Art Preserve

The Art Preserve is a museum in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, dedicated to artist-built environments. Opened in June 2021 as a satellite campus of the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, it is the first museum in the world devoted to the exhibition, preservation, and care of artist-built environments. The facility serves as both a public museum and a research space for the art environment genre, housing more than 25,000 objects by over 30 artists across a collection that emphasizes immersive, life-transforming works by self-taught, vernacular, and academically trained artists.

The Art Preserve was conceived by Ruth DeYoung Kohler II, who directed the John Michael Kohler Arts Center from 1972 to 2016 and continued as director emerita until her death in 2020. Kohler's interest in artist-built environments began during childhood travels through rural Wisconsin, where she encountered Fred Smith's Wisconsin Concrete Park. She spent decades advocating for the preservation and display of these environments. Planning for the museum began in 2005, and in 2015 the John Michael Kohler Arts Center acquired a 39-acre site on the former Schuchardt Farm property along Indiana Avenue from the City of Sheboygan for $1.17 million, with support from the Kohler Foundation, Inc. Construction began in 2018, and the building opened on June 26, 2021, after a pandemic-related delay. The museum's development was shaped by scholarly engagement, including a 2017 conference titled "Road Less Traveled" that gathered artists and researchers to refine its framework.

The collection encompasses more than 25,000 objects drawn from over 30 artist-built environments, with some sources indicating more than 35 complete or partial environments. These works span a wide range of materials and approaches, including bone sculptures, concrete yard installations, fiber hangings, and painted home interiors. The collection emphasizes Wisconsin artists while also incorporating works from urban and mainstream art world contexts. Many of the environments were originally domestic spaces, reflecting the genre's characteristic blurring of studio, home, and gallery. The museum's three floors are organized thematically: the first floor addresses the preserve's history and Wisconsin focus; the second floor challenges assumptions about artist-built environments by including mainstream and urban artists; and the third floor presents fully immersive environments.

The collection includes significant works by Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, Emery Blagdon, Loy Bowlin, Lenore Tawney, Dr. Charles Smith, Mary Nohl, Vollis Simpson, and Ray Yoshida. Von Bruenchenhein's work is particularly prominent, with the museum holding a substantial portion of his estate, including objects from his Milwaukee home featuring chicken-bone thrones and towers. The collection also includes materials from Fred Smith's Wisconsin Concrete Park (1948-1976) and Emery Blagdon's electromagnetic "Healing Machine" mobiles from his Nebraska shed. The John Michael Kohler Arts Center's 2012 acquisition of the Mary Nohl Art Environment, one of the few known art environments created by a woman artist, added significant holdings. The preserve's acquisition history includes a 2019 donation of over 8,300 objects from Von Bruenchenhein's estate facilitated by the Kohler Foundation.

The Art Preserve building was designed by the Denver-based architectural firm Tres Birds. The three-story structure encompasses 56,000 square feet on a 38-acre site adjacent to the Sheboygan River and Glacial Lakes Conservancy land. Ruth DeYoung Kohler II insisted that the building incorporate natural materials, stone, wood, and earth, to honor the materials frequently used by artists in the collection. The structure was built into a hill and constructed with timber, concrete, and river stones from the nearby Sheboygan River; approximately 80 percent of the building is made from local ground rock. The design includes self-shading features to protect the art inside, and sustainable elements such as geothermal heat pumps. The building offers over 37,000 square feet of gallery space with visible storage, densely packed shelves, and recreated tableaux that allow visitors to observe ongoing museum operations. Four artist-designed washrooms, created by Michelle Grabner, Beth Lipman, and the collaborative team of Joy Feasley and Paul Swenbeck with Kohler Co. materials, continue the tradition of the John Michael Kohler Arts Center's artist-designed restrooms.

The Art Preserve is located in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and operates as a satellite campus of the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, an independent not-for-profit contemporary art museum and performing arts complex. The preserve functions as a hub for scholarship, education, and dialogue among artists, conservators, and researchers, addressing the historical underrepresentation of artist-built environments in mainstream art institutions. Its design emphasizes experiential immersion, with natural light, river views, and timber shades connecting indoor displays to the surrounding landscape. The facility is accessible to the public and serves as both an exhibition space and an active research facility for the art environment genre.