Located at the Solar Arts Building, the opening reception of Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association’s AutumNE art show featured over 150 original artworks from NEMAA artists. Live music flooded the gallery space while visitors observed a wide variety of artwork throughout Friday night.
AutumNE was notable in part for the quality and variety of the work displayed. Each artist contributed just one piece, which made for a diverse and captivating show. Prices ranged from $50 to $7,000.
The reception was warm and energized. Local music group “Ayvah” set the mood with their funky jazz and soul sounds, and artists chatted with guests who lingered at their pieces. The bar and an assortment of dainty hors d’oeuvres kept the crowd satisfied while they made the rounds.
Participating artist and University of Minnesota alumna Moira Bateman has been a member of NEMAA for about six years. Bateman’s featured piece was mounted on canvas and consisted of only three elements: silk, beeswax medium and stitching.
“I take the silk that I work with and I bundle it with plant material and soil from different landscapes and submerge it in the water at that location,” Bateman said. “The piece [on display] is water-stained silk from the Mississippi River from Nicollet Island and French Island.”
Bateman received her Masters of Landscape Architecture from the University in 1998, where she also studied landscape ecology and studio art. Inspired by her education, Bateman’s work gives agency to the natural elements and materials of the site she chooses to work with. Friday was the first time she had ever participated in one of NEMAA’s exhibitions.
An additional University alumnus had his painting on display Friday night, although he might be better known for hockey than art.
The abstract artist Jack Dale skated for the Gophers for three years, and went on to play in the 1968 Olympic Games for the U.S.
“Believe me, I was the only hockey player taking art classes,” Dale said.
Dale found a relationship between playing hockey and painting, which he described as “calmness within chaos.”
“When I was playing hockey, there was always a certain tension before a game, and then there’s a time that you become oblivious to everything… to the crowd, to making a mistake,” he said. “You just go out and react and your talents take over and it’s instinctive. That parallels with painting. You’re more tentative when you start, and all of a sudden you get to a point where you lose yourself.”
Dale’s painting is a three-foot-by-three-foot abstract expressionist work that uses bold lines and geometric shapes to unify the piece. He described his artistic process.
“When I get in my studio, I don’t know what’s going to happen really. I don’t plan anything out. I might plan color relationships,” he said. “I just start by making marks and lines and blotches on the canvas, and for some reason, I’ve been fortunate that it leads me to the next step.”
AutumNE will be on display at the Solar Arts Building in Northeast Minneapolis through Sunday, Nov. 5.
