I call these new paintings “journeys.” They are
journeys for those who think and feel as I do. They are journeys that
move our eyes across and into and out of the spaces that I painted.
They have more in common with my 70's and 80's paintings than with what
I painted during the 90's. While relating to earlier work, they have
become more developed, more complex, richer. This has happened because
I have lived longer and experienced more.
A constant in my
work is abstraction combined with a taste for fully resolved
paintings. I am interested in formal elements. Shapes, colors, and
surface treatments lead our eyes across, over and into and out of the
depths of the surface. Abstract shapes and colors blend with feelings
and memories. Memories of past experiences are also rekindled - such
as our shared journey to Sicily.
Both painting-journeys and
literal-journeys need a bit of chaos, improvisation and spontaneity.
Planning too carefully would cause us to miss out on some beautiful
occurrences. Interesting paintings, like an interesting life, need
surprise and some uncertainty. They must be a bit challenging and
forbidding.
But surprise alone is not enough. The parts of a
painting - and a life - need to maintain a connection. Every part of a
painting needs to do its job of providing a visual trail while adding
its unique contribution to our viewing experience. Some parts have a
quick smooth flow. In other places we slow down, maybe even pause to
take a short break, before climbing and falling, and then crawling into
and back out of crevices. Trips across the painting surface stimulate
our senses and our imagination in a way that is similar to visiting a
foreign country for the first time. The fresh unconditioned eyes of a
foreigner see what locals in their daily routine overlook.
Both
the old and the new offer much and I incorporate both into my
paintings. I admire the skill and chiaroscuro of the old masters:
Rembrandt's mysterious soft shadows, El Greco's agitated dramatic
drapery, the flowing softness of Watteau's delicate fabrics. When I
paint I am influenced by the illusions of the old masters. At the same
time, I am also attracted to the dramatic shapes, bravura,
painterliness and spontaneity of the abstract expressionists.
These journey paintings are my kind of visual temporal poetry. The journey keeps evolving and changing because I am alive.
Education MFA, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis MA, University of Minnesota, Duluth BS, Minnesota State University, St. Cloud
Teaching Experience Professor Emeritus of Art, Southwest Minnesota State University, Marshall Assistant Professor of Art, Minnesota State University, Mankato Hibbing High School, Hibbing, Minnesota
Selected Solo Gallery Exhibitions Franklin 54 Gallery, New York, New York, 2008 Art Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, Germany (solo exhibit, Galerie Arrigoni, Zug, Switzerland), 2009 Nina Bliese Gallery, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2009 Madelon Powers Art Gallery, East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania, East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, 2008 China Gallery, New York, New York, 2007, 2006 Galerie Arrigoni, Zug, Switzerland, 2007, 1999 L'Ariete Arte Contemporanea, Bologna, Italy, 2007, 2000, 1998, 1996 Festival of Two Worlds, Galleria Polid'Arte, Spoleto, Italy, 2007, 2000, 1998, 1995 San Giovanni in Monte, Universita di Bologna, Bologna, Italy, 2004 Garrubbo Bazan Gallery, West Chester/Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2003 Gallery 72, Omaha, Nebraska, 2002, 1996, 1988, 1984, 1982 Apollo Galleria, Milan, Italy, 2000-2001, 1998 Galleria De Florio Arte, Rome, Italy, 1999 Stern-Galerie, Lucerne, Switzerland, 1999, 1995, 1992, 1990, 1988, 1985, 1983 M C Gallery, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1997, 1996 Galleria BE'19, Helsinki, Finland, 1996 Galerie L'Oeil, Brussels, Belgium, 1996, 1992 Tarbox Gallery, San Diego, California, 1995, 1994, 1993, 1989, 1987, 1986, 1985, 1983, 1982 Keen Gallery, New York, New York, 1994 Neville-Sargent Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, 1994 