Minnesota Funk Kicks-Off Regis Center's 10th Anniversary Year ...

September 1, 2012 for immediate release
Contact Howard Oransky, Director, Katherine E. Nash Gallery
651/592-1841 (Cell) 612-624-6518 (office) horansky@umn.edu
Minnesota Funk
Kicks-Off Regis Center’s 10 th Anniversary Year 2003-2013
What
Regis Center for Art celebrates its 10 th anniversary 2003-2013 with a year of exhibitions
and public programs. Minnesota Funk, a group exhibition that playfully explores the
diverse, groovy, funky side of Minnesota culture, kicks-off the 10 th anniversary year. The
exhibition includes an installation of video and sculptures by Chris Larson, newly
appointed to the University of Minnesota Department of Art faculty.
Exhibition Dates
December 4, 2012 – January 12, 2013
Public Reception
Thursday, December 6, 2012, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Free and open to the public
Location
Katherine E. Nash Gallery
Regis Center for Art, University of Minnesota
405 21st Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55455
Parking
Parking available nearby at the 21st Avenue ramp, hourly or event rates apply
Hours
Gallery hours are 11 am to 7 pm, Tuesday through Saturday
Accessibility and Cost
The Katherine E. Nash Gallery is wheelchair-accessible. Exhibitions and related public
programs are free and open to the public.
Artists Included in the Exhibition
Kent Aldrich, Kate Casanova, Perci Chester, Kelly Connole, Jim Dryden, Mary Esch,
Frank Gaard, Tom Garrett, Chris Larson, Faye Passow, Lamar Peterson, Sandy Resig,
Jenny Schmid, and Bobby Dues Wilson
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Exhibition Description
Regis Center for Art celebrates its 10 th anniversary 2003-2013 with a year of exhibitions
and public programs. Minnesota Funk, a group exhibition that playfully explores the
diverse, groovy, funky side of Minnesota culture, kicks-off the 10 th anniversary year. The
exhibition includes artworks in a variety of media, from painting to sculpture, from
drawing to home furnishings -- and a motor scooter. The exhibition also includes an
installation of video and sculptures by Chris Larson, newly appointed to the University of
Minnesota Department of Art faculty.
Chris Larson Newly Appointed to Department of Art Faculty
Minnesota Funk features a gallery installation by Chris Larson that includes the 2011
video Heavy Rotation and a series of surprising conceptual sculptures. The Department of
Art is pleased to announce that Chris Larson has joined the University of Minnesota
faculty as Assistant Professor of Sculpture. “Chris brings a fabulous record of teaching
and advising and an exemplary studio practice that has received national and international
recognition. We are delighted to welcome him to the Department of Art as a valued
member of the faculty,” said Alexis Kuhr, Chair of the Department of Art.
Chris Larson received an M.F.A. degree from Yale University School of Art and a B.F.A.
degree from Bethel College, St. Paul, Minnesota. His many honors and awards include
the Bush Foundation (2006, 1998), McKnight Foundation Fellowship (2012, 2002),
Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Assistant Fellowship, Jerome Media Fellowship, Louis
Comfort Tiffany Foundation Fellowship, and Forecast Public Arts Commission. His work
has been exhibited extensively in North America and Europe and is included in the
permanent collections of the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Minneapolis
Institute of Arts, Walker Art Center, the Neue Nationalgalerie of Berlin, among others.
He is represented by Magnus Muller Temporary gallery of Berlin.
Artist Statements
Kent Aldrich
I am a letterpress printer and my jobbing shop, The Nomadic Press, pleasantly fills my
time. It provides me with the equipment and space to revel in the printing of my own
wood engravings and linoleum cuts and in the creation of dimensional pieces. Letterpress
printing equipment is heavy. Although my presses move in beautiful ways, they don't
travel. My scooter, styled after the British Mods of the 60s', takes me out into the world
to smell, see and hear. Seeing my mirrored bike, a little boy once exclaimed, wide eyed,
to his mother "And it flys too!" If only.
