Wisconsin Triennial

Lois Bielefeld

Lois Bielefeld, I love cupping my wife’s breast in my hand while she fucks me, breasts Jackie has never felt comfortable with. Susie said I could get silicon replacements to stand in. After Luc’s surgery, Susie watched him settle into a confidence that added to her attraction to him. Jackie says she understands my fear., 2025. archival pigment print, 41 ½ x 51 ½ inches. © Lois Bielefeld. Courtesy of the artist.
Lois Bielefeld, Eli asked Luc to cut their hair, an act that cemented their shared trans masculinity and helped Eli cross a threshold into deeper Soto Zen practice. The recent dissolution of Eli and Jane’s 19-year partnership hung thick in the air. They both leaned on chosen family as they worked to re-envision themselves as co-parents and support their son. Eli saw the photoshoot as marking the profound shift in their relationship and the ripples sent through the chosen family. Jane wanted to participate, though struggled to find her narrative in the staging. The cacophony of children anchored everyone’s performance in the everyday., 2023. archival pigment print, 41 ½ x 51 ½ inches. © Lois Bielefeld. Courtesy of the artist.

ARTIST STATEMENT

“The term ‘chosen family’ was coined by anthropologist Kath Weston in 1997 in her book, Families We Choose: Lesbians, Gays, Kinship. Her research describes the way queers who banded together shared resources, co-parented children, and supported each other in times of need, notably during the AIDS crisis. Although ‘chosen’ implies freely selected, the reality is some individuals do not have a say in the matter due to biological family rejection. Creating family groups can ensure care, acceptance, belonging, and safety. This also means that individuals can create their own roles and responsibilities rather than relying on hetero-gendered norms. To be clear, chosen families are not utopian. Like biological families, they are complicated and complex. They can exhibit curious residual or persistent power dynamics more consistent with heteronormative family structures. Through collaborative staged tableaux, within the hold of ( ), illuminates the vibrance of queer chosen family.”

TRIENNIAL TALK

Triennial Talk is a project of MMoCA that invites local artists, art historians, politicians, and community members to reflect on the artwork on view in the 2025 Wisconsin Triennial.

installation view

Installation view of the 2025 Wisconsin Triennial, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, 2025. Photo by Mariah Moneda.