Galleri Bellman, Stockholm, Sweden, 1994 Galleri Erry Marie Kulo, Oslo, Norway, 1994 Tyholmen Galleri, Arendal, Norway, 1994 Reflections Gallery, Geneva, Switzerland, 1994, 1992 Galerie Efté, Paris, France, 1993, 1991 Galerie Grey, Cannes, France, 1992, 1991, 1988, 1986, 1985, 1984 Robert Kidd Gallery, Birmingham / Detroit, Michigan, 1991, 1980 Galerie Racines, Brussels, Belgium, 1990 Del Bello Gallery, Toronto, Canada, 1990, 1989, 1987, 1986, 1984 Mary Bell Galleries, Scottsdale, Arizona, 1989 Mary Bell Galleries, Chicago, Illinois, 1989, 1988, 1987, 1986, 1985, 1984 Gallery Miharaya, Tokyo, Japan, 1988 Gallery Shinsegye, Seoul, Korea, 1988 Gallery Downtown, Fort Worth, Texas, 1986 Robert Reedy Gallery, Tucson, Arizona, 1986 Cobb Gallery, Birmingham, Alabama, 1985 Adagio Gallery, Bridgehampton, New York, 1984 OK Harris West, Scottsdale, Arizona, 1982 Westbroadway Gallery, New York, New York, 1982, 1981, 1980, 1979, 1978, 1977, 1976 Galleri Fabian Carlsson, London, England, 1980 Galleri Fabian Carlsson, Goteborg, Sweden, 1979 Suzanne Kohn Gallery, St. Paul, Minnesota, 1978, 1977 118: An Art Gallery, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1974, 1971, 1970 Gallery Raymond Duncan, Paris, France, 1970
Selected Solo Museum Exhibitions The Phillips Museum of Art, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 2008 Galleria Civica di Palazzo Ducale, Pavullo nel Frignano, Italy, 2006-2007 Antoine Dutot Museum, Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania, 2005 Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, 2005, 1979 Accademia Raffaello, Urbino, Italy, 2003 Cà la Ghironda, Zola Predosa, Italy, 2003 North Country Art Museum, Park Rapids, Minnesota, 2003 Antico Peshceria Arte Contemporanea, Patti, Italy, 2000 Antico Palazzo Della Pretura Di Castell' Arquato, Piacenza, Italy, 1999 Waterloo Museum of Art, Waterloo, Iowa, 1998 Sheldon Swope Art Museum, Terre Haute, Indiana, 1995 Galerie D'Art Contemporian Saint-Ravy Demangel, Montpellier, France, 1992 Galeria Mesta Bratislavy, Bratislava, Slovakia, 1992 Duluth Art Institute, Duluth Minnesota, 1985 Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo, Michigan, 1983 Sioux City Art Center, Sioux City, Iowa, 1983 South Dakota Art Museum, Brookings, South Dakota, 1982 Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1982, 1968 Tweed Museum of Art, Duluth, Minnesota, 1981, 1964 University of Minnesota Art Museum, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1972
Selected Group Exhibitions Franklin 54 Gallery, New York, New York, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006 Susquehanna Art Museum, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 2009, 2008, 2006 Reading Public Museum, Reading, Pennsylvania, 2009, 2007, 2003 AAF, New York, New York (Franklin 54 Gallery, New York, New York) 2008, 2007 Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna, Spoleto, Italy, 2007-2008 Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 2008, 2007, 2006 Hunterdon Art Museum, Clinton, New Jersey, 2007-2008, 2004 Osilas Gallery, Bronxville, New York, 2007 China Gallery, New York, New York, 2007, 2006 Kinetisch Noord, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2006 Cornerhouse Gallery, Manchester, England, 2006 The State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 2006, 2005 El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso, Texas, 2006, 1968 Great Neck Art Center, Great Neck, New York, 2005 Gallery 49, New York, New York, 2004 MG International, New York, New York, 2003 Biennale in Monte Rosa, Monte Rosa, Italy, 2003 Monique Goldstrom Gallery, New York, New York, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000 ST'
ART la foire d'art contemporain de Strasbourg, France (Frank Pages Art
Galerie, Baden Baden, Germany; L'Ariete galleria d'arte, Bologna,
