The original Cult Sisters were born in May 2010.  After having worked with many male artists over the years, I noticed a disconnect between the sexes and how they approach their careers and work.  Not to dis the guys, but on the whole, male artists are much harder to deal with; the stereotypes being men are disorganized, and a bit egotistical.  Of course I’ve met a lot of male artists who do not exhibit these exasperating qualities, but let’s just generalize for a minute.  Male artists are a lot like musicians — they have gotten through life largely on a wing and a prayer, more often than not on the shoulders of some poor girlfriend, who dotingly supports their ‘eccentricities’ and tolerates bad behaviors such as disappearing for days at a time.

Trying to run a gallery and mount shows full of guy artists who are impossible to contact because they have ‘lost their phone,’ are on a binge, or don’t have their work even started until hours before a show is not only annoying, it makes me solely want to work with artists who have their shit together, and who work as hard as I do.

I felt the need to compile a show consisting of women artists; to give them a venue where we all chipped in together and didn’t have to pull the weight of undependable dudes.  I contacted 4 other women who I knew in some capacity or had worked with.  Louisa Greenstock had just had a show at Gallery13, and I thought her work fit well with mine.  SSCA director JM Culver had just had an interview with Rift Magazine about her solo show ‘Conjured Memories.’  Kara Hendershot and Gina Louise I had shown with in the past, and we were on our way to becoming friends.  They also participated in CSG’s first show, ‘Equinox.’

I contacted others too, but these were the women who stepped up to the plate, and that month we produced the show ‘Cult Sisters 5′, because there were 5 of us, and the name went with the CSG logo. cultsisters5 Click on links to see all works in CS5.

JM Culver

Gina Louise

Erin Sayer

Louisa Greenstock

Kara Hendershot

It was a dream working with and getting to know the ladies.  They all had their work documented, a long list of buyers, and a collective work ethic I had never experienced before, except on theatre productions.  I was hooked!  Throughout the months and years we became very close, and added new members.  Our second show, ‘Cult Sisters II’ (because this was our second group show), was mounted May of 2011.  We included several newcomers and showed 12 female artists that year, with photo queen Rhea Pappas (who I met in 2007 at the dog park), SooVAC guru Allison Hiltner, and an old friend and amazing sculptor Kristin Arden among others. cultsisters2

There was another group show at Gallery13, ‘Beauty School Dropouts,’ curated (more or less) by Louisa last fall, and Louisa and I did a dual show together in December of 2010.  Gina Louise did a solo show at CSG in November of 2011, and Gina and I did a show at Elida Gallery in Camas WA this spring, and other members have had much success showing nationally and prolifically.  Kara Hendershot also organized a group sketchbook though the Sketchbook Project this winter.

Cult Sisters sketchbook project

And now here we are, a full 2 years later, and still just breaking the shell of what we feel is a significant collaboration between us.  We have a lot of meetings which usually end late and foggy, and we all have  one thing in common:  Our relationship with art.  We  live eat and breathe art (much to the chagrin of our significant others).  We have dedicated our lives to this seemingly fruitless pursuit, at least, we have all felt that way at some point in our careers.  We call Art our boyfriend.  Art is our boyfriend (or girlfriend ;0).  We have a Love/Hate relationship with it.  Because Art is much more than just a pursuit, or just a career.  Art is our obsession, our chosen Achilles heel.  We forgo a ‘normal’ existence, in exchange for living in cold studios, vans down by the river, and sharing beds with our dogs instead of boys.

The Cult Sisters represent a contingent of female artists, who normally wouldn’t consider herself a ‘feminist’ artist per se, but automatically is because of her gender.  Upon viewing our work, one would not necessarily assign our work to being very ‘female’.  None of us paint pictures of vaginas or flowers.  Rather, we create what we feel needs to be created, not because we are women, but because we are artists who have our shit together and all enjoy stirring the proverbial pot.

I hope that clarifies The Cult Sisters a little better.  And I hope to see you at our next event:

Cult Sisters III: Love/Hate

Cult Status Gallery

Saturday, May 26, 2012, 7pm-1am

With: Kristen Arden, JM Culver, Louisa Greenstock, Kara Hendershot, Gina Louise, Rhea Pappas and Erin Sayer.

Story Time Installation, Rosalux Gallery, 2009.