Kate Casanova
I am fascinated by our relationship to the non-human world. I work with living organisms
to create poetic moments in which sensation trumps language. These intersections create
opportunities to better understand oneself through our perception of the other.
Perci Chester
Implied motion has become the signature trademark in my recent work. There’s always
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the edge of balance/fragility. The moment, though ever fleeting, re-emerges as a memory
that replays as a movie. Seeing it expand and contract, navigating through space, my
work speaks metaphorically as poetry. I conceive the vision of that moment becoming a
“still,” collapsing time into a particular instant, frozen as a sculptural image, an icon to
memory.
Kelly Connole
I understand my surroundings and engage with the world through imagery. My
preoccupation with memories and elements of the natural world, combined with clay’s
tactile temperament, fuels my desire to create narrative work. I investigate relationships
within environments: natural and constructed, human and animal, tangible and
fleeting. Rabbits, crows, and other animals are metaphors for humans, exposing
vulnerabilities and tendencies through the gesture of hands, wings, and bodies.
Jim Dryden
The Object of His Desire is a gentle, humorous critique of gay male dating/connecting
coming from the perspective of a gay male artist, Jim Dryden. The triptych shines a light
on some of the expectations we (gay males) have for ourselves and for others when
seeking partners and companionship. Each of the three panels features Michelangelo's
David - an icon of male physical perfection, enlarged from the refrigerator magnet
version popular throughout the 1980's. These three figures are surrounded by screenprinted
body parts taken from Gray's Anatomy - a perfect arm, a perfect leg, a perfect
torso, each enshrined in its own gilded frame. To the left of the central David is an
homage to Belgian artist René Magritte's painting The Treachery of Images, in which
Magritte painted an illustration of a tobacco pipe along with the caption "Ceci n'est pas
une pipe" or "this is not a pipe." The point being that it is not a pipe but rather an image
of a pipe. Here Dryden has placed a small framed mirror with the caption "this is not
you." To the right of the central David is a photo of the artist taken after having achieved
a significant weight loss. It is captioned "this is not me." The background of the triptych
is filled in with words and phrases taken from actual personal ads describing the
attributes and characteristics being sought after, such as slim, young, smooth, athletic,
attractive, well-hung, straight looking/acting, but of course – no fats and no fems. Other
qualities that never appear in the ads, such as smart, funny, generous, loyal, and true are
painted in script and then crossed out. Both the right and left panels feature collaged
images of Narcissus gazing down at his own reflection in the surface of a pond. The
triptych is purposely painted/printed in bright, engaging candy colors in reference to the
phrase "eye-candy" which describes someone who is physically attractive.
Mary Esch
Whether it's a painting or a line drawing, most of my pictures depict a portion of or an
entire circuitous journey on foot. Assemblies of characters slog through landscapes, while
each character is in some stage of personal unmasking. To create my serial narratives I do
a reading of a biblical fable or fairytale and then rely on a surrealist technique called
automatic drawing -- drawing with out a premeditated idea -- to generate strangely honest
drawings. I’m compelled by the inner search of fable characters and how they often set
out on foot to find answers. At times my pictures reveal the sensual and creative
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vulnerability during the resting point of a journey. I'm inspired by and seek to create
works that are descriptive of every thing along the way: benevolent meetings, attacks,
ridicule, injury, feast, discovery, dalliance, and pleasure.
Frank Gaard
Early on I learned from Peter Saul the importance of artistic freedom and courage; the
value of doing something original, and not to fear the risks inherent in a more
experimental approach to painting. Since then my instincts have been very helpful in
guiding my aesthetic decision-making and now forty-five years into my career I feel like
I’m at the height of my artistic powers. One of the difficult realities of doing unusual art
is it’s not as readily accepted as more conventional artistic products. This is one of the
problems with work that falls somewhat outside the boundaries of normal practice. I’ve
always felt you have to go where your art takes you and often it may be off the trodden
path. The art has a voice and a life of its own.
