Local Art Seen: Robb Quisling's Common Threads at Washington Gallery

This past Saturday I stopped at Washington Galleries to attend the reception for Robb Quisling's new show, Common Threads. I'd first seen his work at the DAI where he was part of a joint show with Jen Dietrich. As I learned at the time, Quisling is an artist who also teaches (Hermantown school district.)

Common Threads carries the notion of things that bind us. but the additional variable of knots is intriguing. Learning how to tie knots is a basic skill learned in Boy Scouts. Learning how to untangle knots is also a life skill.

EN: So, what's the Common Thread in your current exhibit at Washington Gallery? What's the deeper level on this theme for you personally?

Robb Quisling: My theme for a show at the Washington gallery began a year ago. When I started working on it it was about knots as a metaphor. I love the idea of something so economical containing so much information. Knots that connect ropes to other ropes, knots that connect ropes to objects, knots that aren't functional, and tangles all seem like good thought experiments. My favorite piece in the show is called Quick Release Knot and is about the “quick release knot.” If one end of the rope is pulled, the knot stays tight. If the other is pulled, it unties easily. I describe this with an installation that offers a viewing area for each end of the rope.

As time went by and as I talked about my progress with my art friends the theme started to shift a little. Jonathan Thunder is the curator for my exhibit and my weekly racquetball partner so I was able to check in with him during the year. During a studio visit with Jonathan and his partner Tashia Hart we noticed many of my existing pieces use the device of cords or ropes or string to connect objects. The working title at that time became Common Thread. The connections are sometimes about power and sometimes about cooperation. I rely on the people in our art community to help me process information visually. Aryn Bergsven, the art teacher at Harbor City, Jeff Dugan, David Hodges, Cecilia Lieder, my printmaking teacher, Robert Ripinski and several other artists as well as my art students at Hermantown help my development. As far as art influences are concerned, I have always been a fan of Edward Hopper and I am now recently interested in Chris Ware.

EN: Who are the artists who have most influenced you?

RQ: In the 90s when my wife was in school I found a local artist that I admired and I asked her for lessons. Cecilia Lieder taught me to make prints and introduced me to the art community. I became a member of the Northern Printmakers Alliance and the artists there encouraged me to go to school and get my art education B.A. I have been the Hermantown High School art teacher for 10 years now. Although my strength is printmaking, I have gotten a huge amount of encouragement to make installation work by Jen Dietrich and Jonathan.

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Here are some images from the show, in the event you can't make it in person.

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Meantime, art goes on all around you. Can you dig it?

Washington Gallery Seen: Mariano Fortuny Y Carbo's The Choice of a Model

Here's an interesting painting that I saw last month in the Impressionists section of the National Gallery in Washington: Mariano Fortuny Y Carbo's The Choice of a Model. The artist was born in Catalonia in 1838 where surrealist Salvador Dali would later hail from, a region in the Northeast corner of the Iberian Peninsula, Barcelona being its capitol and largest city. Being adjacent to the Mediterranean, it is a region with much beauty. Though he died quite young (age 36) he had already by that time developed an international reputation as a painter.

It's interesting that this painting is found in the Impressionists section of the gallery because at the heart of the impressionist movement was a fascination with light and form, not fascination with story. And this mid-19th century painting is quite the story once you stop to engage it. What we see is a nude woman striking a pose while a group of men examine this female specimen.  

One trio of men appear to be talking in a rather animated manner. What are they discussing? Most likely her suitability for the assignment. What is the subject matter of the painting going to be?

The scene is obviously a far cry from the potato-diggers Van Gogh would later paint in the Netherlands. This is wealth, opulence, stature. Are they choosing a model fit for a king? Four of the men are just standing there staring, mesmerized.

The woman herself is quite dazzling and evocative. The manner in which she is painted feels smooth whereas all else about her is vibrant. The contrast makes her sensuality stand out.

Behind her, in the background, are several busts of white and black marble, each wearing the most comical expression. Notice the leer in this one, for example:

Tell me it's not intended to be hilarious.

The men are purportedly selecting a model for a "high art purpose" but the artist of this painting is mocking their pretensions. These men are essentially having women disrobe for them, and pretending to do so with the greatest solemnity. The expressions on the busts reveal what they are really thinking.