I spoke with Alex for a bit, and found him very articulate about his work, and despite his shy demeanor, he’s an eloquent conversationalist.  I had the 33Design gallery in St. Louis Park,  and we were putting together the first Gods and Monsters show;  Alex was one of our star artists.  27, Give Up, Miss Kitty, Rudy Fig, and Nate Vincent Szklarski were just a few of the artists involved in the group show, but we were super excited to have Alex.

The weather was terrible the entire week leading up to the show, and Alex’s car had trouble navigating from NE all the way to SLP.  We kept missing each other and he never made it in the show.  Here is a pic of what would have been in that show, had it worked out… ‘No Country for Old Men.’

Since first meeting Alex in 2009, I can say he’s one of the best and one of the most prolific artists in town, I’ve worked with him for a number of shows now, and I am very excited to be working with him for the next few weeks, and very excited to present his new solo exhibition at Cult Status Gallery:

Alex Kuno Solo: The Miscreants of Tiny Town and the Unknown Unknowns

Cult Status Gallery

Saturday, March 24th, 2012, 7pm-1am

with DJ Danny Sigelman

Facebook Invite

Minnesota Original Segment

Alex’s Website

Selected painting details:

Artist Statement:

The Miscreants of Tiny Town and the Unknown Unknowns

“There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – there are things we do not know we don’t know.”

-Donald Rumsfeld, 2002

I’ve been fascinated by the concept of the Apocalypse since I was kid.
There was something weirdly romantic about the whole idea– you know,
traversing a barren landscape alone in a suped-up car, wearing a helmet
with cool spikes on it and all that. The passage of time, however,
eventually teaches us (cruelly) that we all must acknowledge our
limitations at some point. So, when the Shit hits the Fan, I’ve had to
admit to myself that I would wind up accidentally eating some expired
yogurt and dying from food poisoning within the first few weeks. No
super car for me, is what I’m saying. The Miscreants of Tiny Town series
started, in part, as a way to satirize our culture’s unfounded fears
of/perverse desires for Armageddon, but this particular iteration of the
series, opening at the Cult Status Gallery in the Spring of 2012, might
seem like it’s finally coming to terms with the sad inevitability of it.

While my narratives become more complex, the skies are getting rustier
and my landscapes are getting scabbier. It’s becoming increasingly
difficult to tell whether the stories take place in the day or night, as
the sun appears to be slowly snuffed out by a thick, sooty fog.
Throughout this “Unknown Unknowns” show, some figures have even broken
free from their landscapes altogether, and are left to participate in an
invisible story set against stark, bare walls.

Since The Miscreants of Tiny Town emerged as something of an unintended
side effect of the bleakly surreal world we’ve been plummeted into by
the equally surreal War on Terror, it has often served as an attempt to
both channel and mock the metastasizing paranoia caused by constant dire
warnings of coming and/or current global catastrophes. They’re playful,
satirical jabs at those nagging reminders of the fact that the
varnish-thin securities and comforts we’ve been taught to take for
granted are also directly responsible for our own impending disasters.
But as I’ve slowly been able to build my life around the production of
these characters and stories full-time, the work has also become
parodies of my inner monologues in a way. They’re my own little Friar’s
Club, “roasting” that formless cloud of anxieties and keeping it from
getting too high on its horse.

So here we are, at the dawn of the dreaded 2012. Yet, after being
confronted with years of grim portents and spooky omens, we can take
comfort in the knowledge that the world will be just as chaotic and
terrifying as it’s always been next year. So if a tree falls in the
forest and no one’s around to hear it, big deal. Let all of the things
we do not know that we don’t know fall right along with it. After all,
an apocalypse can’t exist without survivors, right? There’s hope in
that, somewhere.

Artist CV

Gallery Representation

Curly Tale Fine Art, Chicago, IL

Air Sweet Air Gallery, Saint Paul, MN (resident artist)

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2012:

The Washing of the Lions, Black Dog Café, Saint Paul, MN

The Miscreants of Tiny Town and the Unknown Unknowns, Cult Status
Gallery, Minneapolis, MN

2011:

Little Tragedies, air sweet air Gallery, Saint Paul, MN

2009:

Springtime Follies, SooVAC, Minneapolis, MN

Blood, Sweat, Tears, Pocket Gallery, Minneapolis, MN

Selected Group Exhibitions

2011:

The Krampus Show, Curly Tale Fine Art Gallery, Chicago, IL

Gods and Monsters, Cult Status Gallery, Minneapolis, MN

Affordable Art Fair, New York City, NY

Blab! Show, Copro Gallery, Santa Monica, CA

Blab! Group Show Invitational, Roq la Rue Gallery, Seattle, WA.