Tom Garrett
In 2010, I traveled to Beijing, Xi'an, Guilin, and Shanghai, China. I was stunned by the
sheer energy, beauty and rich history. To capture my impressions of a modern China, I
began creating portraits of a male and female using a 10” x 10” template. The series
allowed me to create over 150 different images with multiple variations of pattern,
concept and collaged elements. The work has also evolved into using the portraits as
surface designs. With a nod to the decorative works of the Qing Dynasty, the images are
functional and decorative works of design.
Chris Larson
Chris Larson has a multi media based practice that is rooted in sculpture. His work
incorporates film, video, photography, performance and drawing/painting, often in
installed environments. He builds objects/worlds/spaces that look familiar but have been
severely affected.
Faye Passow
I love a good story, particularly with a little twist to it. I also love word play for it’s own
sake and language, even though, as you can tell from this piece, I am at best an average
writer. My work is often storytelling, sometimes overtly and sometimes as a means for
the viewer to wonder what reality they are currently inhabiting. I create particularly well
on a two dimensional landscape. That third dimension makes me dizzy and ill at ease. For
all these reasons, maps and mapping appeal to me. Maps have their own language and
symbology and they tell a pretty good story, although not generally with a twist. That is
where I come in. I create maps, not to be used in a traditional sense, to get to the mall, for
instance, but of realities that Alice and the rabbit would like if they, themselves, weren’t
quiet so surrealistic. I have a map of cheap candy, a map of hot dishes of Minnesota and a
map of nothing called Nothing But Nothing that is really something. One map begets
another and so it will continue.
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Lamar Peterson
My art involves the creation of paintings, drawings, and mixed media collages that
deconstruct themes drawn from popular culture, personal histories, and the ideal of the
American dream. These themes act as starting points, which lead to works that are often
awkward, strange, and unexpected. My influences include children’s books, films,
comics, thrift store paintings, toys, vintage cartoons, and cable news programs. Color is
very important in my work; cotton candy colors establish a cartoon surrealism that is both
humorous and unsettling. As an artist of color I feel that it is important for my work to
reflect the changing face and ideas of America, and the world in which we all live. The
challenge lies within me to express my individual self through what I see and experience
around me. Often working in a series, I borrow from current events and social politics to
portray both present and potential realities- a recent series dealt with themes of the human
reactions to current and past water-related disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the
Asian tsunami. To challenge myself I often change style and media, however each piece
is part of a larger, global mosaic. My goals are to produce works that evoke a spectrum of
emotions, to experiment and tackle new ideas in light of the changing world around me,
and to produce art that will endure in the future.
Sandy Resig
I have always been a child at heart. My wife would be the first one to tell you I never
matured. My pallet consists of only ten colors that were taken from children’s
construction paper. My paintings can be distinguished by four elements: size, color, three
dimensions and the Resig signature. My aversion to circles explains why most of my
paintings are made up of rectangular shapes. I chose to paint on Masonite because it
allows me to use Scotch Blue Painter’s Tape to achieve sharp edges and hopefully
become one of their paid spokespeople. My philosophy is: A Serious Artist Doesn’t Have
to be Serious.
Jenny Schmid
My work explores gender, identity and liberty, drawing from the tradition of social
commentary while creating a decidedly humorous take on the question of how identities
are constructed (and destructed). From the history of graphic images to politics and
youth culture, many sources inform my narrative. My imagery expresses the desire for
feminism to be realized through the liberation of boys and girls by exploring paradigm
shifts and looking to the current youth generation for inspiration. I currently work with
live projection performance and animation video as well as all forms of print media- from
mezzotinting to screen-printing and photolithography.
Bobby Dues Wilson
My work is heavily influenced by my Dakota heritage combined with a lifelong city
upbringing. Much of my visual work strives to convey a social and political message
tackling issues of racism, homelessness, and imperialism while maintaining a sense of
humor and hope.
