Stephanie Barenz’s work is sometimes about the in betweenness of travel and the things we carry with us always.

As she applied for the Pfister Hotel’s artist in residence program, she was working on a painting based on her husband’s stories about travel in India. Rich imagery, colors and architecture of a distant place and the familiar touchstones of home combined and seemed to float up and out of a suitcase in the work.

It’s an approach to making work – gathering stories of travel and home – that seemed a perfect fit and attracted the expert judges of the Pfister program, who named Barenz the next artist in residence Wednesday.

Barenz will replace the current artist in residence, Timothy Westbrook, in the art studio off of the hotel’s lobby in April.

“The Pfister is the perfect stage for my work, which deals with how travel affects one’s relationship to place,” said Barenz in a statement. “The hotel carries thousands of stories from over a hundred years. The Victorian art collection, the antiques, and spaces have served as silent witnesses to all of it.”

Barenz plans to create 20 to 30 paintings during her residency, images she hopes will be part of a collaborative book project with the Pfister’s writer in residence.

As part of the program, she will work in an accessible spot, where visitors and guests at the hotel can come in, watch her work and ask questions. She will be able to share information about the hotel’s Victorian art collection, one of the largest of its kind in a hotel.

Barenz currently works as a full-time artist at Plaid Tuba, the studio of The Pfister’s first artist in residence, Reginald Baylor. Barenz has extensive experience teaching and holds a master’s degree from Washington University in St. Louis.

“Each year, we are repeatedly impressed by the quality of artists who apply to our program,” said Joe Kurth, general manager of The Pfister Hotel, owned by the Marcus Corp.

Barenz was one of six finalists included in the four-week public voting period. She was chosen by a panel of art experts. The winner of the public vote, Eddie Villanueva, will have an opportunity to exhibit work at Gallerie M at the InterContinental Milwaukee.