Local Art Seen: Variegated is a Gallery 315 Variety Pack Art Show

"The Piano Teacher" by Kerry Everett

"After the Rain" by Kathryn Lenz

"Rooster at the Hen House" by Susan Krochalk

Friday evening I attended the opening reception for a show titled Variegated, which is an adjective with several shades of meaning, the third being "marked by variety." Certainly the show was this. There was a thread of continuity, however, that connected these various artists. Nearly all in the group has been painting together at the Duluth Art Institute since 2015 on a weekly basis. One immediately asks, "How many other creative things are happening right under our noses that we were unaware of?"

There was an additional feature that connected most of the artists in this show, and though I am sure it was unintentional it certainly must have been apparent to some in the group at one point in time. All but one has a K as one of the initials in their names, and two -- the Kollodges -- have two, Ken and Kathy. Only Devon Wait was odd man out on that score. Nevertheless I'm sure that if you yourself have no K in you initials this group of painters and creators would welcome you with open arms. Just bring your brushes!

"Seventh Wave Love" by Susan Krochalk

The other seven artists in this show included two former art teachers, which I will draw attention to briefly in a moment. They are: Karolyn Carpenter, Karl Everett, Kathryn Lenz, Rita Krochalk, Susan Krolchalk, and Kris Nelson.

90-year-old Rita Krochalk, a former art teacher, showed
work in a variety of styles and media.

It was especially delightful to meet the two retired art teachers here. Rita Peabody Krochalk was the senior artist in the room. Her 90-years of creative life, and a cheerful spirit to boot, made her an inspiration to anyone who has met her. And then there was the other retired teacher, Kris Nelson, who you may know by her goal of painting 1000 chairs before she's 100. When I wrote about her in 2014 she was one-fifth of the way to her goal. When we spoke Friday I learned she is approaching half-way.

What makes this goal impressive is that she's not taking a short-cut approach by placing a few stripes and sponge blobs here and there on these chairs. The pieces are serious art, including several pieces with pointed political statements and philosophical meanderings. Her chair addressing the death penalty is quite evocative and provocative, worth a much more complete treatment.

Chairs by Kris Nelson were displayed around the gallery.

During her tenure as an art teacher in Wrenshall Kris Nelson had the opportunity to shape many young lives. Several of her former students continue to make art, including Carla Hamilton who was an artist in Germany for 17 years before returning here to the Northland. See more Chairs by Kris.

A pair of women by Kerry Everett

The show was well attended, the gallery buzzing with chatter by friends of the artists. If you missed the opening, 315 Gallery will have its doors open for you from 1:00 to 4:00 Saturday and Sunday through the end of January for this show. 315 Gallery is located on Lake Avenue in the former Washington School building on the Central Hillside here in Duluth.

Meantime, art goes on all around you. See it, share it, cherish it.

Local Art Seen: Sarah Brokke's Reliquaries of the Sacred Feminine

"She Only Sleeps Under the River" (2016)

Friday evening was the opening for Sarah Brokke's new show Reliquaries of the Sacred Feminine at 315 Gallery in the Central Hillside here in Duluth. That Ms. Brokke has become influential in the local arts was attested to by the fact that there were no available parking spots between Third and Fourth Streets when I arrived for the event, a first in my recollection. The modest sized gallery space was crowded and abuzz.

Knowing the meaning of the word Reliquary is helpful toward understanding the intentions of the work. A "reliquary" is a container for relics. In Catholicism it might be a container for the sacred remains of saints, such as a piece of cloth the saint wore, bone fragments, etc. Buddhists, Hindus and other religions also have relics which are maintained in shrines. In the Western world the word is most associated with Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Brokke teaches art at the College of St. Scholastica, hence the borrowing of language and imagery associated with Catholicism.

In her artist statement she begins by noting that this body of work "is a personal exploration of the Sacred Feminine." The word "sacred" is likewise a religious word, meaning "connected with God (or the gods) or dedicated to a religious purpose and so deserving veneration."

"She Wears Poppies in Her Hair" (2016)

The images in this body of work, she explains, are an effort to explore and "to unpack my own perception of my gender expression through traditions and rituals I was both raised with and continue to deconstruct within my work."

In viewing her work I note a continued fascination with blues and blue-green or aquamarine hues, so much so that I am half tempted to re-name the color "Sarah Brokke Blue." Is the color extracted from the Big Lake in some way? Or from an unspecified inner space. On her Facebook page related to this show includes a quote by Anaïs Nin: "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are."

"She Removes Her Heart So She Can See"

"She Snips Away While They Sleep" (2016)

"She Chases the Light in the Unending Destruction" (2017)

"She Cuts Down Trees At Night" (2017)

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THIS JUST IN
On Tuesday, September 12 artist Moira Villiard will be hosting an art opening, birthday celebration and fundraiser at the Red Mug Coffeehouse in Superior, WI from 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Her colorful portraits and surrealism will be displayed alongside artist Steven Boyyi's most recent body of incredible paintings that depict animals and daily living in his home country of Uganda.

MEANTIME, art goes on all around you. Engage it!