Stephen Fleischman Lecture: Harper on Practice

Milwaukee artist David R. Harper is giving the 2026 Stephen Fleischman Lecture at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art on Thursday, April 23, at 6 p.m. (mmoca.org) The talk is free, held in the museum’s Lecture Hall at 227 State St., and the museum says advance registration is strongly encouraged because space is limited. A public reception follows at 7 p.m. in the Rooftop Lounge with a cash bar. (mmoca.org; visitmadison.com) MMoCA says Harper works across sculpture, textiles, ceramics, stained glass, and found imagery. The museum describes his work as focused on how memory takes shape in objects and how viewers build meaning through movement, proximity, and perspective. (mmoca.org) The lecture lands alongside Harper’s solo exhibition, *Good Morning Sweetheart*, which opened April 22 and runs through Aug. 30 in the museum’s State Street Gallery and Lobby. The museum is pairing the artist talk with the exhibition opening rather than treating it as a stand-alone event. (mmoca.org; visitmadison.com) The Stephen Fleischman Lecture is an annual spring program backed by an endowment for speakers who have made contributions to art and culture, according to MMoCA. The museum says free admission is part of that series’ public-access mission. (mmoca.org) The name on the lecture carries local weight. Stephen Fleischman led the Madison Art Center, now MMoCA, for nearly 30 years and died on Jan. 14, 2024, according to his obituary. (legacy.com; cressfuneralservice.com) For anyone deciding whether to go, the clearest draw is the pairing: a free 6 p.m. lecture from Harper, then a 7 p.m. reception, with his new Madison show already on the walls upstairs. (mmoca.org; mmoca.org)