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Artist Biographies
Kent Aldrich
Kent Aldrich was born in 1964 and has lived most of his life in the Twin Cities area.
Although he attended school at Minneapolis College of Art and Design, his real passion
for the arts was ignited while working on a solid oak lever press at the Minnesota
Renaissance Festival and as production manager at Coffee House press, then in residence
at Minnesota Center for Book Arts. For 24 years he has run his letterpress print shop, The
Nomadic Press from the West Side in St. Paul. Though primarily a relief printmaker,
Kent regularly creates artistic constructions in many mediums.
Kate Casanova
Kate Casanova is a visual artist who lives and works in Minneapolis. Her work has been
shown at such galleries as Le Poisson Rouge (New York, NY), Soo Visual Arts Center
(Minneapolis, MN), and the Anita Sue Kolman Gallery (Minneapolis, MN). She received
a BFA from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and is currently pursuing an
MFA at the University of Minnesota.
Perci Chester
Perci Chester’s sculpture and prints have been featured in museum and gallery
exhibitions nationally and internationally. Chester’s art is represented in public and
private collections. She is the recipient of public art commissions for large scale works
and won several awards. The nature of her work stretches itself over a variety of
mediums, as it is seen as a constant development, often expressing multiple forms in a
single work. Chester trained in studio art at Washington University in St. Louis, earning
her BFA degree in painting & printmaking & Rhode Island School of Design achieving
her MFA & MAT. Since graduation she has been an exhibiting artist & educator. Her
involvement includes colleges & schools as well as community based arts programs
around the country. She is a founding member of Traffic Zone Center For the Visual
Arts, a prominent artist cooperative located in the historic Minneapolis Warehouse
District, where she maintains her principal studio.
Kelly Connole
Kelly Connole has an MFA from San Francisco State University, 1996 and a BFA from
the University of Montana, 1991. Connole combines the tactile nature of clay with
images of memories and emotions addressing relationships within environments: natural
and constructed, human and animal. Her work has been exhibited at the NCECA Biennial
at the Kentucky Art Museum, Flaten Art Museum at St Olaf College, Contemporary
Crafts Museum, and numerous galleries across the country. She has received a McKnight
Residency Grant, a Jerome Project Grant, a Minnesota State Arts Board Grant, and the
SeaCast Residency Fellowship. She is an associate professor at Carleton College in
Northfield, Minnesota.
Jim Dryden
Jim Dryden, a native of North Dakota, is a painter and printmaker. His work frequently
deals with themes of partnership, connectedness and intimacy. Jim is a graduate of the
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Minneapolis College of Art and Design, a founding member of Form+Content Gallery
and a member artist of Traffic Zone Center for Visual Art. His work is represented in the
collections of the Carleton College Library, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the
Minnesota History Center, the University of Minnesota - Tretter Collection, Walker Art
Center, the Weisman Art Museum and numerous private collections.
Mary Esch
Mary Esch has been a practicing artist for 30 years in the Twin Cites and known for her
incisive drawing style, serial narratives that illustrate the dark underbelly of feminism,
and limited edition wallpaper. She cut her teeth at Speedboat Gallery and Gallery
Rebelloso in the early 90’s, had a blast in the later 90’s exhibiting at the Walker Art
Center and in New York City, and tried to be serious while creating a suite of prints at
Highpoint in 2003. Her honors include a Bush, a Jerome, and two Minnesota State Arts
Board Fellowships. Her works are in the collections of the Walker Art Center, the
Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Highpoint Center for Printmaking, Franklin Art Works, and
private collections internationally.
