Closing Reception: Doug DeVinny Retrospective and Four from Parkside
The Emile H. Mathis Gallery at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside invites the public to a closing reception celebrating two concurrent exhibitions: the Doug DeVinny Retrospective and Four from Parkside: Greider, Nitsch, Weidner, Zehren. Both exhibitions close May 11, 2026, and the Saturday reception on April 18 from 2 to 4 PM offers a final opportunity to experience them together.
The weekend date makes it an ideal occasion for community members and former students to attend. A selection of DeVinny’s prints and small works on paper will be available for purchase and to take home that day.
The Doug DeVinny Retrospective honors the life and work of Doug DeVinny, professor emeritus at UW-Parkside, who passed away on January 4, 2025. While known primarily as a printmaker, DeVinny’s early training was as a painter. He received his BA in painting before completing his MFA at Indiana University. His teaching career at UW-Parkside spanned nearly three decades, during which he sparked the creativity and sharpened the skills of thousands of students.
DeVinny founded the Parkside National Small Print Exhibition in 1987, now known as the Parkside National Print Exhibition, which has become one of the longest-running competitive print exhibitions in the Midwest. His work was shown in over 150 exhibitions and is held in national collections including Indiana University, the Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas, the University of Colorado, and the Racine Art Museum.
Alongside the retrospective, Four from Parkside brings together William Greider, Michael Nitsch, Gary Weidner, and John Zehren, four artists who studied under DeVinny during his tenure at UW-Parkside. Their work represents just a few of the hundreds of students whose creativity DeVinny nurtured throughout his distinguished teaching career. Together, the two exhibitions celebrate both the master and the legacy he built through his students.
Both exhibitions run February 5 to May 11, 2026. Admission is free and open to the public.