Local Art Seen: Elizabeth Kuth, Sam Zimmerman and Alexa Carson @ Lizzard's

All who know her work and work ethic have been impressed by Elizabeth Kuth. Some of her work is currently on display at Lizzard's Gallery downtown. Sadly, for friends in Duluth, she has picked up roots and moved South to be near her children. She had such a wonderful studio and home on Island Lake, I am sure she will also be missing that for a time. Here's some of what I saw at Lizzard's yesterday. All proceeds from the sale of these paintings is being donated to Safe Haven Women's Shelter here in Duluth.

Lizzard's represents dozens of artists, a is worth a visit simply for browsing any time you are downtown. Here is a piece by Sam Zimmerman followed by several interesting works by Alexa Carson. 

Related Link: Elizabeth Kuth Artist Talk Provides 

Deeper Understanding of Abstract Expressionism

Meantime, art goes on all around you. Get into it.

Two Day Sale of Works by Island Lake Artist Elizabeth Kuth

"Somehow in the West we think everything is a problem to be solved. I don’t think this way. You should be relaxed and enjoy oneself. Some painters have everything worked out in advance, all their colors, everything. That’s anathema to me. I start with canvas, and see what happens."
--Bill Morgan

I saw my first Elizabeth Kuth piece on the wall of a former director of the Duluth Art Institute. I made a mental note yo visit her studio some day. Eventually it came to pass, and I have been a fan ever since.

This weekend there will be a sale of Elizabeth Kuth paintings and drawings at her studio on Island Lake. It's my understanding that she is planning to move to be nearer her grandchildren, and thus is beginning to divest herself of some of the work she's created and accumulated.

I began with a Bill Morgan quote because Kuth is yet another local artist who was influenced by this UWS professor and painter. I love Bill's work, and have the same feeling for Kuth's paintings and drawing, produced in that same spirit of discovery and awe.

I took these photos of her work during a recent visit so they are not necessarily the ones on sale. That is, some of these images are  and a few are just shots I took because of a desire to share here, to whet the appetite and let you know that it will be worth the effort to make the trek.

E. Kuth PAINTINGS AND DRAWINGS
Prices range from $95 to $350 for paintings and $35 to $125 for drawings. The artist will be painting when you get there.
4204 NE Van Rd
Oct 28-29. 10-5

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DON'T FORGET: One Day Only, Noon till Ten Saturday

HALLOWEEN BEGINS @ HALLOWADE

Local Art Scene: Elizabeth Kuth Artist Talk and a Homegrown Call for Art

A couple weeks back I had the opportunity to catch Elizabeth Kuth give an artist talk in the Morrison Gallery at the DAI. Catherine Meier opened by introducing the artist  and her exhibition, Rooted Expression. I'd heard her speak about her work in January at Studio 3 West and anticipated an interesting digression and was not disappointed.

Ms. Kuth began by noting that this was her first exhibition in 10 years. Having German roots, she noted that German Expressionism has been one of her influences, that it resonated with her. She works on canvas, working and re-working her large abstract forms so as to produce complex scratchings, collage-juxtapositions that depict and develop "the essence of human motion." Over time she took all this complex interactions of form and line and began to simplify it, to distill it to its essence.

Her talk had parallels to her work in that she produced word pictures at times that were nebulous and conceptual rather than concrete. "The idea of line on line began to speak to me," she said. She pointed at another piece and commented on how it depicted vessels, a womb, something about caves.

In many pieces there is a sense of play in her work, with something figurative happening. Because she lives alone in the woods, her children grown, her creative explorations conveyed her process of finding, as in a quest.

What's interesting when working in abstract forms is that things emerge which you didn't plan. Kuth, for example said at one point bones began to appear in her work. The interesting thing is that her father was a bone surgeon. She also saw rocks in her work, which made her ask how she was connected to primal times.

She went through a long period of questions with no answers and she searched for connections.

Carl Jung's writings speak of the myths and symbols of early peoples. While painting Kuth said liines and elements would begin to line up. The unconscious does the biggest part.

Hans Hoffman, she said, was another influence. He talked about "the search for the real."

Kuth noted that while painting she thinks in terms of relationships and movement, not objects. She builds layers, she said, "until something speaks to me. My process is to create with immediacy, a whimsical play of forms."

During a Q&A period afterwards she was asked, "How hard is it to work large?" To this she replied, "I'm having a hard time going back to small."

