For the last few months, I can only think about one local painter when I hear about abstract expressionism art. Gena Cohen's work is the embodiment of deconstructing shapes into abstract forms. To carry on her craft into the canvas, watching Gena is like having the fortune of spotting a sailor catching ideas and shapes in the thin air.

The Franconia Sculpture garden is one of these things that belong to Minnesota -even if located at the very border with Wisconsin. An untrained eye may be surprised, shocked. "What is this sub-Californication piece of art doing here?" Yet, reasonable thoughts because being at this sculpture garden is like walking in the moon after getting high with a cocktail of cocaine with acetone. Huge monuments made of trash scavenger hunts and treasures of unknown times. Unreal abstract and surrealistic art made of shapes and colors that you cannot find in nature. Hundred of sculpture and resident artist contributing with an community project that began in 1996. This is Minnesota.

By IASP.

It's like releasing a stream of emotion. Untold. To find an art style that strikes a chord in your heart. Sumi-e (traditional Japanese ink painting) is my first serious attempt to break into art as an adult, perhaps what led to this blog. Yet, creativity is boundless, wide open. To some degree, Susan Davies' work reminds that. 

By IASP. 

"Attention sacred ancient knowledge ahead," as one hears from a motionless whisper, though, written above the entrance of an unheard alley. This is Minneapolis, Minnesota. Just a few aimless steps later across streets I've never swept before, the kraken appears in front of me. That's how I just found the outstanding work of the muralist Adam Turman. 

By IASP. 

Entering the artist Candice Lin's "Seeping, Rotting, Resting, Weeping" is the closest experience to becoming Alice in Wonderland. Perhaps one of the first Alice's Wonderland drafts to be more precise. The one in which you attend a tea party with white rabbits puking at each other's mouths. Mr. Cheshire Cat doesn't stop staring at you because he suspects you're planning to steal his meth. Yes, the one -he claims- makes him invisible. While, in my opinion, this draft is the best, it never got the approval of a single publisher. I lost the point. Let's get back to Candice Lin. 

Image taken by Candice Lin and Francois Ghebaly

 By IASP.

For the last several days I have been staring a this piece of pottery that I brought from Pomaire, Chile. Clay is part of our handmade crafting traditions, but I never valued the worth of almost 200 hundred years of history. These are some of my thoughts after vising this crafting community.

By IASP. 

Roberto Matta's mural is the tale of two sides of the same coin: the Chilean people's stubborn defiance, but also the ultimate failure of Pinochet's 27-year-dictatorship to erase our past. In fact, for thirty-five years, everyone speculated the complete destruction of the mural El Primer Gol del Pueblo Chileno (The First Scoring of the Chilean People") by Roberto Matta. Perhaps its very existence remained in doubt as so many other crimes committed by Pinochet. 

When I chose Minnesota for my new home, my friends across the country -- well pretty much across the world -- were surprised by my choice. "I wanted to visit you in NY, LA or SF -- NOT MPLS. What do you want to do in the middle of nowhere? There is nothing interesting happening!" I would hear frequently. 

Well, I disagree. Minnesota is exciting and messy -- just like a family. You have friends who drive for 3 hours in the middle of the night to pick you up from Wisconsin because you had a minor car accident totaling car (and your friends do not want you to have to stay in the cheese curds state). You have friends who take you out for a drink to provide you moral support. You also have that one irresponsible friend who constantly annoys you but you cannot imagine the life in the cities without her. Pretty much Minnesota covers every member of a family, including that eccentric uncle whom I met recently.

It was a hot day and he wore a long sleeved white Oxford shirt with a white vest made of a polyester blend. I swear that garment had no breathability but he seemed unbothered. Streaks of his raven hair were falling over his black head band onto his oversized leopard glasses. His tiny mustache starkly contrasted with his dominant nose. He was part of the artist ensemble at the Gamut Gallery's anniversary celebration.  He sat on a folding chair behind a table filled with his art. His arms were crossed as if he did not want to communicate. He also had a little frown on his face. Yet you could not resist but to approach him. His Britney Spears prints caught my eye. "I am famous for these prints and even Britney knows about them," he started our communication. His name is Scot Seekings and he is definitely Minnesota's eccentric uncle, which makes him my uncle as well and I could not be more excited!

Uncle Scott does not know much about his origins. He told me with pride that he is a jewish Slav who came to the United States at a young age as an orphan. It was easy to ignore his stained shirt when his face lit up with excitement while talking about his art. He showed me all his Britney Spears prints (whom he adores) and photos of him around Minneapolis holding various signs in numerous languages. He worked with different photographers throughout many years. It certainly seemed to be a fun project. 

Social media is not a platform you will be able to find our uncle Scott. However, if you seem genuinely interested in his art, you will make his list. You will become the chosen one. He will take your phone number and text you an SMS to let you know when he will open his atelier at Loring Park for public. Uncle Scott's texts include also some pictures as a sneak peak to ensure your attendance! If I were you, I would try to get on his list. Because at the end of the day, everyone needs his or her eccentric uncle.

By IASP. 

I cannot start liking the blue rooster next to the Walker Art Center. Take it as my apology, Minnesota. Yes, you know which one, the ultramarine cock-a-doodle-doo next to the giant cherry on a spoon. I swear I’ve tried to like it. I keep closing my eyes praying to wake up loving its awful blueberryness next day but nothing yet. I mean there is nothing bad with the sculpture itself as the male chicken looks healthy and attractive, but then, more I learn about the sky-blue bird, more I hate it.

By IASP. 