Next time you visit the National Gallery, check it out. It just might make you laugh.

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Meantime, Monday here at the Zeitgeist Atrium in Duluth we will be having a reception for the Duluth Dylan Fest Art Exhibition, featuring works by more than a dozen artists. I hope you will join us between 5 and 7 p.m.

Art In Bayfront Park, Monica Ares @ Washington, Tall Ships in the Harbor and More

Hard to believe we're already approaching the middle segment of August. I realize that NBC would love it if you spent this time couch-sitting in front of their coverage of the Olympic Games, but in the event you want to get your blood circulating, and your senses aesthetically assaulted by something more than swimmers, gymnasts and commercials.... We have a number of noteworthy events coming up in the local arts scene.

Briefly...

Shawna Gilmore's whimsical work is at Lakeside Gallery.

Thursday, August 11, there will be an opening reception for a show called Collusion featuring raku pottery by Richard Gruchalla and Carrin Rosetti, and paintings in acrylics and oils by Jeffrey Schmidt and Kristen Wasyliszyn. The reception is conveniently from 5 - 7 p.m. tomorrow eve at Lizzards Gallery in Downtown Duluth. The show will be on display till the end of September. The gallery is located at 11 West Superior Street.

Friday, August 12, AJ Atwater's exhibition 400 Paintings opens online. Details here. Or read the interview with AJ about her show here.

Art in Bayfront Park is just around the corner, August 18-21. It's advertised as Free, but you will pay $5 for parking if you take your car down there. But it's worth it. It's worth that just for the smell of the food vendors' tents and trucks.

Monica Ares has an exhibition coming to Washington Galleries. The Opening Reception for her show "In Their Midst" will be Friday, August 19 from 5:30 p.m. till 8:00 p.m.  I had a chance to meet with her this past weekend and look forward to sharing her story here in advance of the show.

The Tall Ships are coming back to Duluth next week. The event coincides with the Art in Bayfront Park event... We'll find out if this is a good thing or not when we try to find parking next week. The development outside of the Canal Park district has expanded the arts and tourism region of our city extensively. We've come a long ways from the run down semi-abandoned waterfront of the early 80's.

In conjunction with the Tall Ships there will be a ship-themed display at Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum (across the street from St. Luke's, or just above the Gitch parking lot. It's free and a worthy destination nearly any time of year.

And for the next seven weeks Kathy McTavish's Duluth Quantum Computing Project  #dqcp will be ongoing throughout all... Thursdays thru Saturdays. Check the hours and check it out.

FWIW, an article in Fortune on the first programable quantum computer. What do you think of that?

Meantime, guess what? It's time to start another day. Make the most of it.

PS: Congratulations, U.S. women's gymnastic team. Awesome performance.... what poise! We can't help but be impressed. Thank you.

Local Art Seen: Ryan Tischer at Washington Gallery, Scott Murphy at The Red Herring

Detail from Tischer's "Tree of Zen"

Second Friday art crawl here in the Twin Ports is alive and well. Wish I could have gone to all the art-themed events the other night and especially would like to have seen the progress Esther Piszczek is making on her Zentangled Piano. Maybe soon.

Ryan Tischer's photography filled both galleries at the former Washington School. The show will be open on Saturday and Sunday afternoons for the duration of the month. The exhibit is titled Beyond Light, featuring new work shot in two of the most beautiful regions in the country, Duluth and Oregon. “I titled this exhibit Beyond Light because through my years of photographing I’ve discovered that there’s more than just light to a photograph,” said Tischer. “A truly magical image requires a unique balance of composition, mood and light, which is hard to put into words, but you know it when you see it.”

It doesn't even look real, but it is. Reminds me of an Aaron Kloss painting.

There are a number of nature photographers in this region who have fallen in love with the spectacle that is Lake Superior. Tischer notes that he's not alone in his love of the wintertime play of light on the lake's breathtaking ice formations. On more than one occasion he's seen photographer John Heino out trying to capture magic in the dawn's early light. It's apparent that both photographers make personal sacrifices to be where the drama is on the great lake's shores.