The Nature of Romance, Stevens Square Community Art Center, Minneapolis,
MN

In the Heart of the Whirlwind, Anderson Art Center, Red Wing, MN

2010:

A Few of Our Favorite Things, Fox Tax Gallery, Mpls, MN

Amorphic: Pondering Non-Specific Geometry, Morpho Gallery, Chicago, IL

Flocked, Casket Arts, Mpls, MN

My Nameless Love, Cult Status Gallery, Mpls, MN

2009:

Story Time, Rosalux Gallery, Mpls, MN

More is a Four-Letter Word, Fox Tax Gallery, Mpls, MN

The End, Alternative Café, San Francisco, CA

Sub Rosa, St. Benedicta Art Center, St. John’s University, MN

The Critic’s Show, Hopkins Center for the Arts, Hopkins, MN

ArtForm 1040, Fox Tax Gallery, Mpls, MN

Commissions and Private Collections

(Detailed information available upon request)

Awards

2010: CSA Grant recipient

First off, January will see the closing of Steve Olson’s solo show on Saturday, January 21st from 7-10.  The 24th will begin our figure drawing intensive workshop, Cult Status Academy, which will culminate in a student group show, March 3rd.

From there we have local wonder boy Alex Kuno Solo: The Miscreants of Tiny Town and the Unknown Unknowns, March 24th.

The end of April brings us ‘Flesh’ (a working title), a group show about the luminosity of the human form, with CSA instructors Luke Hillestad, Luke Tromziak and Jamie Cook, and artists Caitlin Karolczak, Kara Hendershot and last but not least, JM Culver.

May will be Cult Sisters III: Art is My Boyfriend, the weekend after Art-A-Whirl.  All of our original sisters and a few new friends will show in our yearly testament to the ladies.

June we have Ryan Henry Ward (known simply as ‘Henry’) as our 2012 resident artist from Seattle.  He is well known for his large colorful murals all around Seattle, depicting animals and awesomeness.  His residency will have him painting several murals around MPLS/STP, and then having a solo show at the end of June.

July will be Chris Williams solo upstairs, and Chris’s collaborative efforts with Biafra, Inc. downstairs.

August will begin with artists Mark Rivard and Russ Olson’s dual show, coinciding with Uptown Art Fair, and the end of the month we have a very special surprise for you, which I will write about in a separate blog soon.  Think edible Rudy Figilicious ….hmmmm.

Eventually, all of these events will have way more info and their own pages.  For now, contact me via cultstatusgallery@gmail.com if you have any questions or would like more information about anything.  I can’t wait for our exciting year!

Hello from San Francisco!  This year I decided to take a much needed ‘break’ from the winter wonderland that is MPLS, and hide out in a milder climate, and hopefully make some friends in the art community here.  I think it’s important to forge eye-to-eye relationships in this time of digital imagery and Facebook (im)personalization.  I also think it’s astoundingly important for artists to have excellent skillz in a number of diverse media.  One of the most important skills an artist can have is to be able to convincingly and quickly draw or paint a human form and face.

This is an old school train of thought, I am aware, but the ability to draw a figure says more about an artist’s eye and use of gesture, line, light and shadow, than it does of a beautiful finished product.  Gestural figure drawing is the closest an artist comes to their true inner voice and skill.  I believe (and this is just what I believe, it is not by any means law) that an artist should possess the ability to create in a 3D world what they see in their heads.  In order to do this, you must have as much knowledge of technique and materials as possible.  There is literally no end to how much an individual artist can know about technique and materials.  It is a life long quest in understanding, and every tidbit of skill accumulates over a lifetime, ever evolving.

Saying that an ability in figure drawing is archaic is like saying one doesn’t REALLY need to know how to read.   As an artist, I always am looking for avenues to expand my repertoire, and what we have come up with at Cult Status Academy will surely fill a niche in Uptown for artists to do just that.

Sadly, I can’t participate this go-around.  It’s a grand winter experiment for everyone, trying to beat the blues.  Luke Hillestad, Luke Tromziak and Jamie Cook have all signed up to instruct figure drawing classes, three nights a week starting next week and running through February, culminating in a student group show March 3rd.  Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday every week for 5 weeks from 7-10.  The guys will be rotating nights, and one will be a tableaux, which will be the same scene every time.