Craft beer is the crossroad of utmost exchange of cultural heritage. No better place for Kordura Coleman's sculpture, which is located in the Twin Cities’ first Latin-inspired brewery, La Dona Cerveceria. This artwork titled La Dona acknowledges the deep cultural roots between the Latino and Minnesotan culture through beer (my favorite thing). This brilliant sculpture is a reminder of the rich cultural heritage of beer throughout history as Coleman's La Dona is a sculpture of a woman dressed with the Dia de los Muertos ("Day of the Dead"), also called Catrinas. 

 

When? Saturday, June 12, 2021, at 12:00-4:00 pm and is FREE!  

Where? Gamut Gallery, 717 S 10th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55404    

Within a month of moving to Elliot Park neighborhood, a vibrant bright pink postcard inviting me to Gamut Gallery’s “ART POP!’ event awaited in my mailbox. I went and loved every single moment of it. I have been hooked since. Art truly fosters community!  

This time Gamut Gallery will celebrate its 9th anniversary surrounded by all we need: art, music, and community. All great parties need fine music. To take care of it, 88Project and DI/ASPOR will play house music all day long! Reggie LeFlore will be live painting in Gamut Gallery’s back courtyard. You will also be able to admire the current exhibition, Setting the Groundwork, directly in the gallery. The Pop-Up Maker’s Market will feature Thraxis Threads, VaVa Voom Studio, Hello Cross Stitches, Pompa Goods, Phaedra Odelle, Sara Paul Kahn, Nikita Siewert, Scott Seekins & the Patrick Boys.  

I don’t know about your plans, but I will definitely enjoy some quality time with Gamut Gallery this Saturday.

 By IASP.

Tracy Frizzell's use of American iconography portraying post-industrialized environments is the best stage for a fantastic narrative. The extensive presence of local landmarks is welcomed as it places us at the border of reality and fiction, in which Tracy Frizzell, the author of Trains, opens her imagination to create a new layer that overlaps reality without destroying it. 

The author, Tracy Frizzell, is located on the fourth floor of the Northrup King Building (1500 Jackson St NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413).

Magic realism is one of - if not- the most important and innovative literary movements of this century. Taking place in Latin America, magic realism reflects the coexistence of development and traditions. Some of the most well-known writers of this movement are Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Julio Cortazar, Jorge Luis Borges, and Isabel Allende -my fellow compatriot. 

Yet, it's in painting where Magic Realism finds its roots; the best place for daydreaming. Back in 1925, Franz Roh used this concept to explain the post-expressionism in painting for the first time. Those extraordinary images from the painter's mind become ordinary on the canvas as those are imbued with morning light. 

Here, Tracy's brushes and oil painting match the blurring of the lines between fantasy and reality. We are not challenged to enter a new world, but we found ourselves watching the same city that we know and experience in a daily basis. The trains are part of the Midwestern ethos, which are also frequent remains of the past around the Cities. These flying trains are extraordinarily part of our routine. We share an experience. 

The Foshay Tower one is my favorite because of this shared experience as it has decorated the night of the Cities since 1929. The work of Tracy Frizzell plays with our collective memory. These pieces are an open invitation to experience the magic of our daily routine through shared images, landmarks, and style. 

It's like rediscovering the extraordinary from our ordinary routine that was always there. These images, like shared believes, provides Tracy with a system of references from which she does erase the borders between reality and fiction. We accept these trains as something normal. It's only the landmarks and images, the style itself seems to be taken from advertisements and colors of that era. 

To conclude, Trains is a very interesting proposal that combines a fantastic narrative blurred in our daily experience across these landmarks. visit her gallery the next available time. If you want to know more about Tracy Frizzell's artwork, her website is http://tracyfrizzell.com/

By IASP.

The murder of George Floyd shacked our already traumatized community by police brutality. While the outcome of the trial against former police officer Derek Chauvin brought some justice, there is a long path of healing that our nation needs to embrace. Healing requires a systematic change, but also a conversation, which is the main topic of Masked. The author, Kathy Mommsen, portraits a dialogue between a dancer and herself, movement and raw materials, strokes and colors, dance and clay. 

"When I draw from life, I feel the tension and the sweat of the dancer," Kathy Mommsen explains, "I am responding to her motion, emotion, and rhythm. It is clear George Floyd and the ongoing protests have impacted her. I am exploring. I do not have answers." 

Kathy Mommsen is located at the Studio 170 in the Northrup King Building (1500 Jackson St NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413). She specializes in ceramics to, as she describes, create life size relief walls with images of dancers in emotional poses. 

Masked is a piece made of Maiolica glaze on earthenware, a material used by wealthy people in medieval Europe. Smart and powerful choose, portraying the mass' reinvindication of media.

The creation process itself of Masked has so much to tell. Kathy Mommsen contacted an African American dancer to translate her response to George Floyd's murder through dance. Kathy describes this process as working the clay layer after layer in a team effort with the dancers throughout many sessions.

As she moved, Kathy made several drafts to highlight the movement and tension at the spot. Then, she worked these drafts over the clay to keep working over the movement as the shape and deepness of the clay allowed to emphasize the body of the dancer in motion. The author and dancer met several times after the initial session in an attempt to capture the whole energy of the performance through each creation step. Furthermore, given the ongoing COVID pandemic, the final sessions were made remotely, which is a final attestation of the convulsive and confusing times that we have lived since that Spring of 2020. 

The strength of these sessions shines in plain sight. The brevity of the poses demands decisive strokes and brush work. My favorite thing on Kathy's work is that I can feel the weight of the dancer, which is also emphasized by material's topography and curves. The expressiveness of the movement does not contradict its harmony and realism. 

The final result is a raw fragmented image that feels fresh and in motion. Her art is just worth watching, and I would recommend to visit her gallery the next available time. If you want to know more about Kathy Mommsen's artwork, her website is https://www.kathymommsen.com/artist-statement .