This was Tischer's sixth exhibition at the Washington Gallery.

Simultaneously, The Red Herring hosted an opening reception for painter Scott Murphy's work, some of it new and all of it entertaining. I realize that a lot of times people go to places like Beaners, the Break Room and The Red Herring for the music or libations, but you will doubly rewarded if in addition to interacting with friends you also interact with some of the artwork that hangs on the walls of so many places in town. Zeitgeist Cafe, Jitters, Pizza Luce, the Red Mug and others go out of their way to showcase the work of local artists. You might do well to note this next time you're in any of these spaces.

I asked Scott to give a little background for some of the work which is currently there on display.

The painting with the child piano player is called "The Request" and is about the thrill of discovery and how some kids really take to music.

The painting "The Flood" with the fish and the anvil refers to a trade or industry going obsolete. Many of the best kid photos I get to use come from parents taking candid photos of their children.

The "Pin Money" painting is the second work in a series I am still going to expand upon. The foggy, out of focus people seem to relate to fading memories and the passage of time.

"Uninsured Child" was made as a call or cry for universal health care.

Afterwards Scott said, "That was a very fun opening; music and drinks, who would have guessed."

For more info about Scott Murphy visit our December 2013 interview.

Wordless Wednesday: Local Art Seen -- Rustan, Hamilton, Kustermann

Local Art Seen: Friday Night Art Crawl in Downtown Duluth

One of Faith's pieces

The weatherman teased us into believing it wasn't going to rain Friday evening, but to make sure it wouldn't I brought my umbrella. Unfortunately, after nearly leaving it at Washington Gallery I decided to drop it off at the car as I walked back down the hill and the sky appeared to be opening. Sure enough, within the hour the skies opened up in a torrential downpour. My apologies if you were unlucky enough to get soaked.

Brent Kusterman's work at Washington Gallery was worth seeing. I finally had a chance to meet the artist himself after seeing his paintings and constructions at Red Mug and Zeitgeist. His method of working is to be constantly layering until the composition eventually comes through. I asked how he knows when to quit and he said, "Each piece tells you when to stop."

Detail from "Surgery"

The collection displayed included a number of long horizontal pieces which were especially interesting. The painting pictured here is titled "Surgery," with elements based on his experience as an anesthesia technician. It's a right to left narrative about what happens if a patient doesn't make it.

After dropping off my umbrella I dropped in at Pineapple Arts on First Street where they were celebrating the 4th anniversary. Has it really been only four years? I was under the impression they've almost always been here.

Pineapple Arts is a downtown art supply store that also has classes and events. Local artists sell some of their work there. (My "Man with Hooked Nose" was purchased from their walls.) It's located next to the tattoo parlor across the street from Aces and home to origami specialist Todd Olson among others. Jon Hinkel of Tight Squeek Press is also a member with his print shop just upstairs.

The TYPES show Friday evening at the PR∅VE proved as interesting as I anticipated. Essentially the entire gallery was laid out with various creative ways of presenting the letters of the alphabet. As you entered the gallery, you encounter the the A-B-C-D and E that begins the procession. The back wall concludes with the letter Z. It's the manner in which each of the letters is created that makes this exhibit interesting.

They also had poetry readings at various points throughout, but the acoustics proved challenging. It's a large room and the sound of boisterous conversations in the back of the hall must have been unsettling for some who wished to hear the poets who that evening were reading from the entrance end of the room.

Betty Selnes & Karin Blank

During the downpour I managed to slip next door to take in the celebration of Swedish Immigration which was hosted in Nordic Hall. If you are not aware of it, this rather challenging geographic terrain (six month winters, short summers) was distributed by means of government land grants in the late 1800's to anyone sufficiently motivated to settle here. Northern Europeans got word that there were 40 acre properties available to anyone who would tame them. Oppressed people everywhere found there way to this North Country, but those most attracted were the Norwegians, Swedes, Finns, Germans and Baltic
countries whose homelands most replicated this region. So Friday eve the Swedish Cultural Society opened their doors and shared their heritage. It's impressive how strong the connections between many Northlanders and their homelands. Even the bartender there said it is his aim to return to Sweden to live, having visited three times.