Frank Gaard
Frank Gaard is an artist, publisher, writer and curator. He received an M.F.A. degree
from California College of Arts & Crafts and a B.F.A. degree from the School of The Art
Institute of Chicago. He has received numerous fellowships, including the Pollock-
Krasner Foundation (1998, 2005), the McKnight Foundation (1983, 1987, 1996), the
Bush Foundation (1984) and the MacDowell Artist’s Colony (1984). His work is
included in the public collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Minneapolis
Institute of Arts, the Walker Art Center and numerous private collections. His work has
been shown in numerous one-person and group exhibitions nationally, including the
recent one-person exhibition Poison & Candy at Walker Art Center, and internationally
including exhibitions in Berlin, Frankfurt, Paris, and Vienna. The Artpolice Journal,
founded by Frank Gaard, is archived by the Museum of Modern Art Library and the
Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
Tom Garrett
Tom Garrett is a Design Professor at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. He has
been teaching since 1986 and his work has been recognized in Communication Arts, 3 X
3, Print, Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles, The Society of Publication Design, How,
The New York Art Director’s Club and American Illustration. His illustrations have been
published in U.S. News & World Report, Business Week, The Washington Post, Chicago
Tribune, Fortune, TV GUIDE, Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington
Post, Atlantic Monthly, Sports Illustrated, Kiplinger, The Chicago Tribune and National
Geographic Traveler.
Chris Larson
Chris Larson received an M.F.A. degree from Yale University School of Art and a B.F.A.
degree from Bethel College, St. Paul, Minnesota. His many honors and awards include
the Bush Foundation (2006, 1998), McKnight Foundation Fellowship (2012, 2002),
Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Assistant Fellowship, Jerome Media Fellowship, Louis
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Comfort Tiffany Foundation Fellowship, and Forecast Public Arts Commission. His work
has been exhibited extensively in North America and Europe and is included in the
permanent collections of the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Minneapolis
Institute of Arts, Walker Art Center, the Neue Nationalgalerie of Berlin, among others.
He is represented by Magnus Muller Temporary gallery of Berlin.
Faye Passow
Faye Passow lives and works in Minneapolis but may eventually move to St. Paul.
She did undergraduate work in Eau Claire, WI, and received an MA from the University
of New Mexico at Albuquerque. She is a printmaker working primarily in lithography
and silkscreen. She has been the recipient of a Jerome Foundation Grant for printmaking,
a Minnesota State Arts Board Grant and a Bush Foundation Fellowship. Her work has
been shown in the MAEP gallery at the Minneaplis Institute of Arts and is in collections
at the Walker, the Minnesota Museum of American Art, the History Center and the
Minneapolis Institute of Arts. In 2001 she created Keep the Faye, a small business
devoted to designing items for the gift trade including dish towels, demerit badges
and disaster related magnets. Her dish towels, Minnesota: Principal Hot Dish by Region
and Marvels of Minnesota have sold in the thousands and traveled around the world.
She considers Keep the Faye a long-running art project.
Lamar Peterson
Lamar Peterson has an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and a BS from
Florida A&M University, with specializations in painting and drawing. He is currently a
Visiting Assistant Professor of Drawing and Painting in the department of Art at the
University of Minnesota. He has had one-person exhibitions at Fredericks & Freiser
Gallery, New York; Richard Heller Gallery, Santa Monica; Franklin Artworks,
Minneapolis; The Studio Museum of Harlem, New York; Deitch projects, New York; and
numerous group exhibitions in galleries across the country. He has been awarded artist
residencies at the Giverny Residency program, The Claude Monet Foundation; The Marie
Walsh Sharpe Studio Grant, New York; and The Skowhegan School of Painting and
Sculpture. He I represented by Fredericks & Freiser Gallery, New York; and Richard
Heller Gallery, Santa Monica.
Sandy Resig
Sanford Elihu Resig was born April 7, 1937 in St. Paul, Minnesota. His elementary
school teachers encouraged his interest in art by tacking Kraft paper around the room and
ordering him to draw murals. (He always thought this was a waste of good Kraft paper.)
In 1955, his high school senior class named him “The Best Doodler”. He attended the
University of Minnesota and graduated with a Liberal Arts degree and went on to the
Minneapolis School of Art and received a degree in Graphic Design. For over 40 years he
designed for many of Minnesota’s major corporations. In 2006 he became a
contemporary painter.
