About

Bio

Tori Tasch is a printmaker, papermaker and book artist. She has supported artists as a mentor resident at RedLine Milwaukee for 7 years and has taught at St. Bruno’s Parish School 10 years. In addition, Tasch has been a resident artist at the Lynden Sculpture Garden, Studio 224, and Oklahoma State University Museum of Art. Participating in residency programs allows her to fulfill the need to work in the studio with the need to be involved. Tasch is currently State Board Treasurer of Wisconsin Visual Artists and Past President of Milwaukee Area Teachers of Art. Through WVA and MATA she supports the arts by engaging in the efforts to present exhibitions, programs and workshops by/for artists and the community. Tasch’s sculptural books have been exhibited extensively throughout the US, in addition to Japan, Mexico and Canada. Her work is included in private collections at the Brooklyn Art Library, UW-Milwaukee Special Collections, and the Saitama Art Museum. She received a BFA from Carroll College with additional studies at Columbia College Center for Book and Paper Arts. She lives in Merton with her husband and dog. In addition to making art she enjoys gardening, bike rides, reading, travel, stamp collecting, and yoga.

Artist Statement

Naturalists have made a practice of uncovering rare and unique species from their environment, and through meticulous processes they preserve and display these specimens to share with others in their field. As an artist I study the politics of collection, preservation, and exhibition as I come to understand the importance of the unique copy in our society.

Collections of handmade items, predominately insects, and butterflies create a collective whole but retain the uniqueness of the individual. There is a magic to repetition, like a favorite song. The charm of repetition is in the interrelations of the individual works. Sequences of deliberate similarities and subtle differences are part of the process. Through my work, I invite the viewer to connect to the living world, to foster growth and appreciation for our landscape.

Experimenting with print processes, papermaking, and bookmaking while focusing on the small details in the environment allows me to maintain a sustainable studio practice.  Insects and butterflies are symbols of transformation and the need for change. Change is inevitable but our survival is linked to the fate of insects; we need bugs to eat pests, to recycle nutrients, and to maintain our soil. I am interested in this symbiotic relationship we have with the insects that pollinate our food crops.

My studio practice is rooted in activism with a focus on current events and climate change. I use traditional methods with a contemporary take, using a variety of media, printmaking, fiber, craft and digital arts.  In Spring and Summer, I gather invasives from public spaces to make paper, then replace them with native plant seeds to provide habitat for pollinators.  Each work is a process containing layers of information that the viewer is invited to sort and sift through in the hopes of discovering hidden meaning. Art is a vehicle to reconnect with emotions and with our relationship to nature and culture.

CV

Solo and Two Person Exhibitions

  • Migration Patterns, Galerie D’Art, Bordeaux, France      October – March 2025                        *Support from Mary L. Nohl Suitcase Export Fund
  •   Wings of Winter, Carroll University, Waukesha, WI     Dec  2024 – Jan 2025

  • Birdseye, TAG and Tinier, Franklin, WI       July-August 2024

  • Impending Storms, SPAM, July 16 – November 6 2022

    • Support from the Mary L Nohl Suitcase Export Fund
  • Artservancy, Gallery 224, Port Washington, WI, June 2021
  • Web of Life, Alfons Gallery, Milwaukee, WI Jan-March 2020
  • Hanging Gardens, Portland Ats Center,Indiana June-July 2019
  • Support from Mary Nohl Suitcase Export Fund
  • Under Pressure, Studio 224 AIR Gallery, February 2019-
  • Reconstructed Environments, Alexian, Milwaukee February-April 2018
  • Draw, Print, Fold, Paint with Pat Hidson, Lynden Sculpture Garden Nov 2016-Feb 2017
  • Metamorphosis: AIR Gallery, RedLine Milwaukee, WI May 2016
  • Shifting Boundaries: Anaba Tea Room, Shorewood, WI 2013
  • Cultural Spaces: Installation with Dara Larson, Redline, Milwaukee, WI 2011
  • Memories: Installation with Valerie Christell, Merge Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2011
  • War: Installation with Val Christell, Merge Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2010
  • Carroll College, Waukesha, WI 2008
  • Anderson Arts Center, Kenosha, WI 2005

Residencies

  • Stay Home Gallery and Residency, February 2023
  • Artservancy, Schoofs Preserve, September 2019- August 31,2020
  • Studio 224, Port Washington, WI September 2018-
  • Artsland, Portland, Indiana July 2018
  • KMSD Visiting Artist May-June 2018
  • Oklahoma State University Visiting Artist September 2017
  • RedLine Milwaukee: Mentor Artist 2009 – September 2016
  • Lynden Sculpture Garden: Artist in Residence May 2015 – May 2016