$15 per class, $14/pc with purchase of 5 classes, $13/pc purchase of 10 classes, and $180 for unlimited.  We provide easels and drawing boards, you bring your own materials.  Charcoal, paint, whatever your medium.  These classes are designed with the artist in mind, to hone your skillset, and loosen your hand and body.  This is University level instruction at a fraction of the price.

Follow this link: Cult Status Academy to find out more.

Opening Reception 12/3/11 6-10 pm

With music from Dandylion WarPaint

Facebook Event

I first met Steve Olson at an event at CSG.  He was an imposing guy with a great smile, and immediately we had a rapport.  He began to relate his extensive experience in the Minneapolis art scene, and being a newbie myself, I was rapt with attention.  (He is best known for his ‘Brickman‘ sculpture atop the Olson Advertising  firm next to Lurcat.)  He spoke of the days in the early 80s, when secret underground shows would be held in abandoned warehouses and high rises being built.  The energy and enthusiasm translated to sales, when Minneapolis galleries were in league with New York.  Apparently, those were the days.

The next week, Steve invited me to Lundstrom Center of the Performing Arts , where several of his pieces inhabit their gallery walls.  I was struck by the intensity of emotion and extraordinary attention to form, negative space, and craftsmanship.  Each piece was surrounded by beautiful hand carved frames, and other elements like candles were situated so the pieces are more sculptural than painterly.

I began to understand the charge of emotion each piece portrays, and I began to think about how easy and comfortable my life has suddenly become, related to others who are not as fortunate.  Steve’s work encompasses meaning and compassion, absurdity and consort, conveying understanding between people whether they are the 99% or the 1%.  He has moved far beyond discussing color theories, negative space and composition.  He has conquered logistics and materials.  He has arrived at this place, where his work is meaningful beyond the object, and enters a state of emotional maturity and integrity.

“White Light, White Heat”, carved wood and mixed media, 48″x36″.

“The Puppet”, carved wood and stain, 36″x24″.

“Comfort the Afflicted”, carved wood and mixed media, 36″x36″.

“Soup Supper”, Carved wood and stain, 36″x24″.

“Prayer for Africa”, carved wood and mixed media, 36″x24″.

“New Best Friend”, wood and mixed media, 36″x36″.

Biography:

Steve Olson of Minneapolis began his career with Forecast Public Artspace. After seeing “The Times Square Show” in a condemned building in NYC, he produced “the black show” in 1981 on 4th Ave. and Lake St. in Minneapolis in a warehouse building. Over 100 visual artists along with dancers, poets and musicians filled the building.  In 1982 he joined the downtown gallery world with numerous solo and group shows. In 1996, he switched from canvas to wood and began portraying social justice issues in the spectrum of the human condition. In 2000, he created “Brickzilla”, the brickman sculpture on the roof of OLSON advertising on 16th and Hennepin. The same year, he began his association with the affordable housing group, The Family Housing Fund. “The Fund” brought his work not only to  galleries and museums but to the mayors’ offices in the Twin Cities, the State Capitol, public schools and institutions like the United Way and the Minneapolis Foundation to name a few.
This exhibit at Cult Status marks his foray full circle back to the cutting edge where he feels most at home. “I long to see new forms in a constantly evolving language which is what I’ve witnessed in the diversity of exhibits and multiple fresh approaches at Cult Status Gallery.”

