The Precious Object brings together 14 artists from locales throughout Minnesota in the inaugural exhibition of mnartists.org's ARTmn visual arts series, presented in partnership with the Hennepin County Public Library.
2009, Mixed Media Installation with coin operated heater and light
2008, monoprint, mixed media, and collage, 22x17"
2008, Felt, thread, dowels, and latex paint
2008, mixed media installation, dimensions variable, Mercer Union
2009, Cor-ten Steel, h100" x w68" x d20"
Speaking to the desire for the handmade in a world awash in technology, The Precious Object brings together 14 artists from locales throughout Minnesota in the inaugural exhibition of mnartists.org's ARTmn visual arts series, presented in partnership with the Hennepin County Public Library.
The artists -- selected from a pool of more than 300 applicants by a panel of curators, artists, and critics -- explore issues related to nature, simulation, craft, collecting, and fantasy. While the work employs a broad range of materials and processes, taken together it speaks to the personal connections we forge with physical objects as a means to commemorate and sometimes replicate an experience and or place.
We also have an engaging essay by Andy Sturdevant, "Inside the Cabinet of Wonders," reflecting on the perennial lure of strange and beautiful objects, written in honor of mnartists.org's inaugural ARTmn exhibition, The Precious Object, at the Hennepin County Library in Minneapolis. To read the essay click here.
Click on the artists names below to learn more about them, to see images of their work and more!
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Watch the video preview of The Precious Object.
OPENING RECEPTION
ARTmn2009: The Precious Object
Friday, September 18, 6-9 pm Free
Central Library, Cargill Hall
Panel Discussions:
"Faking Nature"
Tuesday, October 6, 7 pm, Free
Central Library, Pohlad Hall
Artists Liz Miller, Alison Hiltner, Paula McCartney, Sam Spiczka, and Karl Unnasch talk about their work in relation to the natural world.
"By Hand: Craftsmanship, Labor, and the Handmade"
Tuesday, October 27, 7 pm, Free
Central Library Pohlad Hall
Scott Stulen, mnartists.org project director, and Alisa Eimen, associate professor of art history at Minnesota State University, discuss their process for organizing The Precious Object and the central themes within the exhibition with artists Margaret Wall-Romana, Kristin Van Dorn, Erik Waterkotte, and Michon Weeks.
"My Precious: Obsession, Collection, and the Souvenir"
Tuesday, November 17, 7 pm Free
Central Library, Pohlad Hall
Artists James F. Cleary, Beth Barron, Andy Ducett, Joan Iron Moccasin, and Ginny Maki explore topics of appropriation, memory, and desire.
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The Precious Object, mnartists.org's 2009 ARTmn exhibition, opens at the Hennepin Country Central Library in Minneapolis on September 18 and will be on view through January 3, 2010.
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Click HERE for a map to the Hennepin County Library - Central (formerly know as the Minneapolis Central Library).