A Little Bit of Luke Holden, and a Lot More

Luke Holden, 2012

On an evening like this last spring I met Luke Holden, a young artist from the Bemidji area whose work was being displayed at the Ochre Ghost Gallery. The Ghost continues to be a nice little gallery for bringing people doing original and sometimes unconventional contemporary work to a wider public.

Tonight is the culmination of NXN visual arts week here and there will be a lot to see so plan your evening well in advance. In addition to the traditional trio of galleries doing the Second Friday Night Art Crawl (Washington, Ochre and Prove) there is also an opening in a new space across the street from the Prove. Be sure to check out Luminaries at the Prove Gallery and #RadioPluto at The Gardner Building across the way.

But don't stop there. There are happenings at the Duluth Photography Institute, Northern Prints Gallery, Pineapple Arts, and a gallery Skywalk Tour.

Over in Souptown is the Goin' Postal Spring Show featuring new work by Carla Magnuson, Jeredt Runions, Dustin Keliin, Becky Brandt, Anthony Sclavi, Andrew Perfetti, Lindsey Graskey, Justin Sinks, Matt Stengl, John Heino, Tal Lindblad, Colin Wiita, Big Andy, Chelsea Miller, Eric Horn, Tara Stone, Christian Dalbec, Sharon Rogers, Mike Trepanier and yours truly. I've  decided to auction off my John & Yoko tonight, so if you are one of the several people who've asked for pricing over the past year, you may want to get a bid in.

As I said, plan the evening well so you know where you want to end the later part of the evening. Prove is open till 11:00 p.m. and the Goin' Postal Show is throwing an afterparty at Bev's Jook Joint next door with several stellar local performers, The Tico Three, Five Pints of Rye, Next of Kin and Dennis.

But first, let's hear what Luke Holden has to say about making art.

EN: How and when did you come to take an interest in art? 
LH: My parents are artists and they've always encouraged me to paint and draw.

EN: Where did you study? 
LH: I studied visual art at Perpich Center for Arts Education, aka: "the arts hi" in Golden Valley MN. Most recently I am studying printmaking at Bemidji State University.

EN: Who are your favorite artists and why? 
LH: My favorite artists are my friends, because when you know the artist it makes the work more meaningful. It tells things about the person.

EN: Where do you live and what do you currently do for a living? 
LH: I live in Bemidji. I am a student worker in the screenprinting studio at BSU. I am also a personal care attendant for an adult with autism.

EN: You like to draw. Describe how that started and how you developed your style. 
LH: I travel alot and it’s easy to keep a sketchbook. Drawing is the foundation of alot of other processes and I probably will never master it. My style is sloppy, basically. I like drawing fast and not fussing with it much. I've noticed I draw best when I'm distracted, like on the telephone. Theres something about things coming out of my hands without alot of intention. I like that.

EN: Do you have a name for you style? 
LH: No, I don't have a name besides sloppy.

EN: Where can people see more of your work? 
LH: People can see more of my work in the basement of the Bemidji Community Art Center where my studio is. Also at random art shows in Northern Minnesota!

Here are a few additional pieces from last year's show.