Exhibitions
Family Housing Fund, Minneapolis, Minnesota, multiple exhibitions 2000-2011. Collaborated
on a number of projects related to housing and homelessness, including three traveling
exhibitions, fine-art prints, posters, calendars, and annual reports.
Permanent Gallery Installation, Lundstrum Center for the Performing Arts, Minneapolis,
Minneapolis, 2008-present
The Brick Man, 2001, rooftop sculpture in public space, 1625 Hennepin Ave. Minneapolis,
Minnesota
Solo exhibition, Basilica of St. Mary, Minneapolis.2006
Solo exhibition, Frank Stone Gallery, Minneapolis, 2005
Group Exhibition, Tyler Street Gallery, Minneapolis, 2003
Solo Exhibition, , Minneapolis, 2002
Daisy Cutter, Group Exhibition, Gallery Schmallery, Minneapolis, 2002
Domestic Abuse Project, Group Exhibition, Minneapolis, Minneapolis, 1999
Solo Exhibition, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, Minneapolis, 1998
Frank Gaard, Aldo Moroni, Melisa Stang, Steve Olson, The Lounge, Minneapolis, MN, 1997
Solo Exhibition, Southwest State University, Marshall, Minnesota, 1996
Solo Exhibition, M.C. Gallery, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1994
Solo Exhibition, M.C. Gallery, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1992
Group Exhibition, Hamline University, St. Paul, Minnesota, 1991
Solo Exhibition, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, Minnesota, 1990
Solo Exhibition, Broadway Gallery, Detroit, Michigan, 1988
Solo Exhibition, M.C. Gallery, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1985
Steve Olson and Peter Williams, Barry Richard Gallery, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1984
Preview 84, Group Show of Emerging Artists, Jewish Community Center of Minneapolis,
Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1984
Group Show, The St. Paul Companies Corporate Offices, St. Paul, Minnesota, 1984
Group Shows, Barry Richard Gallery, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1982-84
Group Show, First Bank Minneapolis Headquarters, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1982
________________________________________________________________________
Community
Family Housing Fund, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2000-2011
Book Cover, “Deprived of Dignity,” 1998. Provided artwork for publication by Angel Press, a
series of essays about children of the streets and life after welfare in Minneapolis.
The Black Show, 1981. Producer of 100-person music, dance, poetry, visual arts event in
warehouse, Forecast Pubic Art, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
_______________________________________________________________________
Collections
Family Housing Fund
U.S. Bank, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi Law Firm, Minneapolis, Minnesota
RBC Dain Rauscher, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Rockler Companies, Medina, Minnesota
Basilica of St. Mary, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Private Collections

Since the inception of Cult Status, we have been dedicated to showing young emerging artists.  With our new solo series, we are stepping into the realm of showcasing established and, in Steve’s case, mid-career artists, which is extremely exciting.  Cult Status is proud to be a part of the burgeoning Twin Cities art scene.

Hours by Appointment

612-965-9162

Steve’s Website

November 11th, 2011  ~11.11.11~  7pm-1am

If you don’t know who the infamous Gina Louise is, then surely you haven’t been to any art openings in the last 5 years.  Gina is an MCADian, has shown all over the 612/651, is an original ‘Cult Sister,’ has worked as a museum sculptor (even creating the Grizzly exhibit at the MNZoo), and uses painting and sculpture interchangeably and equally proficiently.

Using all sorts of industrial materials was part of her position as museum sculptor, and those influences have established themselves in her gallery work as well.  Always the experimenter, and whose favorite color is ‘construction worker orange’, Gina never ceases to create environments of comfort and softness in a rigid steel world.

Last winter, Gina visited South East Asia on an extended trip, and there was inspired by the urban environments, colors and local women.  She drew hundreds of drawings based on those experiences, and has spent the last 4 months on sabbatical in Seattle creating 150 paintings based on those drawings.

In her own words:

While the individual pieces for S.E.A. 10 are themselves not rigidly rendered, my self-imposed parameters of process were methodical in nature. My intent is that each piece is a visual conversation reduced further and further down. In this way the true disposition of each moment being referenced is able to unfold.
part 1: pictures
I am by no means a photographer, however it was ultimately necessary to document the compositional junctures that grabbed me, so I could work with them upon returning to the studio.
part 2: drawings
Next, using the photos as reference, I drew from them. Only 5″ x 8″ in size, they are small drawings meant to be held close.
part 3: paintings
Lastly, no longer referencing the original photograph, only a completed drawing, I distill and paint said compositional moment.
At 24″ x 36″, each painting is larger than the corresponding drawing. However, the paintings are small enough to still feel intimate.

Gina Louise is a sculptor and painter born 1972 in St.Paul, Minnesota, USA. In 1994 she received her B.F.A in Sculpture from Minneapolis College of Art & Design.

website: www.divergentlayers.com

email: gina@divergentlayers.com
MN artists page: http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=267303
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/ginalouise.divergentlayers

With their interests stemming from modern age tattooing to the powers of mysticism and magic, they created several dozen art works showing off exactly that. One example is significant in Chris’s take on the theological doctrine of the original sin, Total Depravity, shown several times throughout his works.  They claim that the paintings presented are part of a pact written to one another five years ago. The only given proof lays in the lower cased ‘n’ tattoos on the little finger of each members left hand. The entirety of the  details of the pact are hidden securely under lock and key but are very apparent when walking into Sons of Northern Darkness. Everything seems to be unified in an uncanny manner.

