Adam Stoner makes paintings, drawings, and video installations that visualize the intimate connections between architecture and our imagined interiorities. How are we mutually inhabited by the very places we inhabit? If we build structures, do they also build us? A recent MFA graduate from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee’s Peck School of the Arts, Adam is the recipient of UWM’s Chancellor’s Graduate Student Award, Layton Fellowship, and Williams College’s Gilbert W. Gabriel Prize in Theater. Originally trained in scenic design, Adam’s research frequently explores the memory of space, the latent agency of materials, and the architectures—visible or invisible—which emerge from contact with the sacred.
For recent work and updates, follow Adam on Instagram: @AdamJamesStoner
Selected Solo and Small Group Exhibitions / Awards & Recognition / Residencies
30x30x30 Exhibition 2020 — VAR Gallery and Studios, Milwaukee, WI May - August 2020
Watercolor Wisconsin — regional group exhibition with Racine Art Museum, WI March - June 2020
Of the Between — MFA exhibition, The Tower and the Threshold April / May 2019
The Ladder — solo exhibition at In Tandem Theater, Milwaukee WI January - July 2019
Taleamor Park summer artist residency and community showing, La Porte, Indiana August 2018
Interior Monologues — solo exhibition at Roberta Fiskum Art Gallery, UW Whitewater February 2018
Featured Artist of the Month — Milwaukee Artist Resource Network February 2018
Manicured Nature — group show with VAR Gallery and Studios, Milwaukee, WI September 2017
Advocacy and Sustaining Life — group show and artist talk, Urban Ecology Center, Milwaukee, WI January 2017
New Growth — juried group show, first prize, Milwaukee Artist's Resource Network Spring 2016
Oh Beatific Vision! — solo exhibition & artist talk, Walker’s Point Center for the Arts January 2015
Members’ Show — juried group show & selected for solo exhibition, Walker’s Point Center for the Arts Fall 2014
Education
MFA in Painting and Drawing / Intermedia Studies — University of Wisconsin Milwaukee 2019
BA in Studio Art and Theater — Williams College, Williamstown, MA 2011
Teaching Portfolio
Instructor, Drawing I — University of Wisconsin Milwaukee 2017-2018, Fall 2019
Teaching Assistant, Art Survey and American Art/Culture — University of Wisconsin Milwaukee 2016-2019
Artist Talks and Workshops
UW Milwaukee — American Art and Culture, guest of prof. Raoul Deal April 2017, April 2019
UW Milwaukee — Art Survey, guest of prof. Josie Osborne March 2018, April 2019
The Role of the Scenic Designer — Carmen High School NW, Milwaukee, WI January 2018
Intro to Scenic Design for Theater Workshop — Kettle Moraine High School, Wales, WI April 2015, 2017
Theater & Other Work
Scenic Artist — apprentice 2013-2014, charge artist 2014-present
Receive paint elevations from scenic designer and recreate paint treatments at full scale. Northern Sky Theater, Skylight Music Theatre, Renaissance Theatre, and private organizations. Proficient painting at large scales (frequently up to 30’-0” x 40’-0” muslin drops, scrim, stage floors, etc.) with acrylic/latex paint, spray media, and other materials.
Scenic Designer, Milwaukee, WI — 2013-present
Design scenery for Skylight Music Theatre. Recent shows: Violet (2016), The Skylight Ring (2015). Assistant design with Florentine Opera, Northern Sky Theater, First Stage, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, and Skylight Music Theatre.
Label Designer for Desire Lines Wine Co., Sonoma, CA — 2017-present
Design and Illustrate labels for winery marketing and packaging.
Scenic Carpentry — 2008-2014
Work under Technical Director to build department productions. In-depth carpentry experience, tool maintenance, and training for safe operation of wood shop with volunteers and new carpenters.