Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/37509
live in a man’s world and competed in fencing. At the end of my sophomore year I had to select my elective courses, so I took my fencing coach’s art history class. It was my first exposure to art and I was very taken with it. The following summer, I went on my first trip to Europe with my art professor. We went through numerous European museums, but I especially loved Florence, Italy, and was determined to go back. Russell Panczenko The Chazen Museum director’s unfinished masterpiece By Ashley Finke Russell Panczenko has a mission: To make artwork a part of soci- ety. Simple, right? Maybe only if you have a canvas the size of his— the 86,000-square-foot concrete masterpiece otherwise known as the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Chazen Museum of Art. Born in Germany, raised in Connecticut and educated in Italy, Panczenko, a Madisonian for the last 27 years, has been enamored with museums since he was a young adult. He even met his wife, Paula (the executive director of the renowned Tandem Press), at an Italian museum, and can still note the work of art their eyes met near. “In front of the 15th century marble panels by Luca della Robbia that are now in the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo in Flor- ence,” he recites. Today, Panczenko spends his days guiding progress at the $44 million addition to the public museum set to be completed in Oc- tober. His role in the revamp involves “everything from soup to nuts,” but nothing holds a higher importance than determining how the public will use the space. With construction nearly com- plete, Panczenko hopes an expansion of the museum’s walls will encourage the passion for art in Madison to grow, too. Describe how your love for art was born. I was probably 18 when I went to my first museum. When I stud- ied at Fairfield University [in Connecticut], I was a classics major 24 BRAVA Magazine July 2011 “ ” In your career, you’ve found a way to marry your personal passion with your profession. What is special about the Chazen that makes you proud to be here? The UW and Madison communities. Twenty-seven years [after we arrived in Madison] we are still here; the grass is greenest on this side. I love that I’ve had the opportunity to create a museum, ex- pand it and bring in collections. A museum is like a library: it preserves and makes available original works of art. Anyone driving around campus these days can’t miss the construction surrounding the Chazen. Besides adding space and modernizing, do you have a greater goal for the revamp? It’s all about making the visual arts accessible to the public. [To me this] is as important as having access to books. A museum is like a library: it preserves and makes available original works of art. The building addition itself makes it possible [to] attract art collections … that will be preserved, appreciated and used. The addition is set to be finished in October. Where are you and your staff with the work? The planning is 99 percent done. However, we will have to install about 1,000 works of art in the span of two months … between when the building is finished and when we open to the public. Also, there are still things on our ‘want’ list. I still want a video monitor on the bridge abutment. Programmed by artists, it will energize the East Campus Mall. We should also have a large-scale sculpture in front of the new building. The selection of such a piece will take time because … what we put out there will make a very public statement about the museum’s identity and aesthetic values. What is your favorite piece in the museum today? One of my favorites is the painting by Hans Hoffman. Its colors are brilliant and they are applied to the canvas in a manner that simulates a three-dimensional relief. Another favorite is a paint- ing by the 16th century Italian painter Bernardo Strozzi. In the new building, there will be two wonderful sculptures, one by Naum Gabo and the other by Barbara Hepworth. These pieces explore the same spatial issues with great visual effect. You are surrounded by amazing artwork all day. Do you ever cre- ate your own? I enjoy photography. I love cameras and over the years have in- dulged in some photographic projects. I’ve also been documenting the construction of the new Chazen. These will go into the muse- um archive and will appear in a publication celebrating our grand opening. But if I wasn’t a museum director, I’d probably like to be an architect. An architect is an artist, the work is just bigger and you can walk into it or live in it. ••• Photo by Amber Arnold