The feeling you get waking into a showcase like this is unsettling, yet a bit exciting. Much like the feeling of being a young kid taking your first steps into a haunted house. Yet the power of death and sadness behind a large portion of the show has a bit of a heavier weight to it, something that seems to stick with you a little longer after leaving.

Sons of Northern Darkness will be celebrated with a grand opening to the public on Friday the 23rd of September from 8pm until 1am. On this day in 1846 French astronomer Urbain Jean Joseph Le Verrier and British astronomer John Couch Adams discovered the eighth and greatest planet in the galaxy, Neptune.  The astrological symbol is presented several times in Nate’s work and also on the ring knuckle of Nate’s dominant hand.

There will be appropriate music hosted by DJ Bitsbits and a special live sacrificial performance by the local group Nomia.  Lights and projected imagery by the likes of Wonderhaus. This is definitely a show you must see to believe.

Make sure and check out our next event, the Nay-Say closing! More about this show, and a couple Local Artist Interviews to follow in a few days:

I first met Louis LaPierre at a benefit for Michael ‘Eyedea’ Larson at Niccademus Art, for which I painted a portrait of the fallen artist.  Louis was childhood friends with Mikey and often collaborated creatively with him, and later created posters and artwork for Eyedea’s gigs and records.

Louis’s poster for Eyedea and Abilities gig…

I was drawn to his use of paint, and while you can see he obviously has street art roots, he is using classical applications with charcoal, spray paint and watery acrylic on carefully constructed panels and paper. He depicts urban landscapes at their most beautiful; washes of varying cool tones divided into the blocks and shapes of an urban environment.  He also uses figurative imagery, animals, flowers, vehicles and machinery of sorts, all interacting in their own haunting world.

Louis’s work is balanced by his long term studio mate, Jason Wasyck. Where Louis is monochromatic, Jason is the extreme opposite, using color as his main focus. Where Louis drips, Jason paints obsessively crisp lines, or even manufactures drips out of wood…

In some pieces, he displays an incredible amount of tenuous patience, meticulously cutting out graceful repetitive shapes from thin wood, and crafting boxes as the display vehicle.  They are objects which aren’t necessarily paintings or sculptures, they are a perfect balance of both.

In his 2D work, again using color as the main protagonist, he experiments with printing on panels.

Snowbank installation …

More about the show here:

access+ENGAGE  the definitive alternative

More about the artists:

Closing Party!

Closing Reception: Saturday, September 17th 7pm-1am
Music By: makr/brodR (Mark Mcgee and Andrew Broder)

Cult Status Gallery
2913 Harriet Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55408

Cult Status Gallery is pleased to announce Nay-Say, featuring the art of J. Wasyk and Louis N. LaPierre. Cohabitants of the same St. Paul studio for four years, Wasyk and LaPierre have created all the work in this show within their studio walls. While both of their work explores contemporary issues of environment and space, their end results are polar opposites. Their individual approaches to making art have created an ongoing argument at the studio. J. Wasyk insists that there must be a vision of the final product and executes it to a tee without straying. He doesn’t start until he knows that his vision can be perfectly fulfilled in the end. Conversely, Louis insists that the vision must come through the process and never knows what the final product will look like until he is done. Their collaboration within the walls of Cult Status creates a body of work with vast differences and few similarities, all stemming from the same conversations and arguments.

Louis N LaPierre Related Info:
Artist Statement: By arranging paint on paper, I depict contemporary wastelands mixed with the mundane human existence that fosters our surrounding’s continuous state of flux. It is an exploration into bitter happiness and sweet despair. Diving into utter realities and the joys of being left in the dark. In the end, it is a search into finding comfort in the uncomfortable; a constant struggle to search out truth when there is no clear truth insight.
Bio: Louis N LaPierre hails from St. Paul, Minnesota. He was born, learned to walk, and then to create. He is still walking, but doesn’t remember when he began painting. His favorite thing to do is observe, and his second is to paint. Since his graduation from the College of Visual Arts in St. Paul, Minnesota in 2005, he has adopted a vigorous art practice that spans a variety of mediums. His work can be seen in many venues and on projects such as album covers, gig posters, steel, books, galleries, film, private collections, and murals across America.