She was then asked to discuss her drawing. In response she discussed her daily ritual of doing 10 automatic drawings every morning to start the day. "I feel closer to my sketches.... very intimate." She shared that drawing was also therapeutic. "Let yourself be reckless. Drawing is immediate."

In response to a third question she stated that "abstraction produces a more interior feel" as we are detached from the world of objects. Drawing provides sanity by placing her in the present.

Her show, Rooted Expression, will remain on display at the Duluth Art Institute in the Depot till next weekend.


PRØVE Gallery Sends Out Call

Do you remember their first opening in 2011?

PRØVE Gallery is calling for painters, graphic designers, illustrators, writers and all types of artists to create or recreate their ideal Homegrown Music Festival concert poster or show setlist. The imagery can be from your favorite Homegrown Music Festival moment, venue, band(s), Twin Cities Invasion, Iron Range Invasion, Superior Night or a complete fictional show that you always wished was part of Homegrown Music Festival.

Tell your friends, your mom and any other person who likes to design their dream-team poster.

Attached to this email are all the details concerning:

Deadline, how to submit, day of the show and more details concerning the concept of the show.

For any other questions, feel free to inquire to: info@provegallery.com

Check out this PRØVE Flashback, The gallery has made good on its promise to bring something new and different to the Twin Ports arts scene.

Meantime, life goes on all around you. Open your eyes.

Local Art Seen: Rooted Expression -- Elizabeth Kuth at the DAI

Duluth Art Institute

Morrison Gallery

February 16 -- April 9, 2017

From the Artist Statement

This body of work emerged during a fourteen year period of studio work "aimed at developing a language expressing Feeling with Significant Form. These paintings are a portrait on my life experience of love and loss, birth and death. Within my Abstract Expressionist style you are called to look and feel in the forms a depth of meaning in your own life experience."

A little further on Kuth describes her move to the country as a way of life inspired by reflection and her personal search for meaning. Her mornings began with a ritual of spontaneous drawing, tapping into the heart of her humanness.  

Her work has been evolving, tied in part to her environment and driven by the deeper questions that make up our eternal quest: Who Am I? and What Am I Saying? Influences include her German heritage, Carl Jung, experiences of loss, ancestry and an ocean of memories. 

"My focus grew," she writes, "as my ability to simplify form and shape meaning in the Abstract Formal Elements. The simplifying of space tied to the nature of my living space connected me with the word primitivism. Dubuffet and Miro were influential along with children art. They had an effect on my looser approach to painting, how I would scumble the paint and build it with transparent layers, leaving edges that created line and movement, rough-simplified forms associated with modernism."

What's interesting in the work is how it comes from such deep personal spaces within the artist, yet speaks in universal forms capable of connecting with us all.  

The energy here is something akin to a portrait of her personal life, shared with the hope that others will be touched and even feel connected to it. 

She notes that we live in a period of history where more than ever we need to stay in touch with our Selves and our humanity. Kuth's body of work is the fruit of one person's search. 

Be sure to make time to see this exhibit. Go! For best results I would encourage a slow engagement. 

EdNote: Apologies for any distortion of colors in these reproductions. 

Local Art Seen: Hamilton and Kuth Deliver the Goods. Plus, Emerging Photographers and Closing for the Member Show at the DAI

I've been in love with the work of Carla Hamilton and Elizabeth Kuth from the first time I encountered it. Their current exhibitions at the Duluth Art Institute Depot Galleries only confirms this impression. For sheer boldness, Carla Hamilton's Gezielt (Targeted) is unlike anything I have ever seen. The juxtapositions of the various images and eclectic mix of styles left me stirred and the opposite of speechless. I found myself talking with everyone I could about what was there, perhaps in an effort to get a handle on it or process it.

Elizabeth Kuth's show in the Morrison Gallery, Rooted Expression, clearly reflects her maturity as an abstract painter -- powerful, exploratory, evocative, engaging. The pieces are darker, deep and at home here in this space. And the space is large enough that one is able to stand back far enough to take it in.

The Emerging Photographers show in the Corridor Gallery makes for a great dessert--or appetizer if you came up through the elevator there. I regret not having more time, but had fun meeting some of the students whose work comprised this show.

