The Distance Within Us is a solo exhibition by the artist Michael Velliquette. Opening June 11 and running through August 22, 2025, this exhibition debuts Velliquette’s most expansive presentation of his celebrated paper sculptures to date, alongside a striking new series of powder-coated metal works. The exhibition explores the quiet, expansive realm of interiority—a space of reflection, sensation, and presence. Velliquette’s work invites viewers to slow down, look inward, and engage with symbols and forms that speak to shared human experience. Through eyes, hands, stars, teardrops, and human profiles, Velliquette creates a visual language of awareness—an invitation to contemplate what lies beyond the visible and within the self. “At its heart, this exhibition is a meditation on perception and presence,” says Velliquette. “It’s about reaching inward and outward at once, and the ways that symbolic forms can guide us toward greater awareness and connection.” 

Michael Velliquette (American, b. 1971) is a leading voice in the contemporary renaissance of paper-based art. His work has been featured in major international exhibitions including the Shanghai International Paper Art Biennial (China), Global Paper at the Stadtmuseum in Deggendorf (Germany), the Cheongju Craft Biennale (South Korea), and The Possibilities of Paper at the Torggler Fine Arts Center (VA). His work is held in permanent collections such as the Chazen Museum of Art, Racine Art Museum, San Antonio Museum of Art, John Michael Kohler Art Center, Ruby City, and the Microsoft Collection. A frequent lecturer and educator, Velliquette is currently an Assistant Professor of Art at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and has taught at craft institutions including Haystack Mountain School of Craft, Penland School of Craft, and the Pocosin School of Fine Craft. His work has been featured in The New York Times, Colossal, and on the Discovery Channel series Meet Your Makers Showdown.