Community Engagement

  • 2024: Fall Fest, Gallery 224 Port Washington               2024

  • 2023: Cedarburg Art Museum: Impending Storms      Jan-May          2023

  • Santa Paula Art Museum, papermaking, July 16, 2022
  • Winter picnic, Alfons Gallery, January 19, 2020
  • 2018: Workshop: Meet and Make, MOWA February 10, 2018
  • 2018: Workshop and Exhibition at Gallery 224, Port Washington, WI   Jan-March 2018
  • 2017: Papermaking workshops with OSU students and Stillwater community, September 5-12
  • 2017: WI Alphabet Relief Print Project/ Steamroller September 2
  • 2017:  Cyanotype Workshop for Water:Essence of Life, Alfons Gallery, June 2017
  • 2016: Mid America Print Council Conference, Louisville, KY 3D Print Components Interactive
  • 2016: Really Big Prints, Team RedLine, Milwaukee
  • 2016: Floating On Waves: 10 Japanese artists homestay with Wisconsin artists
  • 2016: Prints for Peace, Monterey, Mexico
  • 2015: Cyanotype workshop with RedLine teen residents at Lynden Sculpture Garden
  • 2015: Bagging Culture; Feed Minds and Bodies with Art & Food, Alfons Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
  • July 2015: International Print Exchange, Brooklyn Art Library, NY
  • 2014: Constructed Environments: repurposed materials and sustainability, Alfons Gallery, MKE
  • 2014: Really Big Prints, Collaboration with RedLiners Dara Larson & Kim Weiss, UW-Manitowoc
  • 2013: Home stay with artists in Saitama, Japan. Exhibit work at Bumpodo Gallery, Tokyo
  • 2011 – 2009: Merge Gallery, Artists Making Social Statements
  • 2008: Alternative Printmaking Processes, Modern Museum of Art, Saitama, Japan.
  • 2005 Japanese Exchange: 28 Japanese artists home stay with WI artists: Group exhibitions and demonstrations by Japanese and Wisconsin artists at West Bend Art Museum, UW-Madison Gallery and the Neville Museum, Green Bay, WI.
  • 2002: Art and Religion of the Americas: Day of the Dead, Oaxaca, Mexico

Work Cited

Collections

  • Bay View Book Arts Gallery
  • UWM Special Collections
  • Brooklyn Art Library
  • UW-Manitowoc Art Gallery
  • Carroll University
  • Hamilton Press