Jeffrey Larson's Pheasants 

There was a very brief introduction of the artists at one point and a reminder of upcoming artist talks. Though it was also the closing night for the member show, the Great Hall was muted by all the excitement generated upstairs. One thing I did notice, however, was that there seemed to be a few more political statements this year than in years past. No doubt a sign of the times.

I'll be sharing more from in the days ahead.

@PantsOnFire by Patricia Lenz

The Killing Chair by Kris Nelson

Parisian Portraitist by Matt Kania

There's plenty more to say. This is just a taste. Be sure to read the backstory about Carla Hamilton's show which appeared in yesterday's DNT.

And don't miss next week's show at Trepanier Hall featuring Ugandan artist Steveboyyi Makubaya. March 4 at 6:30 p.m.

Meantime, art goes on all around you. Engage it. 

Throwback Thursday: DAI Member Show Exceptional As Always

TONIGHT is the Closing Reception for the Duluth Art Institute Member Show and the opening for three new shows--Gezielt (Carla Hamilton), Rooted Expression (Elizabeth Kuth) and Emerging Photographers 2017. 5:00-7:00 p.m. at the Depot. Join us. 

Meantime, for Throwback Thursday here's a blog post about the opening reception for the 2010 Member show seven years ago. 

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It's an awesome thing to be a young artist in the vicinity of New York or San Francisco or other flourishing cultural centers, nourished by the variety of aesthetic experiences exploding there. Truth is, wherever you go across the land, by whatever ribbon of highway you travel, you will discover pockets of creative energy displayed. There are artists everywhere doing some very cool things.

Last week, the Duluth Art Institute Membership Show opened here, filling the Great Hall of the Depot with a wide array of works by local artists. During my lunch hour yesterday I had a chance to check it out, having missed the Opening Reception the previous week because I was in L.A. The show consists of a single entry by any member desirous to contribute, and one readily sees there are a lot of people making some very interesting things. I saw that someone else has been painting Dylan, and I saw one of Adam Swanson's bicycles.

“Even though the work is un-juried, this show is a testament to the incredible array and quality of visual art in the Arrowhead region,” said Samantha Gibb Roff, DAI executive director.

Here's the mission of the DAI, according to their website: The Duluth Art Institute enriches daily life with dynamic, innovative arts programming that upholds excellence and promotes active community participation. From talking with the executive director and others, I have come to understand that the last phrase is probably the DAI's most important feature, promoting community participation. Through a range of programs the organization nurtures an interest in the arts among young people, and helps closet artists expose their creative passions to wider audiences. The DAI also has workshops to help professionals find more venues and to develop their careers in the arts.

In short, it is a small but energetic non-profit organization that is dedicated full time to community enrichment and appreciation of the arts. At the very least, check out their show at The Depot. And when you have a few minutes, check out their website as well.

Art appreciation isn't just for stodgy old folks with money. It's for everyone.

PICTURED here are scenes from the current show in The Depot's Great Hall. My own entry, A Postmodern Man, is in the lower portion of the photo at the top right.

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"If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced." --Vincent Van Gogh

Twin Ports Arts Happenings: Highlights for the Next Four Weeks

"Why fit in when you were born to stand out?" -Dr. Seuss

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There's plenty happening in the Twin Ports arts scene, both above and below the treetops. If you have a visual arts or spoken word event coming up soon and you don't see it listed here, feel free to add it in the Comments so we can all learn about it.

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Tonight is Spoken Word Open Mic @ Beaners. Linda LeGarde Grover is the featured poet this month. The even begins at 7:00 p.m.

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Submit a Living Lab project proposal
You are invited to transform an unused space on the UMD campus into your own sustainable laboratory by submitting a Living Lab project proposal. Campus grounds and buildings are not only a backdrop of campus life, but can be used as a medium for innovation, testing, demonstration, and learning. Selected proposals will receive campus space and assistance with the facilitation of an approved project. Application Deadline: March 20.  Details Here.

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Anishinaabe Kwe @ the Holden Fine Arts Center at UWS

Here's an opening to look forward to. Local Native artists Sarah Agaton Howes, Ivy Vainio and Leah Yellowbird will have their work on display March 1 - 31 at the Kruk Gallery, Holden Fine Arts Center, UW-Superior. (1805 Catlin Avenue) This oft-overlooked space has had numerous really excellent shows and this one will be equally stimulating. Looking forward to it. The Opening Reception is slated for Tuesday, February 28, 5-7pm. Will I see you there?

