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Arts America Blog

Must-see exhibit at the Frameworks Gallery

The current show at the Frameworks Gallery, “Polly Norman – Summer Blast,” offers an unexpected treat—while Norman’s photography alone is worth seeing, it is sharing space with some very fine paintings and sculptures by a diverse group of artists.    

"Clarin y Caja"

Hugo Mercado, a painter who recently moved here from Cajamarca, Peru, is showing works that capture the colors and popular culture of his native land. His oils on …more…

Environmental art has a story to tell

Shelly Leitheiser’s latest exhibit, “Kinetic Connections,” is currently showing at the WARM Gallery in the Minnesota Women’s Center. Aside from being powerful commentaries about the environment, Leitheiser’s paintings in this exhibit raise questions about art and politics.

"Erosion" by Shelly Leitheiser

For starters, Leitheiser’s paintings tell a story. That fact in itself draws the artist into a minefield. While narrative painting was once a popular and accepted style, 20th-century modernists refused …more…

The 17th Annual Art-A-Whirl is coming to Minneapolis

Art-A-Whirl is the time to meet your local artists, visit local studios and galleries, and enjoy restaurants and coffee shops clustered in the famous arts district in Northeast Minneapolis.

Twelve converted warehouse buildings housing hundreds of artist studios will throw their doors open to the public in a culture-filled weekend showcasing paintings, photography, pastels, sculptures, jewelry, fabric art, woodworking, metalworking, furniture, glass works and performance art. Dozens of private galleries, shops …more…

Antiwar Art: An Idea Whose Time Has Come—Again

"The Volunteer" by Shelly Leitheiser

Social and political contradictions — a daily reality of life in America — are often tough to acknowledge, and most of us spend our days ignoring or denying the most egregious of them.

Take war. The hard truth is that war kills people, harms the environment, bankrupts nations, destroys international relations, endangers democracy and rarely solves political disagreements. Americans have lived with uninterrupted war for over …more…

Top 10 Picks for the St. Paul Art Crawl

"Mears Park" by Richard Abraham

It’s Spring—and that means art crawls! From Friday, April 27th, through Sunday, April 29th, hundreds of artists and art dealers will open their studios and galleries throughout St. Paul. Deciding which to visit can be daunting, especially if your time is limited. Here are my top ten artist picks (in no particular order)!

1. Jesikah Orman (Lowertown Lofts Coop 5th Atrium): works in mixed media on …more…

Top 10 Picks for the St. Paul Art Crawl

Mears Park by Richard Abraham

It’s Spring—and that means art crawls! From Friday, April 27th, through Sunday, April 29th,  hundreds of artists and art dealers will open their studios and galleries throughout St. Paul. Deciding which to visit can be daunting, especially if your time is limited. Here are my top ten artist picks (arranged according to gallery)!

1. Jesikah Orman (Lowertown Lofts Coop 5th Atrium): works in mixed media on …more…

Words and Pictures: “365D, Three Hundred and Sixty-Five Days of a Woman”

“365D, Three Hundred and Sixty-Five Days of a Woman” at the Icebox Gallery may seem like an exhibition of photographs of 365 Italian women. Indeed, there are 365 photos pinned to the walls of the tiny gallery in the Northrup King Building in Northeast Minneapolis. But the original intent of the project, the brainchild of creative director Marzia Messina, was to present an alternative view of women through their “photographs …more…

“From Thaw to Meltdown: Soviet Paintings of the 1950s-1980s” at The Museum of Russian Art

The current exhibit at The Museum of Russian Art (TMORA) is a pleasure for the senses but a challenge for the intellect. “From Thaw to Meltdown: Soviet Paintings of the 1950s-1980s” presents a narrow view of Soviet art, focusing on the theme of industrialization in paintings during the post-Stalin era. This thematic restriction might give the impression that artistic subject matter in the USSR was severely limited during this time …more…

“A Midwinter Night’s Dream” at the AZ Gallery

The AZ gallery is showing oils, photography, jewelry and prints by local women artists. Some standouts include Emily Gray Koehler’s color-reduction woodcuts; Lindsy Halleckson’s oils; and Megan Moore’s giclée prints. ...more...

“Crossing Borders” at Altered Aesthetics

Immigration is one of the critical issues of our time, and “Crossing Borders,” the new exhibit at Altered Aesthetics, brings artistic vision to this complex international phenomenon. ...more...

“World Beats: Global Contemporary Art” at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts

River Escape Panel

Currently showing at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, “World Beats: Global Contemporary Art” is an eclectic mix of paintings, painted photographs, sculpture and found-object art by eight artists whose works range from the glib to the ironic to the poignant.

My choice for most dramatic impact is an arrangement of nine panels—from a larger group of 50—by Cy Thao, a Hmong-American whose family fled Laos in 1975, when …more…

Art for Everyone in 2012!

Museums and galleries in Minneapolis and St. Paul are offering great exhibits throughout 2012. From plein air to modern to contemporary, there’s something for everyone’s taste. Here’s a short list of some major events happening this month. ...more...

Minnesota’s Tradition of Outdoor Painting Thrives

Sunset No. 1: Artist Point, by Neil Sherman

Despite Minnesota’s notorious climate—freezing winters and muggy, mosquito-ridden summers—there has always been a tradition of artists working outdoors, en plein air. In the 19th and 20th centuries, artists like Josephine Lutz Rollins, Alexis Jean Fournier, Elisabeth Chant and Samuel Chatwood Burton preserved, in their oils, watercolors and etchings, landscapes of a Minnesota few would recognize today.

Fortunately, contemporary Minnesota artists are continuing the …more…