Select Juried Exhibitions

  • MATA Small Works, Carroll University, Waukesha, WI        September 2024                                          * Excellence Award
  • Serenite, Galerie Manpai, Bordeaux, France           April – October 2024
  • Pulp: Books and Paper, Sevastopol Art Center, CA   April 2024
  • Growing Up, ARC Gallery, Chicago   October – November 2023
  • MAPC Membership, Saint Mary’s College, Indiana October – November 2023
  • MATA Small Works, Carroll University September – October 2023
    • Excellence Award
  • Stay Home Gallery, Paris, Tennessee April – June 2023
  • 28th Parkside National Print Exhibition, Kenosha, WI February – July 2023
  • Trout Museum of Art, Appleton, WI , May – August 2022
  •  Pulp: Wood, Paper, and Print, CVA, Wausau, WI  May – July 2022
  •  International Paperworks, Northwest Art Center, Minot,ND  Jan-Feb 2022
  •   MATA Small Works, Carroll University, Waukesha, WI  Oct-Nov 2021
    • Excellence Award
  • Mary Nohl Suitcase Fund, MIAD  August – September 2021
  • MAPC members Exhibition, Iowa City, Iowa October- November 2021
  • Paperworks VII, Foundry Art Centre, St. Charles, MO, Nov 20 – Jan 7 2021
  • Wisconsin Artists Biennial, MOWA 2020
  • MATA Small Works, Carroll, Oct-Nov 2019
    • Best of Show
  • Paperwest, University of Utah, October-Nov 2019
  • Celebrating Women,Xavier University,Cincinnati,OH,August-September 2019
  • Secura Annual Exhibition, Trout Museum, Appleton, WI April – June 2019
  • Small Works, Carroll, October-Nov 2018
    • Award of Excellence
  • NNAC Rhinelander, WI   September-November 2018
    •  Benefactor Award
  • MATA Membership Exhibition, MPL April-May 2018
    • Members Choice Award
  • Wisconsin Artists Biennial, MOWA Feb-April 2018
  • Paperworks, Northwest Art Center, Minot, ND Jan-Feb 2018
  • MATA Landscape Small Works, Carroll October-Nov 2017
    • Best Of Show
  • On and About Paper, UW-Parkside Sept-October2017
  • Mary Nohl Suitcase Exhibition, MIAD, Milwaukee August-Oct 2017
  • Beloit and Vicinity Exhibition: Wright Museum May – July 2017
  • Water: Essence of Life June-August 2017
  • Assemblage, Revision Gallery, Kenosha June –
  • MATA Membership Exhibition, Milwaukee Public Library April – May 2017
    • Award of Merit
  • MATA Drawing, Print & Photography October-November 2016
    • Award of merit
  • MAPC Members, Indiana University September-October 2016
  • WVA SE Chapter, Anderson Art Center, Kenosha, WI August – October 2016′
    • Award of Merit
  • The Art of the Book, Center for the Arts, Sebastopol, CA June – August 2016
  • MATA membership Exhibition, Milwaukee  Library April – May 2016
    • Award of Merit
  • Making A Scene, Villa Terrace, Milwaukee, WI Jan-May 2016
  • Paperworks 2016, Minot State University, Minot, ND Jan – Feb 2016
    •  Supported by Mary Nohl  Suitcase Export Fund
  • Contemporary Views, Lawton Gallery, Green Bay, W Oct-Nov 2015
  • Sharon Lynne Wilson Center: Collage Workshop/ Exhibition Sept 2015
  • Salon Exhibition, RedLine Milwaukee August 2015
    • Award of Merit
  • WVA SE Chapter Membership Show, Cedarburg Cultural Center, Cedarburg, WI
  • MATA: Drawing, Print and Photography Show, Carroll University, Waukesha, WI Jan 2015
    • Award of Merit
  • Sculptural Books, Purloin Gallery, Menomonee Falls, WI October 2014
  • Reconstructed Environments, Alfons Gallery, Milwaukee, July-October 2014
  • Forward WI, Charles Allis Museum, Milwaukee 2014
  • MATA Drawing, Photography and Print Exhibition, Carroll University, Waukesha, WI Jan 2014
  • WVA SE Chapter Exhibition, Mt Mary University, Milwaukee, WI 2014
    • Award of merit
  • Mary Nohl Suitcase Export Fund Exhibition, MIAD, 2013
  • WVA SE Chapter Exhibition, Kenosha Public Museum 2013
  • MATA Membership , Zimmerman Studios, Milwaukee, May-June 2013
    • Award of merit
  • Distant in Geography/Close in Mind, Bumpado Gallery, Tokyo, Japan July 2013
    • Supported by the Mary Nohl Suitcase Export Fund
  • MATA, Print and Drawing Show, Carroll University, Waukesha Jan 2013
    • Award of Merit
  • WVA SE Chapter, Alverno, Milwaukee, WI 2013
  • Wisconsin Visual Artists at UW-Parkside, Kenosha, WI 2012
    • Second Place
  • MATA Print and Drawing Exhibition, Carroll University, Waukesha, WI 2012
  • The Lear project, Traveling Exhibition, Lenox, MA and Milwaukee, WI
  • WVA SE Chapter, Lynden Sculpture Garden, Milwaukee, WI 2012
  • WVA SE Chapter Show, Cedarburg Cultural Center 2012
  • Redevelop, Redline, Milwaukee, WI 2011
  • 50 Women, Uihlein Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2009
  • Mount Mary, Wisconsin Visual Artists , Milwaukee, WI 2009
    • Award of Merit
  • SE Chapter Exhibition,Sharon Lynne Wilson Center, Brookfield, WI 2009
  • WVA Group Show, Lakeland College, Plymouth, WI 2009
  • What Matters Most, Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI 2009
  • Issues, Print and Drawing Show, Walkers Point Center for the Arts, Milwaukee, WI 2009
  • Portrait Exhibition, Cardinal Stritch University, Milwaukee, WI 2008
  • Traveling Artists, Uihlein Peters Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2008
  • Saitama Modern Museum of Art, Saitama, Japan 2008

Curated Exhibitions

  •       On and About Paper, UW-Parkside  2017
  •       Floating on Waves, Promega Gallery, Madison  2016
  •       Dia de los Muertos Ofrendas, RedLine Ofrenda at Latino Arts  Gallery  2015
  •       MATA Drawing, Print and Photography Exhibition, Carroll College  2015
  •       Redline on the Road, AIR Gallery, RedLine Milwaukee  2014
  •       Group of Five, St. Mark’s Gallery , Hackett Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 2014
  •       Pulp Possibilities, Redline, Milwaukee WI  2011

Memberships

  • Co-Chair Wisconsin Artists Biennial 2018 with Chris Style
  • Mid America Print Council, Lifetime member
  • MAM Print Forum, 2016-
  • Milwaukee Area Teachers of Art 2011- , joined Board 2014
  • Exhibitions Committee, WP&S SE Chapter, 2007- 2009, 2011-2018, Chair 2014- 2017
  • WVA State Board President 2016-20, Secretary, 2015-16
  • Team Leader, Japanese Exchange, WP&S SE Chapter 2002 – 2005
  • Vox Populi Printmakers Guild, 2018-

Teaching Experience

  • 2010-12/2013 Education Coordinator, RedLine, Milwaukee
  • 2008- 2018 Saint Bruno’s Catholic School, Dousman, WI
  • 2008- Present Workshops: Altered Books and Printmaking Transfer Techniques, Alverno College, Carroll University, Kettle Moraine High School, Whitman Middle
  • 2004 – 2012 Donna Lexa Community Art Centers *Design and implement personalized curriculum for students with special needs.

Education

  • Center for Book and Paper Arts, Columbia College, Chicago, IL
  • BFA Carroll University, Waukesha, WI