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Steve Boyyi @ the AICHO Galleries 
The first week of March Ugandan artist Steve Boyyi will be showing his work at the AICHO Galleries in Trepanier Hall in Duluth. Here's a story on this remarkable young man. More details coming soon.

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Christie Eliason @ The Red Mug
I owe the Dr. Seuss quote at the beginning of this blog post to Christie Eliason, who is having her painting displayed in her first public exhibition next month at the Red Mug in Superior. She has a great spirit in my recent correspondence with her and I look forward to sharing her work here in the next few days. The show is titled Inside A Raven Conspiracy, and there's plenty to see and like. The opening reception will be March 11, a Saturday, from 2:00-4:00 p.m.

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Adam Swanson @ Pizza Luce
Next time you get a chance, grab a lunch or libation at Pizza Luce and check out this month's featured artist, Adam Swanson. Swanson's paintings give any room a lift, which is my you may want to own one of your own someday. You won't have to wait till your next show to enjoy it. You can get that pick-me-up every time you come home after a rough day, for the rest of your life.

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Book Club at Tweed Museum of Art 
There's a new book club formed, meeting once a month at the Tweed. I can't imagine a better location for an art-themed book club. But the books aren't what you'd expect, so if you're looking for a new book club, this one has some lively fans of the written world. Next Tuesday Claire Kirch is the moderator and the book they are discussing is an art sleuth novel about Abstract Expressionists and the drama of World War II. Free and open to the public. The book is The Muralist by Barbara Shapiro. Here are the details about when and where they're meeting.

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CALL FOR ART
Seeking artists to contribute to a Dylan-themed art show during Dylan Fest 2017 in May. Here is the original announcement... with more details coming soon. We have secured a location for this year's Duluth Dylan Fest art show: the Zeitgeist Atrium.

ALSO, we're looking for artists to do more paintings for some of the windows at The Armory. Would you like to paint a panel or two for public display. Next time you drive by (down on London Road across from Valentini's) check it out... Then reach out to me via PM on Facebook of ennyman3 AT gmail DOT com.

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DAI Opening Reception for two exciting artists, Carla Hamilton and Elizabeth Kuth is Next Thursday, Feb. 23. This will also be the closing reception for the Member Show. ARTISTS: Don't forget to pick up your work the following day.

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EdNote: If your event is not listed and you want others to hear about it, share your details here in the Comments.

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EdNote: I now have links to all my books listed in one place. Check out Eds-Books.com

Opening Reception for Three Exhibits, February 23 at the DAI and More

The opening reception for the triple exhibition of Carla Hamilton, Elizabeth Kuth and UMD Student Photography is rapidly moving into view. Just over two weeks from today this is a show I've very much been looking forward to. Here are some notes to get you motivated.

“Gezielt (Targeted)”
Feb. 23 – April 9, 2017

"Ghost Fathers" from her show Durch Wasser rennen.

If I remember correctly, DAI director Annie Dugan lives in Wrenshall, as does popular local author Lucie Amundson. Carla Hamilton grew up there in the small rural community and then left the region to spend nearly 18 years in Germany, where she studied classic art techniques at the Freie Kunstschule. Hence the German titles of her shows and much of her work.

Hamilton returned to Minnesota in 2012 and turned from traditional painting techniques to mixed media, employing repurposed objects in her work. This current series comes from an “experience of walking while black.” In spring 2015 she was stopped by a cop and accused of bothering her two white friends. She states: “My fear from the incident spurred me to request mediation and body camera footage. The mediation process was a great exchange—the officers saw me as more of a person and I saw them as people, too. This work comes from processing both the original experience as well as the productive aftermath. We can’t ignore the things that happen and in order to move forward we have to talk.”

Her initiative fostered learning opportunities. The dialogue proved helpful not only for Hamilton but also for the officers as well. Bringing her art to the Duluth Art Institute is another step toward bringing understanding as regards police/community relations. "You don't have to do anything wrong to get arrested," Carla told me last summer. "I get stereotyped all the time." Her life in Germany taught her that what's happening here in the Northland could be better.


“Rooted Expression” 
Feb. 16 – April 9, 2017

There's much anticipation to see the new paintings by Elizabeth Kuth. I myself love her painterliness and the ways she uses paint to evoke subconscious, childlike forms. Her textures and surfaces can dramatic. Kuth’s work conveys her search for meaning and purpose.

