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Issue #20.2 |
Mashup: An Introduction to Art on the Wall |
WE ALL COLLECT SOMETHING. Coupons, stamps, love letters, or rubber bands from the Sunday paper. Some of us collect art. Unlike many of our more neurotic collections it is our art that we proudly display. But, in fact, others rarely see our art collections except for the occasional dinner party with friends. At my home our friends have grown accustomed to reclining under the large Sean Connaughty oil painting with wine glass in hand, occasionally looking up to find something new in the work. Or, once in a while a well-intentioned Clean Water Action Committee solicitor catches a glimpse of the Jaime Hayon platter we’ve proudly hung as the first thing you see when entering our home.
There was a time when there were more dinners at my house, and a time when there were more dinner invitations. Those invitations to dinners flowed into evenings, and the evenings turned into nights filled with conversations about the art in our homes.
So with that in mind, we here at mplsart.com are pleased to introduce Art on the Wall, a new series of conversations we’re producing with mnartists.org. Each month we will present an intimate, informative, and enjoyable introduction to the collections around us…think of it as an invitation to the dinner party.
Our first interview invites you into the home of FOX News broadcaster, Robyne Robinson. As you browse through the work she’s collected, you’ll see names of familiar artists, artworks that you’ll feel you recognize, and undoubtedly something new. Robyne’s art collection spans international lines but her greatest interest is in supporting local artists.
We hope you enjoy the tour.
—Kristoffer Knutson, mplsart.com
>>CLICK HERE to browse through an extensive and varied collection of some of local artists whose work Robyne Robinson collects.
mplsart.com is an online guide to gallery openings in Minneapolis managed by Emma Berg and Kristoffer Knutson. Along with weekly updates, photo galleries, reviews and featured artist profiles the site and those behind it present frequent art exhibitions in alternative spaces around town.
Emma Berg is the director and founder of mplsart.com, which she first launched in 2005. Emma’s genuine enthusiasm for the creative culture within our wonderful city keeps her out at art events weekly, supporting artists and galleries alike.
Kristoffer Knutson is the proprietor of the Lyndale Avenue boutique ROBOTlove, a design store featuring limited edition artist toys, clothing, books, prints and magazines. He joined mplsart.com as a partner in 2006.
Credits: Photo at top pictures the entryway in Robyne Robinson's home, featuring artwork by three Minnesota artists: Seth Wolk in the front, a light suitcase piece by Jon Nelson in the middle, and, in the corner, a painting by Ben Olson. (Image courtesy mplsart.com.) Photo of Emma Berg and Kristoffer Knutson appears courtesy mplsart.com. |
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| Art on the Wall: mplsart.com's Emma Berg Chats with Collector Robyne Robinson |
The Nicest Dorm in College
A conversation on collecting between mplsart.com’s Emma Berg and FOX 9 News journalist Robyne Robinson.
Welcome to the first installment in an ongoing monthly series from mnartists.org and the local arts calendar mplsart.com which will introduce you to a variety of Twin Cities collectors who share a passion for investing in and surrounding themselves with original art. Through these informal visits we hope to plant the seed of a passion for collecting in you too, as well as offer some practical insights into how you can begin to develop a collection of artwork that reflects and enhances your own unique vision of the world around you.
Fox news broadcaster, arts patron, and former gallery owner Robyne Robinson has been an amazing supporter of the local arts scene since arriving in Minneapolis in 1990. Her Minneapolis gallery, Flatland, was open from 2000 to 2003 with a focus on local emerging artists. She has served on the Basilica’s Arts Advisory Committee and on the arts boards for the Walker Art Center, Outsiders and Others, MCAD, and Independent Feature Project Minneapolis.
I visited with Robyne for tea at her Uptown townhouse, where I was introduced to her extensive art collection which spans all three floors. After spending some time chatting about the warm July weather, work, and the borders of uptown, we grab our tea and begin.
mplsart: Can we take a tour of your collection?
Robyne: Yeah, take your tea.
We begin our walk through the house. Looking around, I see that there is art everywhere: works line the walls, sculptures are grouped in every corner or hung from the ceiling, ceramic pieces paired with art magazines populate the side tables. It is absolutely inspiring ...Read this Art on the Wall interview with Robyne Robinson on mnartists.org.
 CLICK HERE to read Emma Berg's engaging conversation with FOX 9 News broadcaster Robyne Robinson about her art collection, which runs the gamut from sculpture to paintings and prints and even what may well be a drawing by Salvador Dali.