J. Wasyk Related Info:
Artist Statement: As an artist, I attempt to create work that can be equally enjoyed and considered critically. Neither the viewers perspective of the former or later is more significant.
Bio: Originally from Richmond VA, J.Wasyk has a BFA from the Painting and Printmaking Department of Virginia Commonwealth University. He has exhibited nationally and has lived and worked in Minneapolis for the past seven years.

Hello all! I know it’s been awhile since I updated this site.  I’ve been relying on Facebook and Twitter since our web person abandoned us.  I am afraid to update it since Word Press really really wants me to update its software, and the last time I did that was disastrous.  So if you or anyone you know would like to help out on the website front that would be sweet.

OK here goes….

The summer started out calm enough, and then roared into full force around July 1st, with sizzling heat and an action packed calendar, we knew we had our work cut out for us.  March April and May and June were lovely quiet and most of all cool (as in temperature) shows: Never Quiet Never Soft, a beautiful Biafra Inc curated show Midwest Rebels, Cult Sisters II and a Dan Jaffe curated mini show for the book release of our friend Al Mueller.  The artists involved in these shows were incredible to work with and we were super honored to have them show with us.  Visit our artists link page to see a list.

Metrik and Amoeba at Midwest Rebels

Biafra At MWR

Dan Jaffe at Al’s book release

Flora at Al’s book release.

This proved to be the calm before the storm.  July began with temperatures in the 90s and dew points into the 70s and even 80s!  It felt like 115º in the gallery, and Moorhead, MN actually was the hottest place on Earth — THE ENTIRE PLANET (136º) — in mid July.

We had our work cut out for us.  We were a bring your own venue for the Minnesota Fringe Fest!  We created an epic collaboration, consisting of 7 visual artists, 4 directors, 4 writers and a bunch of crazy actors, all under the direction of Duck Washington and Rogues Gallery Arts Company.  It was called ‘The 612′ named after MPLS’s area code.  We painted a huge collaborative mural upstairs and created sets for the 4 vignette plays that comprised the performance.  We got a bunch of good reviews, despite the oppressive heat under the huge theatrical lights.  It was epic epic epic, but I for one am so happy it’s over.  Not only did we have 20 odd people working in the space at nights, we had an artist in residence from Italy, Father Bruno Segatta, whipping out 70 paintings in 2 weeks during the day!  CSG was a cacophony of creativity….

Set piece for The 612 by Erin Sayer and Von Shank

Von Shank and Danny Sigelman workin’

The 612 in action

Theatre lights

The 612

Mark Rivard helping us…

Bruno and Mark kickin it…

Very beautiful Biafra piece…

Chris Williams

We titled the collaboration upstairs ‘A Paralyzing Tragedy: The Artists of The 612′.

Joseph Naughton

We flew Von Shank here from Oakland, CA…

Once The 612 closed in mid August, I was ready for the space to be all white again…it took us 2 coats of primer and a coat of paint to get it all back to normal again… in 3 days.  Whew!  I was more exhausted, heat stroked, and burned out than I have ever been in my life.  But it was worth it.  It was so amazing collaborating with everyone, and doing something no one has done in MPLS before.  Artists and theatre people don’t hang out for a reason, we concluded.  Theatre folks are creative, yet super organized and cerebral.  Artists, on the other hand are the exact opposite…scattered, free willed, and maniacal!  I am generalizing, of course.

Up next: a post about our current show, and what we are doing for the rest of 2011!

xoxoxo

E

Kristin Arden: On MNOriginal

ARTIST STATEMENT

        Notions of privacy and disclosure are at the core of my work. My
portraits deal with the reality of illness while balancing a thin line
between expression and discretion. While these topics could be
divisive, the use of color, humor, and childish aesthetic keeps my
work welcoming.  I am interested in the internal and external factors
that compose one’s identity. My work presents a personal side of an
ever-increasingly political issue through a girlish lens of soft
aesthetics and sad whimsy.

ARTIST BIO

Tonja Torgerson was born in 1984 and grew up on the edge of the White
Earth Reservation in Minnesota. She moved to the Minneapolis metro
area in 2001 to attend school at the Perpich Center for Arts
Education. In 2007 she received a BFA from the University of
Minnesota. Her artwork is included the collections of the Weisman Art
Museum and the Minnesota Museum of American Art.  She is currently
pursuing an MFA in printmaking at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New
York.