Jenny Schmid
Jenny Schmid lives in Minneapolis, where she runs bikini press international and is an
associate professor at the University of Minnesota. She exhibits her work nationally and
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internationally and is represented by The Davidson Galleries in Seattle. Her prints can be
found in collections including The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, The Detroit Institute of
Arts, The Block Museum in Chicago and The Spencer Art Museum. She received the
Fulbright, the McKnight Fellowship, the Bush Artists Grant and a 2010 Jerome Film and
Video grant. Recent projects include live animation performances with Ali Momeni and
MAW and an exhibit at the Davis Museum.
Bobby Dues Wilson
Bobby Dues Wilson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. For the past decade Bobby has
painted dozens of murals, performed spoken word poetry at events across the country,
and appeared in television and radio commercials. Most recently his community mural
projects have appeared in local media outlets such as City Pages, Minnesota Public
Radio, and the Star Tribune. In addition to numerous artistic accomplishments, Bobby
has garnered new attention in Indian Country as a member of the comedy group The
1491’s, appearing in comedic videos and live performances.
Press Images
612-624-6518
01-Aldrich
Kent Aldrich
Stella, 2003
Motorscooter
7 feet long, 5.5 feet wide, 5 feet tall
02-Casanova
Kate Casanova
Wetland, 2012
High Definition Video, 1 minute 21 seconds
Dimensions variable
03-Chester
Perci Chester
Slinky Chick Rocks, 2011
Steel with automotive paint
76 x 80 x 90 in.
04-Connole
Kelly Connole
White Rabbit, 2008
Clay, underglaze, glaze
23 x 14 x 13 in.
05-Dryden
Jim Dryden
The Object of His Desire
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Acrylic, relief print, collage and silk-screen on wood panel
60" x 108"
06-Esch
Mary Esch
From the series Contemplatives and Idlers: The Five Senses, 1998
Colored pencil on paper
12 x 14 in.
07-Gaard
Frank Gaard
Dick Tracy with Stomach Ache
Collection of Greg Zimmer
08-Garrett
Tom Garrett
China with Love "Bees", 2010
Digital Collage
34 x 44 in.
09-Larson
Chris Larson
Heavy Rotation, 2011
Video, still image
10-Passow
Faye Passow
Candy County, 2010
Silkscreen
14 x 10 in.
11-Peterson
Lamar Peterson
Untitled, 2005
Acrylic on paper, 29.5 x 33 in
Private Collection
12-Resig
Sandy Resig
Waiting for Mickey, 2006
Latex enamel on wood
60 x 36 in.
13-Schmid
Jenny Schmid
Wisconsin Fetish (John Kim's Cabin), 2012
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Screenprint
10 x 15 in.
14-Wilson
Bobby Dues Wilson
Synthetic By Nature, 2011
Acrylic on wood
Katherine E. Nash Gallery Mission
The Katherine E. Nash Gallery is a research laboratory for the practice and interpretation
of the visual arts. We believe the visual arts have the capacity to interpret, critique and
expand on all of human experience. Our engagement with the visual arts helps us to
discover who we are and understand our relationships to each other and society. The
Katherine E. Nash Gallery will be a center of discourse on the practice of visual art and
its relationship to culture and community -- a place where we examine our assumptions
about the past and suggest possibilities for the future. The Nash Gallery will play an
indispensible role in the educational development of students, faculty, staff and the
community. http://nash.umn.edu/
Department of Art Mission
The Department of Art provides an introduction to the practice of art for all students as
well as immersive training for emerging artists. We promote creative expression and
conceptual development through a broad range of art disciplines and practices. Initial
experiences emphasizing traditional methods are supplemented at intermediate and
advanced levels by experimental processes. We offer courses in painting and drawing,
photography, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics and experimental media (EMA). Students
pursue their work in our state of the art facilities, mentored by our faculty, all artists
recognized in their fields. http://www.art.umn.edu/
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