About the collector: Robyne Robinson is a broadcast journalist on FOX 9 News. A longtime supporter of Minnesota artists, she was also the founding owner of Minneapolis' Flatland Gallery, which specialized in showcasing work from the state's emerging artists.
Credits: (Top) Signed, numbered print by Frank Stella from Robyne Robinson's collection (photo courtesy mplsart.com). (Bottom) Portrait of Robyne R. by Frank Gaard, image courtesy the artist's website. Photo of Ms. Robinson appears with her permission. |
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Virtual Gardener: John Steffl, Hybrids
 Click here to read Ann Klefstad’s profile on John Steffl’s new digital photography show on mnartists.org
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John Steffl, a longtime ceramicist and painter, several years ago became a digital photographer, working with flowers. A show of this work just opened at Lizzard’s Gallery in Duluth.
“There are not many days in the life of a peony,” says John Steffl, the erstwhile painter now a digital photographer. When Steffl was going through round after round of chemotherapy for lymphoma a couple of years ago, he thought perhaps there weren’t so many days in his life either. The flowers were close, beckoning and, to eyes made new by the nearness of death, they were “so beautiful that they were sacred.” ... Click here to read the full profile by Ann Klefstad on mnartists.org.
What: Hybrids, digital photography by John Steffl
Where: Lizzard’s Gallery, Duluth, MN
When: The exhibit runs through September 15.
Tickets: FREE and open to the public
Credit: Peony Totem, photo by John Steffl, image courtesy Lizzard's Gallery. |
Click here to read curator Ken Bloom’s thoughts on Dubnicka’s new pieces and to get the story behind this intriguing new exhibit.
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Ken Bloom, the director of the Tweed Museum of Art at University of Minnesota-Duluth, recently guest-curated a show at the Duluth Art Institute. Here's his take on what he saw in Eric Dubnicka's work.
First impressions are said to be everlasting but they mislead: what seems opaque can later gain transparency. You may need this second impression to pierce the density of Eric Dubnicka’s new work. Character, mystery, and motive reward your gaze. The work’s readability is inversely proportional to the degree that its form and style represent conventional aesthetics. …Click here to continue reading Ken Bloom’s essay on mnartists.org.
What: When Pigs Fly, New Work by Eric Dubnicka
Where: The Duluth Art Institute, Duluth, MN
When: The exhibit will be up until November 25. There is an opening reception Thursday, August 23 from 5-7 pm and an Artist Dialogue planned for August 30 in the George Morrison Gallery from 6-7 pm.
Tickets: FREE and open to the public
Credit: Untitled by Eric Dubnicka, courtesy DAI and mnartists.org. |
Yes, We Do Have a History: In Her Own Right at the MMAA
Click here to read Susan Clayton’s review of the new MMAA exhibit In Her Own Right: Minnesota’s First Generation of Women Artists
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Susan Clayton reviews In Her Own Right: Minnesota's First Generation of Women Artists a new show at the Minnesota Museum of American Art.
In Her Own Right: Minnesota’s First Generation of Women Artists is a pleasing collaboration between the Minnesota Historical Society—drawing on its fine art collection and exhibition know-how—and the Minnesota Museum of American Art, possessor of an expansive gallery space that is used for temporary exhibitions. Promised was a show of 75 works from five artists, Frances Cranmer Greenman, Alice Hugy, Clara Mairs, Josephine Lutz Rollins and Ada Wolfe. All were born before 1900, enjoyed lengthy careers, and “contributed greatly to the history of art making in Minnesota.” … Click here to read Susan Clayton’s review of the exhibit on mnartists.org.
What: In Her Own Right: Minnesota’s First Generation of Women Artists
Where: Minnesota Museum of American Art, Saint Paul, MN
When: The exhibit runs through October 28. There is a gallery talk on September 23 at 2 pm, and a guest lecture featuring women’s studies scholar and historian Kristen Mapel Bloomberg and art historian Jane Blocker scheduled for October 3 at 7 pm.
Tickets: FREE and open to the public
Credit: Breakfast by Frances Greenman.
