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Twin Town High (vol. 8) |
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Ever More
Wednesday 28 June @ 14:33:21 |
 by Betsy Mowry
Ever More, the current exhibit showing at the Minnesota Museum of American Art (MMAA) in St. Paul, examines heightened artistic impulse and repetition in the creative act. In layman’s terms, the exhibit features work by artists who excel in the labor intensive process of creating work through the application of bits and pieces, the repetitive painting of detailed images and/or the piecing together of a multitude of objects to create a complete and thought provoking composition.
Featuring 20 pieces by eleven creative minds, the display combines the work of local artists with pieces from the MMAA's permanent collection. The exhibit asks “What kind of concentration is required to cover a piece of paper with miniscule lines or a canvas with countless pointed dots?” and “At what point do the individual pieces transform into a whole that truly is greater than the sum of the parts?”
Always a Minnesota favorite, mosaic artist Judy Onofrio presents her rotating sculpted piece, “Serve it Up.” The work encompasses the spirit of Ever More with abundantly placed tiles, dishes, shells, mirror and porcelain. Known for her ornately conceptualized and implemented sculptures, “Serve it Up” demonstrates Onofrio’s lifelong obsession with the collection of materials used to create her work.
Meanwhile, “Some Memories,” an oil painting by Doug Argue, hangs at about 20’ x 20’ and displays a densely covered canvas of tangled leaves and vines in black and white. Inspired by a Ficus tree, Argue painted it as an elegy to his brother who died in a car accident in the early 1980s. With hair-splitting, repetitious detail, the composition works because of the depth and dimension used throughout.
What really makes Ever More captivating is scrutinizing the objects and details of the art, then standing back in the modest gallery space and absorbing the pieces in their entirety. The amount of time and patience needed to implement these creations is astounding and probably unrealistic for most of us. It’s exactly what sets these artists apart and makes their work successful.
The exhibit offers a nice range of both two- and three-dimensional works. Trever Nicholas’ piece “Plastic Atmosphere” floats over a quarter of the gallery, comprised of thousands of blue cable ties fastened together. His “Plug Rug” uses hundreds of green earplugs pushed through nylon mesh like some sort of bizarre latch-hook rug. Nicholas says he “manipulates materials to arouse curiosity,” and they certainly do.
A colorful folk-art piece by Simon Sparrow, originally from West Africa and raised on North Carolina’s Cherokee Indian Reservation, identifies him as an outsider artist because of its naïve style and lack of formal training as an artist. Sparrow’s works hold deep spiritual significance and he claims that he does not copy people, but rather captures the “spiritual mystery or essence of his subjects.” “Untitled Assemblage” is layers of glitter, beads, jewelry, shells and various sculptural objects and toys on a large sheet of wood. The piece required an immense amount of time and the “trance-like” concentration that Sparrow is known for.
A fun and intriguing display, Ever More is definitely worth a trip to downtown St. Paul. To enhance your visit, stop in on a Thursday evening for one the museums’ Patio Night events. On June 22, the museum features Ever More Music with musical interpretations of the artwork and entertainment by the Fat Chance Jug Band and the Brass Messengers on the patio from 7:00-10:00 p.m. ||
EVER MORE runs through July 16 and is located at 50 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, 651-292-4355. Gallery hours are Tue.–Wed. & Fri.–Sat. 11 a.m.–4 p.m.; Thu. 11 a.m.–8 p.m. & Sun. 1–5 p.m.
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