From A New Window

By Sol Mitchell

This installation is part of the Milwaukee Public Market’s Holiday Window Display, a collaborative project with the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) that transforms St. Paul Avenue into a festive public art experience. Until January 31, ten large-scale, student-designed window installations light up the block between Broadway and Water Street, each offering a unique reflection on winter, creativity, and community.

About the Art: From a New Window is a series of abstract photographic collages featuring textures and colors drawn from Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward. The compositions evoke emotions tied to winter—longing, introspection, stillness, and discovery—through fragments of the neighborhood’s familiar forms, such as lampposts, walls, and foliage.

Mitchell began the creative process through writing, capturing personal reflections that later informed the visual compositions. The poems behind the piece speak to the quiet observation and rediscovery that define wintertime. By grounding the work in local imagery, the artist connects abstract experience with tangible place—inviting viewers to see the Third Ward through a renewed lens.

Accompanying Poem:
Watching white sheets cascade
from the darkening, still sky
from the couch
by the window
I’ve been looking through all year.

One more search through the belongings I’ve packed,
Tomorrow my fingers will go numb

Just before sunrise
Bricks seem more rigid
And metal stands taller.
It’s the way things are
And it makes me wonder if this
Is the way things always were.

About the Artist: Sol Mitchell is a Communication Design student from St. Louis, currently studying at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design. A multidisciplinary designer, he is especially interested in motion design, branding, and experiential design. Mitchell’s work draws inspiration from everyday environments, aiming to reveal moments of discovery within the ordinary.

Portfolio: solmitchell.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sol-mitchell-15300929b