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Twin Town High (vol. 8) |
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Preholiday Highpoint
Wednesday 21 December @ 18:34:29 |
 by Christopher Koza
A wonderful characteristic of the Twin Cities art world is that it occurs on almost every street corner in some way, shape or form. I’m not referring to any Lucy, Linus, Snoopy or Charlie Brown figurine you might spot at any given intersection, but rather to the abundance of coffee shop galleries and legitimate art spaces sustained with the same frequency as gas stations, and convenience stores, which happily outnumber White Castles.
The Highpoint Center for Printmaking is one of these neighborhood spaces. It serves as both a gallery and a fully equipped studio cooperative for printmakers.
Flanked by notable neighbor the Soo Gallery, and across the street from Moxie Salon (which also doubles as a sort-of art gallery), Highpoint is a nonprofit, all-inclusive center for furthering the printmaking endeavors of a number of talented artists who also contribute to the current exhibition, PRINTS, You Betcha!
 The
exhibition is organized throughout all of Highpoint, meaning the viewer must
navigate artists’ workspaces and a vast array of tabletops and machinery
to successfully experience each work—a detail that only enhances the idea
of process in printmaking. Far too many artists contributed to this exhibition
to list them all, but here are a few standouts.
Nick Wroblewski turns in a couple of stunning woodcuts, most notably “Water
Laughing,” a colorful piece that recalls the famous woodblock painting
by Katsushika Hokusai (“The Great Wave”). Screen printer Jeremy
Lund offers “Migration 1 & Migration 2,” two small, multi-screen
prints that represent a simple pronunciation of the title theme.
One of the highlights of a group show is the unexpected way in which artists’
works are grouped and the ensuing interplay of their different styles. The sequencing
of art is vital to the identity and overall success of an exhibition. This works
well for Mike Elko and Kristin Cheronis. Elko’s work is a collage of 1950s
and 60s prototypical working-class imagery, combined with hand-drawn additions
and drypoint embellishments. “The Engineers” manages to be humorous
while transcending the realm of goofy greeting cards. When viewed next to “Dahlia,”
an art-deco, line-drawn flower printed atop a wallpaper-like pattern, the implications
couldn’t be more nuclear.
The best part about experiencing artwork in a place like Highpoint is the likelihood
of encountering a loitering artist willing to discuss his or her work. On the
floor near the gallery’s entrance, a red arrow points out toward Lyndale
Avenue. At the direction of artist Zac Adams, I squatted down to 5’ 3”
and looked toward his piece “It’s Virtually Summer—A Daytime
Piece.” This framed screen print on glass depicts a single treetop of
computerized leafy, mid-summer foliage. Obviously made to be positioned in the
front window of Highpoint, the digital treetop image settled perfectly on the
real-life barren, mid-December branches of the tree across the street. When
I asked Zac what inspired this piece, he replied, “It’s so you can
get a little bit of happiness in the winter ... ”
There are several inexhaustible places to encounter happiness in these last
few weeks of 2005, and if it’s not coming from your extended family or
the in-laws, you can find a welcome retreat at Highpoint. ||
PRINTS, You Betcha! is on display through Jan. 20 at Highpoint Center
for Printmaking, 2638 Lyndale Ave. S., Mpls., 612-871-1326. Gallery hours are
Mon.–Fri. 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; some weekend hours and by appointment.
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