And if you're a late nighter, there was a street dance on First that may have been dampened by the earlier rain but sounded just fine. Being parked in the vicinity I had to check out the singer who was belting out Me & Bobby McGee. I thought, "A new young voice in town. I wonder who it is." Turns out it was Maxi Childs who you will usually find doing the jazz thing with her trio at Blackwater. I honestly thought she was a 24 year old. Guess we never stop being kids.

Meantime, art goes on all around you. Don't ever stop dancing to the music.

Twin Ports Art Scene for the Week Ahead: A Few July Happenings

Two Harbors Chalk Art Instructor

We're serving up a lot this week in the arts, not only things to see but things to participate in as well. Let's start with today.

Zentangle Pattern Drawing at Ordean Middle School
For the next four Mondays, July 7 - July 28, Esther Piszczek is teaching a class on Zentangle pattern drawing. If you've seen her work you know what we're talking about. See the example here on the right. Add a few new tricks to your next show. 4-6 p.m. 2900 E. 4th Street, Duluth

Anyone can create beautiful, intricate line patterns “one stroke at a time” using the zentangle method. New patterns will be taught each class as we create beautiful art on 3.5" x 3.5" paper tiles using pen and ink. No previous drawing experience necessary. Relaxation is a common side effect. There are 3 seats left in this class. Register online at www.duluthcommunityed.org Put "zentangle" in the search box (Class ID 7125) to find the July session.

Sue Rauschenfels Art Exhibit Opening Reception 

"Henry" by Rauschenfels

Beaners Central is a  great place for coffee before work, great soups and sandwiches throughout the day, a stellar music for the evening crowd. But Jason has also made it a great space for artists, and this month Sue Rauschenfels watercolors are on display. The opening reception is this Thursday, which will include music from the Blue Water Big Band. Reception is 5-7.

Third Annual Sidewalk Chalk Fest

Wallace & Grommet in chalk

Two Harbors is celebrating its annual chalk festival and everyone is invited. Friday there will be free chalking art clinics and deomonstrations in Thomas Owen Park at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., and then the serious chalk art adventure will commence Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

I think it would be cool to combine this with Grandma's Marathon though. You can't start your run until you've made some chalk art. What do you think? (Just kidding.)

North Shore Drive is beautiful this time of year. This might be a good excuse to take a drive. See what the locals and friends are up to. Sponsored by the Waterfront Gallery, the art making will continue on Sunday, again at 8:00 a.m.  Enjoy!

FRIDAY NIGHT ART CRAWL
This Friday there are openings at the PROVE and Washington Gallery downtown Duluth, and art to be seen at the new Red Herring Lounge. Brent Kustermann will be showing his work at the Washington Gallery. Kusterman considers it to be the duty of an artist to bring a unique perspective to the world, a process "never fully mastered." He uses a variety of mediums to create his work, sometimes even found objects that others might discard to the trash bin. You can some of his work at the Zeitgeist Atrium this week. There's also an interview with Kustermann in the upcoming Reader.

Finally, at the PROVE you will want to be sure to taste, see and hear the TYPES opening.

For the love of typography, hand painted signs, hand lettering, visual pleasures and what inspires us to write, create, draw and compose poetry. Prøve Collective's members Katelynn Monson and Flo Matamoros sat down to brainstorm a curated exhibit to showcase their love for poetry and typography at Prøve Gallery. They picked people in their lives that inspire them to create and are as obsessive, perfectionist, and detailed. Each individual artist has a unique style and method in which they craft the finalized pleasure for you, and mostly, for themselves. We'll see what concoctions they've come up with.

"you and me, in between us our pencils,
black metal, we can hear it, in the seam
white shoes, montana marker sewing
that pane of glass, bending twigs, letters
and between the reading of them,
cursive and wood. wood and cursive.
take a bite."

An exploration of typography and poetry at PrØve Gallery.

