeared first on Chazen Museum of Art.

Sarah Anne Carter is the Chipstone Foundation Design and Material Culture Chair, Associate Professor of Design Studies, and Executive Director of the Nancy M. Bruce Center for Design and Material Culture

The post Museums Excel at IRL appeared first on Chazen Museum of Art.

The exception is room 120, on the first floor, best accessed from the south doors, which face University Avenue.

Kohler Art Library is on the first floor.

Art History department offices are on the second floor, west side.

Chazen offices are on the second floor, east side.

Floors three and four, and the center of floor two are closed during construction.

The post Find your classroom in the Conrad J. Elvehjem building! appeared first on Chazen Museum of Art.

It might be a tour of a single exhibition. It might focus on a theme. Whatever the content, it will encourage you to look deeply, ponder, and react.

Museum Guide Ann Schaffer says the Chazen has moved away from trying to cover the entire museum in a single tour in favor of a more flexible approach, where guides choose a handful of objects to spark discussion.

“A highlights tour suggests an objective ranking of artwork, which really isn’t possible,” she said. “Our current tour style is about connecting the visitor with the art through conversation and activities. We think they’ll remember that relationship more than they would a lecture.”

Shaffer led a recent Sunday tour that put these ideas into practice. On the tour were Cynthia May; her sister Jill Amel and Jill’s husband, Gary Amel; Jacqueline Dupiche; and Nemo and Stephani Gehred-O’Connell.

The group first looked at Petah Coyne: How Much A Heart Can Hold, stopping at Untitled #1378 (Zelda Fitzgerald.) “I’m going to invite you first to just walk around and look at it from different angles,” she said.

“Really beautiful.”

“Wow.”

“Must have taken a long time.”

“She did not do this overnight,” Schaffer said. (Coyne worked on the sculpture from 1997 through 2013.)

Tour members discussed Zelda Fitzgerald’s history as a troubled, dynamic, artistic woman obscured by the shadow of her more famous husband, the writer F. Scott Fitzgerald.

“So, what do you notice?” Schaffer said.

“The first thing that comes to mind is a candelabra,” said May.

“What else?”

“A birthday cake,” said Gary Amel.

“What did she use to make this?”

“This is made from a variety of materials, beads, silk flowers, porcelain hands, and she uses a special wax,” Schaffer said. “Her work is characterized by layers and layers and layers. There are things hidden inside of this piece that she has covered over that she doesn’t even remember what’s in there.”

“The woman’s face over here, is that of any particular significance?” Gary Amel asked.

“Is it her?” May asked.

“It could be,” Schaffer replied. “It could be.”

“Or representing all women,” May said.

Schaffer pointed out that the special glass encasing Zelda is not just a museum display case but an essential part of the work itself. From some angles it’s almost invisible and from others, it causes layered reflections, complicating a direct view of the subject.

“Oh wow!”

“That’s amazing, I didn’t notice that.”

As they passed through the rest of the exhibition, visitors marveled at Coyne’s rich, mysterious works, lingering a bit at Untitled #720 (Eguchi’s Ghost): a floating, swirled mass of hair-like, shredded metal and a dark empty face.

Chazen tour guide Ann Schaffer (right) discusses Shard Whopper with tour members (from left) Jacqueline Dupiche, Gary Amel, Jill Amel, Nemo Gehred-O’Connell, Stephani Gehred-O’Connell, and Cynthia May.

Next, the group visited a nearby exhibition,  Look What Harvey Did: Harvey K. Littleton’s Legacy in the Simona and Jerome Chazen Collection of Studio Glass . Schaffer sketched out Littleton’s importance in launching the international studio glass movement here at UW–Madison. Then she stopped at Clifford Rainey’s War Boy, a translucent, etched-glass torso with rifle cartridges spilling out through large splits held together with copper wire. “What do you notice about this piece?”

“It’s weird,” said Jill Amel.

“How is it weird?” Schaffer asked.

“It’s scary, the skin and the hair. Sewing the flesh together.”

“This artist used a cast-glass technique, and he used the body of his grandson, his ten-year-old grandson, to cast this,” Schaffer said. “And if you can imagine it without the wrapping, without the bullets, how beautiful that piece would be. And evocative of antiquity, with the torso and arms broken off.”

The last stop was Nordic Utopia? African Americans in the 20^th Century, where the group studied six paintings by William Henry Johnson. “I want you to look at these six for a few minutes and then decide which is your favorite,” Schaffer said.

“Some of these are pretty simple, like this one (Girl in a Red Dress), and some are pretty complicated, like this one (A View Down Akersgate, Oslo). That’s what I took away,” Gary Amel said.

“What else?”

“Fluid versus stable,” said Jill Amel.

“Yes, the portraits are very solid,” Schaffer said. “And the landscapes are pretty dynamic, with lines, movement, brushwork.”

Nemo Gehred-O’Connell said that the landscapes were painted earlier in the day and the portraits later.

“After coffee,” Gary Amel added, to chuckles.

Boats in the Harbor, Kerteminde, was the favorite of Stephani Gehred-O’Connell and Gary Amel. “I just like the colors of it, and the movement and kind of the way it’s a feeling of boats, instead of just being solid boats,” Gehred-O’Connell said.

“I like the Danish Seaman, because that piece seems simpler to me,” said Dupiche.

“I think he’s a real character,” May said. “Very sure of himself.” After having chosen Akersgate previously, May said she was switching her vote to Seaman.

“Why is that?” Schaffer asked.

“I just think, wow, he really caught the essence of the guy’s character,” May said. “But I really like the landscapes too.”

As the tour wrapped up, members thanked Schaffer, who encouraged them to come back. “It’s your museum,” she said. “I hope you take some of this home with you today. It’ll be in your dreams, it’ll be in your daily life.”

“Like that hair monster (Coyne’s Eguchi’s Ghost) downstairs,” Nemo Gehred-O’Connell quipped.

So, what did tour members think?

“I really like hearing other people’s impressions of what you’re seeing,” May said.

“It’s nice to have a group this small,” Gary Amel said. “You can actually share ideas. You generally don’t even ask if you’re in a big group.”

“That’s the idea,” Schaffer said. “I’d like for you to establish a relationship with the pieces. And I think we can’t do that if we’re just touring around. You see it, but it doesn’t come inside.”

The post With Conversation, Chazen Tours Aim to Help You Connect with the Art appeared first on Chazen Museum of Art.

The post Loaded Messages, Scott Chaseling appeared first on Chazen Museum of Art.

The post re:mancipation virtual exhibition now open appeared first on Chazen Museum of Art.

With a heavy heart we report the passing of Leslie J. Garfield, ’53, a longtime friend and benefactor of the Chazen Museum of Art. Garfield and his late wife Johanna were dedicated council members since 1992, and respected art collectors with a particular love of twentieth-century prints. The Leslie and Johanna Garfield Galleries on the second floor of the Chazen building were named in honor of their support for the museum’s expansion building. Garfield also served on the Tandem Press Advisory Board. He is survived by children Jed (Karen), Cory, and Clare; and grandchildren Clay and Charlie. His beloved wife Johanna died August 5, 2021. His obituary appears here.

The post Leslie Jerome Garfield ’53 appeared first on Chazen Museum of Art.