Italy), 2003, 1999, 1998 Suzanna Terrill Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2002 Xenobio, Istituto di Cultura Germanica, Bologna, Italy, 2001 ARTISSIMA, Turin, Italy (Galleria Polid'Arte, Spoleto, Italy), 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995 LINEART, INTERNATIONALE KUNSTBEURS, Gent, Belgium (Galleria Polid'Arte, Rome and Spoleto, Italy; L'Ariete galleria d'arte, Bologna, Italy), 2000, 1994 ART COLOGNE, Cologne, Germany (L'Ariete galleria d'arte, Bologna, Italy), 1995 ARTE FIERA, Bologna, Italy (L'Ariete galleria d'arte, Bologna, Italy), 1999, 1998, 1996 (Stern Galerie, Kriens/Lucerne, Switzerland), 1992 ARTE PADOVA, Padova Fiera, Padua, Italy (Galleria Polid'Arte, Spoleto, Italy), 1999, 1998, 1996 ART EXPO, Fira d'art de Barcelona, Spain (L'Ariete galleria d'arte, Bologna, Italy), 1998 MIART
Fiera d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Milan, Italy (L'Ariete galleria
d'arte, Bologna, Italy; Galleria Polid'Arte, Spoleto, Italy;
Diagonal Art, Barcelona, Spain), 1996 CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL ART EXPOSITION, NAVY PIER, Chicago, Illinois (Neville-Sargent Gallery, Chicago), 1994 Frank Pages Art Galerie, Baden-Baden, Germany, 1993, 1992 Centre Gallery, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1992, 1991, 1990, 1989, 1988, 1987, 1986 ARC, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France, 1991 FIAC Paris, France, (Galerie L'Oeil, Brussels, Belgium), 1991 Wall Gallery, New York, New York, 1991, 1990 Blue Sky Gallery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1991, 1990 Katie Gingrass Gallery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1991, 1990, 1989, 1988, 1987, 1986 Lakeview Museum of Arts and Sciences, Peoria, Illinois, 1990 Painted Bride Art Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1988 Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio, 1985, 1975, 1967 Morgan Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri, 1985, 1984, 1983 Alexander Carlson Gallery, New York, New York, 1982, 1981, 1980 Genesis Galleries, New York, New York, 1979, 1978, 1977 Sotheby's, New York, New York, 1978 American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, New York, New York, 1978 M L Gallery, New York, New York, 1976 Minnesota Museum of American Art, St. Paul, Minnesota, 1975, 1973, 1971 George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, Springfield, Massachusetts, 1975, 1970, 1969 Rotunda Gallery, London, England, 1973, 1972 Winnipeg Art Museum, Winnipeg, Canada, 1974, 1973, 1972, 1971, 1970, 1967 Houston Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, 1973, 1972, 1971, 1970 Las Vegas Art Museum, Las Vegas, Nevada, 1971 Jersey City Museum of Art, Jersey City, New Jersey, 1970 Paula Insel Gallery, New York, New York, 1969 Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1966
Selected Public and Corporate Collections Museo Civico d'Arte Moderna, Spoleto, Italy Universita di Bologna, Italy Queens Museum of Art, New York, New York Phillips Museum of Art, Lancaster, Pennsylvania Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, Minnesota Waterloo Museum of Art, Waterloo, Iowa Austin Museum of Art, Austin, Texas El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso, Texas Art Institute of the Permian Basin, Odessa, Texas Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo, Michigan Bicentennial Art Museum, Paris, Illinois Tweed Museum of Art, Duluth, Minnesota Antico Palazzo Della Pretura Di Castell' Arquato, Piacenza, Italy Galerie Mesta Bratislavy, Bratislava, Slovakia Galerie D'Art Contemporain Saint-Ravy Demangel, Montpellier, France Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science, Sioux Falls, South Dakota Franklin & Marshall University, Lancaster, Pennsylvania Southwest Minnesota State University Art Museum, Marshall, Minnesota North Country Art Museum, Park Rapids, Minnesota ADM Honeywell 3 M Company General Mills Wausau Insurance Companies American Republic Insurance Company First Bank System American Consulate, Bratislava, Slovakia University of Minnesota, Morris, Minnesota University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, Wisconsin University of South Carolina, Spartanburg, South Carolina North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota Wells Fargo Banks, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Duluth, Minnesota Sunbeam Lincoln National Crown Steel, Detroit, Michigan American Natural Resources, Detroit, Michigan
