Explore works of art by scientists, artists, and curators working at the intersections of visual art, visual processing, and vision science in the Mandelbaum & Albert Family Vision Gallery
Location:
Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research, 9th Floor, 1111 Highland Avenue
53705
Gallery Hours of Operation:
Monday-Friday | 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Parking for opening receptions:
Parking for the event is available in UW-Madison lots 82 or 60, and in ramps 63 or 76.
From October 3rd, 2025 through January 23rd, 2026 in the McPherson ERI’s Mandelbaum & Albert Family Vision Gallery:
From June 19th, 2025 through September 12th, 2025 in the McPherson ERI’s Mandelbaum & Albert Family Vision Gallery:
In this 20th anniversary year of the McPherson Eye Research Institute, the vision gallery features a retrospective of research-inspired images from our fifteen years of Eye Research Institute calendars – exhibiting 45 amazingly engaging images from Institute members’ research, selected from among the ~180 featured in annual calendars.
This exhibit also showcases cover designs by Swedish artist/designer/illustrator Malin Nordlund, whose eye-catching and creative works have graced the McPherson ERI’s calendars from 2013 to the present.
There will be an opening public reception (featuring free Babcock ice cream) for this exhibit from 4:30-6:30pm on Thursday, June 19th in our McPherson Eye Research Institute’s Mandelbaum and Albert Family Vision Gallery on the ninth floor of the Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research, 1111 Highland Ave.
From January 23rd, 2025 through May 30th, 2025 in the McPherson ERI’s Mandelbaum & Albert Family Vision Gallery:
As a fundamental aspect of human experience, color influences our perceptions, emotions, and interactions with the world around us. This exhibition – comprised of stained glass works by Randy Glysch and of fiber, needlework, and mixed media stitchworks by twenty-two Memory Cloth Circle artists – will explore the multifaceted impacts of color.
There will be an opening public reception for this exhibit from 4:30-6:30pm on Thursday, January 23rd in our McPherson Eye Research Institute’s Mandelbaum and Albert Family Vision Gallery on the ninth floor of the Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research, 1111 Highland Ave.
From October 3rd, 2024 through January 10th, 2025 in the McPherson ERI’s Mandelbaum & Albert Family Vision Gallery:
A panel of experienced artists, scientists and science communicators chose 12 winning images based on the aesthetic, creative and scientific qualities that distinguished them from scores of entries. The winning entries showcase the research, innovation, scholarship and curiosity of the UW–Madison community.
The winning images, which are also displayed in this news article, go on display on October 3rd in an exhibit at the McPherson Eye Research Institute’s Mandelbaum and Albert Family Vision Gallery on the ninth floor of the Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research, 1111 Highland Ave. The exhibit, which runs through mid-January 2025, opens with a public reception at the gallery Thursday, October 3rd, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
From June 20 through September 13, 2024 in the McPherson ERI’s Mandelbaum & Albert Family Vision Gallery:
Previous Exhibits:
Envisioning the Environment – Scenes from Plein Air Artists, featuring works from twelve Wisconsin artists.
Join us to view scenes from all seasons, captured outdoors in settings local and far away, to brighten our days and engage our imaginations.
Featuring works by Marc Anderson, Chuck Bauer, Wendy Crone, Jim Faecke, Andy Fletcher, Tom Gilbert, Josh Hess, Kuyle Martin, Marinela Manastirli, Jan Norsetter, Georgene Pomplun, and Darya Vassina.
COOL SCIENCE IMAGES 2022:
ART FROM SCIENCE:
Artworks created in response to science images from McPherson ERI member research.
THE EYE AS IMAGE. This show, featuring works in which the image of the eye plays a prominent role, contains both reproductions of historical artworks and original works by contemporary artists. The significance of the eye may be apparent in some works, while in others its meaning may be more obscure. Yet the importance of the eye in human experience gives each work its own particular potency. Images of eyes are powerful communicators and symbols, because eyes themselves are so.
Most works in this exhibit are for sale. If you are interested in purchasing a piece, please contact Gail Stirr, gallery coordinator: gmstirr@wisc.edu
You may also contact artists directly via their respective websites.
Websites of the artists in The Eye As Image
Amy Carani – AmySquarePaints.com
Gregory Frederic – CrewlArt.com
John Walté – JohnFWalte.com
Justin D. Miller – JustinDMiller.com
Pamela Ruschman – PamelaRuschman.com
Karen Nell McKean – KarenNellMcKean.com
Brochure . Mission and Vision Statements . Details for Artists . Dedication Ceremony . Google Map to Vision Gallery PDF Map to Vision Gallery . Past Exhibits
Upcoming Events
Vision Gallery
Changes periodically
Recent Events
13th Annual Alice McPherson Lecture
(May 29th, 2025)
15th Annual Vision at the Vet School (March 8th, 2025)
13th Annual MERI-at-a-Glance Event (February 21st, 2025)
2nd Annual Sandra Lemke Trout Lecture
(September 13, 2024)
2024 Visiting Scholar Lecture
(September 26th, 2024)
16th Annual Vision Science Symposium: Poster Session & Distinguished Lecture
(October 25, 2024)
2nd Annual Daniel M. Albert Lecture
(November 14, 2024)
12th Annual Alice McPherson Lecture
(June 6th, 2024)
About the McPherson ERI Vision Gallery
Through innovative exhibitions and programming, the Mandelbaum and Albert Family Vision Gallery promotes the interdisciplinary study of vision in the University of Wisconsin-Madison community and beyond. The McPherson ERI Vision Gallery is located on the 9th floor of WIMR at 1111 Highland Avenue immediately as you exit the elevator and is open to the public Monday – Friday from 8:00am – 5:00pm. Exhibits will change several times annually and we welcome suggestions for future exhibits. Contact Gail Stirr for details.
The Gallery works to bring scientific and artistic understandings of the visual world into conversation with each other: artists speak to scientists and scientists speak to artists. Exhibits and installations may reflect how artists intuit the visual system’s power to process color and luminance, lines and form, depth, and motion, and the brain’s fascination in finding patterns and seeking faces. In turn, exhibits may inspire aesthetic interpretation and appreciation of the tools and artisanship integral to science. Finally, gallery works may display how visual artists re-interpret and re-purpose science as a framework for understanding our world.
The Gallery was dedicated and opened May 8, 2014, and is named for the extended family which encompasses the families of David and Nathan Mandelbaum, founding supporters of the McPherson ERI, as well as Dr. Daniel Albert. Guests at the dedication heard remarks from Provost Paul DeLuca, McPherson ERI Founding Director Daniel Albert, Senior Associate Dean Richard Moss, McPherson ERI Director David Gamm, and UW Regent David Walsh.