Featuring Visual Pleasures by: Cody Paulson, Andrea Campos, Kelsey Malsom, Alexis LeBlanc, Stephen Pepperoni, Flo Matamoros, Tyler Johnson, Elliot McAllister

Limited Pastries by Brandt

Featuring the words of Katelynn Monson, Josef Conaway, Esther Marcella and Paul Peterson performing poetry with The Glacier Academy. This event is sponsored by Positively 3rd Street Bakery

A Conversation with Artist Carla Hamilton

During the month of June Carla Hamilton presented a show titled Durch Wasser rennen at Washington Gallery in the Central Hillside. Hamilton, who grew up in Wrenshall, left home at eighteen and went to Europe, ultimately living in Stuttgart for near eighteen years. She has been back Stateside since 2012 and currently resides in the Washington Studios downtown.

I'm impressed by the caliber of work being produced by several recent additions to our local arts community including Rodrigo Bello, Karen Nease and Esther Piszczek to name a few.

Hamilton, who studied classical art techniques at the Freie Kunstschule,  is a welcome addition.

Durch Wasser rennen means "running through water", which she says is a metaphor for how she feels about current events in her personal life and in the world at large, specifically in the environmental sense.

The pre-show announcement spoke of her use of re-purposed materials. It turns out the variety of re-purposed materials was especially interesting, including shredded money. She did not shred her own cash, but rather used her own cash to purchase a bag of shredded bills which she put to to good use in some most interesting ways.

Much of her work clearly gives the impression that there is more going on than initially meets the eye. "There's a backstory,” she agrees.

EN: How did you take up an interest in being an artist?
Carla Hamilton: It’s just always been there. When I was little I liked arranging things. Everything had to be pleasing to the eye.

EN: What is the Freie Kunstschule and what did you learn from your experiences there?
CH: I learned a lot of discipline. I learned how to not cry in front of professors. It was like boot camp. And I learned to always go further with my talent. Not necessarily with making everything covered, but to think further.

EN: Give me an example.
CH: I was told to draw a monkey without drawing a monkey. What I did was close my eyes and think of color and movement. I ended up drawing ochres and reds and yellows, like butterflies with lines. Go further… but I also learned that the absence of a material is also a presence.

EN: You work in a variety of media. Do you have a favorite?
CH: No, I don’t. They’re all my favorite. I don’t like that acrylic dries so fast, so I like oil.

EN: What kind of music do you listen to when you’re working on a piece?
CH: I watch documentaries while I work. On really dark themes. Life or death, the death penalty. I also listen to music.

EN: Fast or slow?
CH: It depends on the piece and the mood I’m in. Sometimes I listen to the same piece over and over to keep in the same mood.
I like the Black Keys right now. I’m very much into Motown and the Forties.

EN: Some of your pieces have so many layers. How do you know when you are finished with a piece?
CH: It whispers in my ear? I don’t know. I’m much better than I used to. I’ve ruined so many paintings (by going too far). I’m doing better with that, but it’s something I’ve had to learn.

EN: Do you have a ruling philosophical approach to your work? If so, what is it?
CH: My art saves me. It makes me think. It makes me grow. I’m not here to teach anyone a lesson, but if they get that out of my work I am O.K. with it.

A lot of women at my show are affected very emotionally. Some cry, or don’t know whether to cry or scream.

EN: Why do you think that is?
CH: Perhaps it’s the emotion that was put into it. Making my art helps me deal with this crazy world that we live in, and I’ve found out that I am actually pretty good at it.

EN: Do you find some of the pieces to be a form of problem solving? If yes, what problems are you currently working on?
CH: Staying sane. (laughs) Getting grounded.

I love making art. I don’t enjoy talking about it as much. Especially publicly. My art is very intimate to me and personal. Some are not for sale because they are too personal to me.

EN: Later this summer you'll be returning to Germany and bringing more of your work back. What kinds of things will you be bringing?
CH: Huge portfolios, and hopefully some canvases. I did a lot of loose canvases because they’re easier to transport.

EN: Plans for the next year?
CH: My career goals are to build my portfolio in English [It is currently in German], get a website, shop for some galleries, maybe in Minneapolis and Chicago.

EN: Where did you show your work in Germany?
CH: Freusse, a suburb just outside of Stuttgart. I sold a few pieces, watercolors. I was in a couple group shows as well. My image is used in some art, also… It was interesting.

Vibrant color and repurposed materials, including shredded money.

Hamilton is another Twin Ports artist to watch locally... Stay tuned for more.

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