In December she exhibited work from 2014-2016 at the new Studio 3 West Gallery where she also talked about her paintings. Kuth, who said she paints from the gut, explained, "I learn about myself as I paint," noting that it's a very determined process for finding out more about yourself.


UMD Student Photography
The Corrdior Gallery at the DAI will exhibit photography by University of Minnesota-Duluth students. This annual exhibit showcases their learning in photo theory as well as digital, analog and hybrid techniques mastered by the region’s post-secondary students. This year’s photographers are Katie Bertucci, Keegan Burckhard, Liz Huninghake, Wilson Johnson, Sammie Lundberg, Kaitie Sauer, Eric Soderberg and Emily Theisen. This exhibit, which will be on the walls outside the DAI office and board room, is curated by the DAI Artist Services Director, Amber White.

The reception is free and open to all, with live music by Emanuel Eisele.

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There are a number of programs taking place in March that relate to thes exhibits. One of these is a Wiki Edit-a-Thon for Arts & Equality, March 5 at the Lincoln Center DAI. There will also be a forum addressing art, race and community policing (with panelists including Hamilton, City of Duluth Human Rights Officer Carl Crawford; Chief of Police Mike Tusken; and local NAACP president Stephan Witherspoon). And Studio 3 West is hosting a feminist art opening in March called Wtf. It's apparent that the DAI is expanding its Duluth footprint.

February 23 is the first date of note, though. Will we see you there?
 
Meantime, art goes on all around you. Engage it.

Elizabeth Kuth Artist Talk Provides Deeper Understanding of Abstract Expressionism

Wednesday evening Elizabeth Kuth gave an "artist talk" about her abstract paintings currently on display at Studio 3 West, one of the newest gallery spaces in Downtown Duluth. The paintings discussed were from her 2014-2016 series titled "Ritual Forms."

Drew Digby welcomed everyone and made a few introductory remarks about the space. In addition to showcasing artists' work, Studio 3 West will be used for helping artists to develop in their careers. He then introduced Elizabeth Kuth, whose work I have found inspiring since I first discovered it.

Ms. Kuth began by sharing that after her parents died she committed to devoting her next ten years to her work as an artist. She also listened to women artists and focused on mentoring women. At one time her life was about doing, but at this time in her life she needed to listen and pay attention more.

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EK described her approach to painting. It is something akin to automatic painting in which things emerge as she paints. Some of the themes include women being victimized and encounters with nature.*

For EK painting is about paint. Identifying with it. Another key concept, she said, is overcoming the fear of destroying something good.

In her work EK gives a lot of attention to form. Some of her earlier paintings were displayed on the west wall of the gallery space and showed a lot of color interplay. In her more current work she downplays color and uses values instead so that form could dominate. Having become overwhelmed with form and color she moved toward a reductionism, cutting out the expressive use of color.

A little further in her talk she addressed issues like how a viewer enters a picture and interacts with it. She also addressed the various kinds and features of forms – circular, tubular, curvular, edges – as well as the manner in which thickness and texture of the surface produces different effects. Ultimately, she noted that destruction is as much a part of the process as creation. For artists who get paralyzed by the fear of messing something up if they make one more mark, this is a liberating secret.

Her early work incorporated a greater infusion of color.

After discussing her process she invited us to contribute to the conversation about the various pieces.

Touched by the Medium

Ms. Kuth says she paints from the gut. The process of painting, for her, is a very primal activity. "I learn about myself as I paint," she said. It's a very determined process for finding out more about yourself.

The respondents discussed various features of the work, including the sense of movement in a painting, and the feeling of being immersed in a piece.

A highlight of the chat came at this point when EK shared that a special feature of abstract expression is that by not finishing a piece off -- by this I mean completing all the details so as to give perfect definition of the objects in a paint, such as "This is a horse" and "This is a dog with her pups" -- the viewer is able to engage it and finish it by making their own interpretations. New contemporary work frequently keeps imagery obscure. Mystery is part of the engagement. Viewing the work is a form of surrender.

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Many of the exhibitions in local galleries include artist talks. It can be a rewarding way to learn more about our local artists as well as how and why they do what they do. In addition to art openings, which are celebratory in nature and draw crowds, you may want to add artist talks to your art appreciation regimen. They are usually more intimate affairs and highly informative. Life is for learning.

Meantime, art goes on all around you. Immerse yourself.