Stephen Fleischman Lecture at MMoCA

The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art will host Milwaukee artist David R. Harper for its 2026 Stephen Fleischman Lecture at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 23. (mmoca.org) The museum lists the talk as free in its Lecture Hall and says advance registration is encouraged because space is limited. Visit Madison’s event calendar carries the same date, time and admission details. (mmoca.org) (visitmadison.com) MMoCA says Harper works across sculpture, textiles, ceramics, stained glass and found imagery. The museum says his work examines how memory takes shape in objects and how viewers build meaning through movement and attention. (mmoca.org) Harper is based in Milwaukee, but his résumé stretches beyond Wisconsin. His biography says he has shown work at institutions including MASS MoCA, the National Gallery of Canada and MMoCA, and has completed residencies at the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, Bemis Center for Contemporary Art and Kohler Arts/Industry. (davidrharper.com) The lecture arrives as MMoCA is also preparing Harper’s exhibition “Good Morning Sweetheart,” which the museum lists for May 17, 2026. That makes the April 23 talk part of a broader Harper moment at the museum, not a one-night appearance. (mmoca.org) The annual lecture series carries the name of Stephen Fleischman, MMoCA’s late director. In 2025, the museum screened a 2016 public conversation between Fleischman and architect César Pelli to mark the institution’s history and Fleischman’s role in it. (mmoca.org) Past Fleischman lectures have featured nationally known artists. MMoCA said conceptual artist Mel Chin gave the annual Stephen Fleischman Lectureship in 2021, tying the series to the museum’s exhibition program as well as its public talks. (mmoca.org) For anyone planning to go, the next step is simple: register ahead, then show up at 6 p.m. on April 23 to hear Harper explain the practice MMoCA will put on fuller view a few weeks later. (mmoca.org)