About the artist:

Todd Boppel was born in Milwaukee in 1934. Educated in the public schools of Milwaukee, he went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Science in art from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. In 1956, he was inducted in to the Army and served until 1958 when he returned to the same school to finish his Master of Science in Art. Between 1960 and 1963, Boppel found employment as an art teacher in the public school system and also at the Wustum Art Museum in Racine, Wisconsin. In 1964, he joined the faculty in a new Art Department created at the University of Wisconsin-Stout in Menomonie, Wisconsin, leaving briefly in 1967 and 1968 to complete an MFA degree in painting at the University of Southern California. Afterwards, Boppel was an artist and teacher in the Department of Art and Design at the University of Wisconsin-Stout for the following 36 years, although he did take a two year leave to teach at Surrey College of Art & Design in Farnham, England, and Northeast London Polytechnic in London, England. Boppel’s work is rooted in the Modernist and abstract traditions. His paintings are concerned with formal issues such as line, color, space and texture. He worked with ideas from music, poetry and most frequently, landscapes. “Boppel’s work is remarkable for its consistent high quality, its aesthetic and intellectual rigor and the breadth, complexity and refinement of its abstract visual explorations, “ said David Gariff, professor of art history, University of Maryland. Boppel died in November 2000 in Memonomie, Wisconsin. Nicknamed “Bops” was revered as friend, artist, mentor and valued critic by his students. As a working artist, Todd not only inspired his students, but also his colleagues. Selected One-Person Exhibitions 1963-2000 Furlong Art Galleries, UW- Wisconsin – Stout, Menomonie, WI 1981 David Barnett Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 1985 Friends Gallery, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minn. MN 1990 Lepidopteron Serieis, Wisconsin Academy Gallery, Madison, Wisconsin 1991 M.C. Anderson Gallery, Minneapolis, Minnesota 1991 Wisconsin Art: Ideas/Images, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 1992 Invented Landscapes, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee,Wisconsin 1993 M.C. Anderson Gallery, Minneapolis, Minneapolis, Minnesota 1997 Sabbatical Exhibition, Furlong Gallery, UW-Stout, Wisconsin 2000 Bloomington Art Center, Bloomington, Minnesota 2002 Todd Bopppel: A Retrospective 1963-2000, Furlong Art Galleries, UW-Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 2004-2005 Wisconsin Master Series: Todd Boppel, Charles Allis Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Selected Group Exhibitions 1994 Peltz Gallery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (also 1996, 1997, 1998) 2000 Bloomington Art Center, Bloomington, Minnesota (Juried) 2000 )/N Art Source Gallery, Minneapolis, Minnesota 2001 Retirement Show: Todd Boppel and Rob Price, Furlong Art Galleries, UW-Stout, Menomonie, Wisconsin © 8/27/2007 Museum of Wisconsin Art, West Bend, Wisconsin 2/11/2010