Tony Cragg’s “Mixed Feelings” sculpture to be installed outside City Hall

An anonymous donor is providing a grant to Milwaukee Downtown BID #21 to acquire Tony Cragg’s “Mixed Feelings” for an undisclosed amount, and donate the art to the community.

The work is being gifted to the City of Milwaukee and will go before the Common Council for approval on April 17. Sculpture Milwaukee, an outdoor urban sculpture experience that debuted last year along Wisconsin Avenue, will manage the installation slated to occur outside City Hall.

“On behalf of the residents of the City of Milwaukee, I am happy to accept this donation of the Mixed Feelings sculpture created by world-renowned artist Tony Cragg,” said Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. “Mixed Feelings was part of last year’s Sculpture Milwaukee public art display in downtown Milwaukee, and I am pleased that through the generosity of a local anonymous donor, this sculpture will continue to inspire and provide beauty when it comes to live at City Hall.”

Tony Cragg is an internationally acclaimed British artist best known for abstract forms in varying materials. One-person shows of his work have been held at the Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh; Tate Gallery, Liverpool; the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte, Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain; the Stedelijk van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, The Netherlands; and Tate Gallery, London. Cragg represented Britain at the 43rd Venice Biennale in 1988, and the same year was awarded the Turner Prize at the Tate Gallery.

“Sculpture Milwaukee brings internationally renowned works to Milwaukee and makes them accessible to our community,” said Steve Marcus, chair of Sculpture Milwaukee. “The legacy of public art in Milwaukee will carry on with this tremendous gift to the City of Milwaukee.”

Mixed Feelings, 2010 is an immense glowing monument, formed by two intertwining bronze towers, pushing together and pulling apart as they spiral towards the sky. As the viewer circles the piece, human profiles come into and out of focus. Each tower of feeling exerts a gravitational pull on the other, creating a unique, pulsating form of energy.

Cragg breaks down the barrier between abstraction and figuration, creating art that mirrors the fullness of the world in which we live. Mixed Feelings, 2010 was on loan to Sculpture Milwaukee courtesy of the Marian Goodman Gallery, New York. The piece is 216 1/2” x 92 7/8” x 88 3/16” and made of bronze.

“I want to thank the incredibly generous anonymous donor, who is kind enough to recognize the importance of public art to our city,” said Alderman Michael Murphy. “Another crucial piece to the success of this project was the vision and dedication of Steve Marcus to bring public art to Wisconsin Avenue.”

Mixed Feelings, 2010 is slated to be installed on April 30 at the northeast corner of Wells and Water streets. Methods & Materials of Chicago will install the sculpture in cooperation with the Department of Public Works with all costs covered by the donor through the Greater Milwaukee Foundation.

“This generous donation will always remind us of the success of the 2017 Sculpture Milwaukee project in bringing such world-class artwork to our City,” said DPW Commissioner Ghassan Korban.

Sculpture Milwaukee 2017 was on view June 1 to October 22. Featuring 22 sculptures by 21 artists, the pieces were positioned along Wisconsin Avenue from 6th Street to Prospect Avenue and were free to the public.