MSOE’s Grohmann Museum: Industry and art merge in first-of-its-kind exhibition 

Industry and art merge when the Grohmann Museum at MSOE hosts a first-of-its kind museum exhibition that blends historic steel mill artifacts with painting and sculpture. Opening Friday, January 19, “Patterns of Meaning: The Art of Industry by Cory Bonnet”features salvaged pieces that are monuments to industry created from glass, ceramics and other materials. These massive objects honor the innovators and workers that built our modern world.   

“This exhibition reminds us of what human beings are capable of when we put our minds to it and work together to contribute to something bigger than ourselves. When workers built these patterns, they started with nothing. From design to assembly, everything was hand-drawn and made,” said Bonnet, a Pittsburgh-based artist and preservationist.  

“Too see the obstacles they faced and the problems they solved, with none of the technology and advances we have today, is a testament to human spirit and ingenuity,” he continued. “When they went to work, the idea was not just to work for themselves but for the next generation to make things better. That’s an idea we need to resurface.”  

The exhibition includes 22 pieces from large scale paintings to monumental sculpture and chandeliers, all made from enormous wooden casting patterns used in steelmaking during the late-1800s and early-1900s.

An Unprecedented Collection:  

Bonnet and a Pittsburgh scrap dealer acquired the collection of 6,000 floor-to-ceiling wooden foundry patterns, which were stored in an Ohio barn, in 2021. The patterns were hand built to spec, then packed in foundry sand to create the molds to cast steel parts, including massive gears, crankshafts, valves, railcar wheels and more. All used to build the infrastructure of the late 1800-early 1900’s industrial world.   

“In reclaiming historic wooden foundry patterns and industrial artifacts and redeploying them for the creation of art, Bonnet is breaking new ground in the appreciation of historical workways as they relate to the work of the contemporary artists,” explained Grohmann Museum Director James Kieselburg. “It is the perfect exhibition for the Grohmann Museum to showcase as the blockbuster to open 2024.”  

Collaborating artists featured in the exhibition include Angela Neira, Nate Lucas, Brian Engel, AJ Collins, Mia Tarducci, and Andrew Moschetta, and specialize in wood, furniture, design, abstract painting, glass, ceramics, and light.  

Bonnet will be in Milwaukee for the exhibition’s opening and will speak at a Gallery Talk Friday, January 19 at 6:30 p.m. at The Grohmann, 1000 N. Broadway, Milwaukee. The exhibition runs through April 28.  

Of note, the exhibition is on the agenda for two national events that will be held in Milwaukee in April — the American Foundry Society’s 2024 Metalcasting Congress and the Steel Founders’ Society of American’s Cast and Steel higher ed student competition.