Local Art Seen: Chromascope at the Prøve

Rotten Light by Dane Pedersen. Photography.

Last Friday evening I visited the Prøve Gallery for the opening reception of Chromascope, a show featuring 13 local and regional artists. The call for art restricted artists in their color selection to essentially the basic color wheel.

An unusual feature of the show was the manner in which it was laid out. Rather than having the works displayed sequentially about the gallery, the curators mounted the 19 pieces in a holistic, relational manner as if a collaborative installation. The aim is to create a greater visual resonance amongst the pieces within the white cube of the space. Furniture by Loll Designs had been installed to encourage viewers to sit facing the exhibit in order to more or less relax, contemplate the whole.

Kirsten Aune's large Textile On Cotton provided a focal starting point.
dispersing color in all directions.

Here is a listing of the featured artists: Ray Allard, Kirsten Aune, Billy Flynn, Susanna Gaunt, Linda Glisson, Margie Helstrom, Isaac James, Tom Moriarty, Lance Mountain, Philip Noyed, Dane Pedersen, Sue Rauschenfels and Pat Sharrow. The show will run through July 7.

Isaac Watamaniuk's Blue 65. Acrylic on canvas.

CE-5 by Lance Mountain. Latex on canvas.

Turquoise Light Wave by Phillip Noyed.
Lambda photographic print, Acrylic, LED

Totem Poles and Birch Trees, Sue Rauschenfels.
Mixed media.

The weather Friday was tumultuous. For hours that morning and afternoon the rain fell in buckets. Many had a foreboding that Grandma's Marathon might even be cancelled for the first time. But then, the sky opened and the sun shone in. Driving into town from the South one could see that the William Irving 5K run went off well, people returning to their cars or hotels, standing at intersections in clusters with runners in running gear accompanied by friends who came to cheer them on. Parties followed. The weather and the race may have contributed to the thin turnout at the opening. I couldn't help but recall to mind the many Prøve openings in which there were so many present one could hardly navigate the room.

"Chromascope" has been made possible in part by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, thanks to legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage funds. Support from Prøve Gallery is also possible through the private donations by Prøve Gallery Members and Collective.

Prøve Gallery is an contemporary and experimental art gallery in downtown Duluth.

Margie Helstrom provides a sense of scale for the work. Her piece, above
and over her left shoulder: Silly Rabbit, Trix Are For Kids. Acrylic on canvas.

BAM, by Kirsten Aune.