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READ ON for a quick handpicked sampling from the rich variety of events listed on mnartists.org/calendar ... |
| Classes & Workshops |
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| Fairs & Festivals |
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The Minnesota State Fair
(Saint Paul, August 23-September 3)
Riverfront Fine Arts and Crafts Festival
(Downtown Northfield, September 8-9)
Textiles, fashion by local designers, jewelry, and more at the annual Soo Vac +/- (plus/minus) Sale and Show
(Soo Visual Arts Center, Minneapolis, August 23)
Take a unique driving tour and visit artists and craftspeople in their studios throughout NE Minnesota for the ten-day Autumn Winds Studio Tour
(Various studio locations in Northeast Minnesota, September 7-16)
Celebrate unity and diversity by browsing through the work of the unique, youth-created collaborative
SPEAK Project
(The Baha'i Center, Minneapolis, August 25)
Live demonstrations of weaving and spinning at the Weaver’s Guild of Minnesota Fall Open House
(Weaver's Guild of MN, Minneapolis, September 15)
Credit: Birch Trees by Susan Bolos, one of the artists you can visit on the Autumn Winds Studio Tour
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| Lectures and Readings |
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Book launch party and signing for Romantic Knits, a new book by Annie Modesitt with how-to for knitting your own flirty fashions
(Textile Center of Minnesota, Minneapolis, August 24)
An artists’ talk and retrospective exhibit, Olmscheid House and Street, on the work of father and son photographers Tom and A.J. Olmscheid
(IFP Minnesota Center for Media Arts, Saint Paul, artists’ talk on September 11 & exhibit runs through October 5)
Local historian, critic, and novelist Larry Millett will speak on Living Arts: A Discovery Guide to Twin Cities Architecture
(Minneapolis Central Library, Minneapolis, September 13)
Credit: Detail from the IFP Minnesota postcard in honor of the Olmscheid House and Street retrospective |
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| Music |
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Fort Wilson Riot presents Idigaragua, an Original Rock Opera
(Bedlam Theatre, Minneapolis, September 6-16)
Join lutenist and trickster Richard Griffith for The Magic Lute, an evening of Renaissance lute music, magic, and mental chicanery
(Tillie's Bean Coffee House, Minneapolis, August 31 and September 15)
Groove to the jazz, world music, and original compositions of Jetsam Organic Ensemble
(Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis, August 25)
Rock out to the ’80s cover band After School Special
(Station 65, Mora, August 24-25)
Credit: Photo by Emma Freeman from Idigaragua courtesy Bedlam Theatre |
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| Performance |
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Explore the impact of environmental damage on women and children in Pipaashaa, a compelling new production by Ananya Dance Theatre
(Southern Theater, Minneapolis, September 6-9)
Catch sketch comedy, improv, and short film work from emerging local comics as their stars are rising at the 99¢ Comedy Hour
(Jitter Cafe and Martini Bar, Minneapolis, Wednesday nights through August 29)
A post-feminist, satiric dance theater romp through road rage, gluttony and other new oppressions in Here It Is, Here It Is by Melissa Birch
(Bryant Lake Bowl, Minneapolis, September 2-23)
“Relaxing and Odd” improv from Code Name Roosevelt (formerly Survivors of the Undead Plague) at Improv A-Go-Go
(Brave New Workshop, Minneapolis, August 26) |
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| Visual Arts |
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Dream Girl: Classic American Illustration features the art of iconic pin-up girls, pulp femme fatales, and dream girls from advertising and magazine spreads from 1900-1950
(Red Wing Framing Gallery, Red Wing, September 13-October 23)
Nature Abstracted: Paintings by Mary Linden
(Jon Hassler Theater, Plainview, through September 2)
Attest and Grow: a solo show by mixed media artist Amy Rice
(Gallery 122, Minneapolis, September 7-30)
Salon 300: The Minnesota State Fair Overflow Show
(Hopkins Center for the Arts, Hopkins, through September 2)
WARM and Amazon present: Megan H. Longtine-Jones and Beth Loraine Bowman
(Amazon Bookstore Co-op, Minneapolis, September2-30)
Credit: Forestville by Mary Lingen. |
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You Are Here event listings are drawn entirely from the mnartists.org calendar, so if you want to improve the odds that you'll see your happening linked here, you'd better start posting your events!
We've made it super easy to begin: here's a step-by-step guide that'll show you how to promote your own events on the new arts calendar. Browse through more up-to-the-minute events listings or post a show of your own on mnartists.org's new DIY arts events calendar. |
The mission of mnartists.org is to improve the lives of Minnesota artists and provide access to and engagement with Minnesota’s arts culture. |
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