Visitors to the Transparent Watercolor Society of America’s national exhibit at the Kenosha Public Museum see a collection of beautiful paintings. What they don’t see is fascinating in its own right. Behind the scenes, Rachel Klees Andersen, the museum’s curator of exhibits, spends weeks getting ready for the annual show of more than 80 watercolor pieces.
Laying out the artwork in the two exhibit halls is, itself, an art. Andersen — an artist who started teaching classes at the museum while in college — starts by printing out images of all the paintings selected by the exhibit’s jurors. “I make groupings of the printouts and am looking for a nice flow to the works,” Andersen said.
“I group pieces by mood and also by subject.” She takes note of “how vibrant or dark a piece is and the style of the painting, whether it’s a loose or more super-realistic work. You don’t want to hang those two contrasting styles next to each other.
” While she puzzles out the layout of the exhibit, Andersen is careful to “manage the transitions between the pieces. The tone of the show moves from dark to lighter to vibrant.” Standing in the second-floor gallery, Andersen points out how “the balance of this exhibit works out pretty well.
The more realistic pieces are in the first gallery, with more experimental pieces in the south gallery.” This exhibit is a huge draw each summer at the museum, and Andersen is careful in how it’s presented. “You don’t want eve.