Rosalux Gallery’s upcoming exhibit “Incident” got on its feet by mistake.

Earlier this year, painter Duane Ditty, one of two artists featured in “Incident,” worked on a new painting in his studio. He said the result caused him anxiety and he moved the painting out of his study.

“It was irritating to me. I thought it was hideous and over-aggressive. It inspired this title, ‘Incident,’” Ditty said. “It’s kind of abstract, but I think it refers to the kind of unpredictable way things unfold — people told me they loved that painting.”

This odd response to his creation intrigued Rebecca Krinke, the other “Incident” artist.

“You don’t often hear, ‘I made something today and it was really horrible,’” Krinke said. “It reveals an artist’s attitude about process, and it showed me that this was someone who would be good to work hard with.”

So the two began expanding on existing work to generate content for “Incident.” The only constant theme that stayed was the desire to investigate the word “incident.” The pair asked themselves about incidents in their own lives and decided that the events’ aftereffects are sometimes more compelling than the occurrences themselves.

Krinke’s piece for the exhibit, “Sculpture Incident (after Insomnia),” clearly reflects this.  The piece looks like a makeshift bed, composed of straw, a black frame and black tubes that appear to be talons coming from one of the straw pillars. Underneath it lays a pile of notebooks that Krinke compiled since January that are all kept secret from viewers.

“The bed looked like an incident. What had happened there? What’s gone? I am very interested in the aftermath,” she said.

Krinke said the notebooks, which were also in the previous work, attracted audience members’ curiosity. Some people approached the notebooks wanting to read their content — inspiring Krinke to consider how easily viewers create narratives out of the abstract.

“The artist gets to do what they want,” Krinke said. “I like to invite guests to speak. It adds so much value to working on the piece for me. This is why I like Rosalux — what curator is going to let me create an installation that no one is gonna buy?”

Ditty’s work plays off this idea. He has eight paintings on display, and their open-endedness allows observers an opportunity to put their own ideas to work.

His paintings in this exhibit make use of golden colors, deep greens and blacks as well as muted reds. They come together in a murky geometry, creating off-kilter grids of shapes and lines that melt into one another.

It’s possible to find all sorts of images in these pieces. Whether one sees a group of doors and windows or a glob of color, Ditty is happy to create the mystery.

“This concept has me working more rapidly,” he said. “Each day I had steps I would go through, and for the first time since undergrad, I felt like things were there and I just had to grab them. Once things are hung up, I get this sense of curiosity.”

What: “Incident”
When: Weekend times vary, July 5­­–27
Where: Rosalux Gallery, 1400 Van Buren St. NE #195, Minneapolis
Cost: Free