The Warehouse is a 4,000 sq. ft exhibition space on the ground floor of the Guardian Fine Art Services building, a large five-story former factory and warehouse built in 1924 in Milwaukee's Design District. The building was purpose-renovated for art storage, fine art services, and exhibitions. Evidence of the building’s industrial past, such as concrete columns and floors remain while LED lighting, climate control, and moveable walls have been added making it ideal for art exhibitions. Private rooms for meetings and special events are available for rent. The Warehouse mounts curated exhibits of works from its permanent collection and other sources quarterly.

The permanent collection consists of 3,600 modern and contemporary works on paper, paintings, photography, and sculpture. Works on paper include artists such as Jim Dine, Helen Frankenthaler, David Hockney, Henri Matisse, and Robert Rauschenberg. Photographs in the collection include works by Helen Levitt, Sally Mann, and Cindy Sherman. Built by private collectors Jan Serr and John Shannon, the collection is personal and based on their interests and experiences. Both residents of Wisconsin, Serr and Shannon include many notable Wisconsin artists in the collection including Warrington Colescott, John Colt, Ruth Grotenrath, and Schomer Lichtner. Their travels brought together works by contemporary Japanese, Mexican, and Indian artists. These concentrations include Anish Kapoor, Tsukioka Kogyo, and Diego Rivera.

The space is host to exhibitions, performances, and lectures and incorporates a wide range of educational programming and performances. The Warehouse collection is available for scholars, students, and art enthusiasts, and works are available for institutional loans. We are free and open to the public. Admission is made by appointment. Please contact us at (414) 252-0677 or info@thewarehousemke.org. Often, same day appointments can be accommodated and off-street parking is available in our lot located on the east side of the building.