Monday, November 10, 2014

Heather Kim - Painter

Heather Kim


Name: Heather Kim
City/State: Minneapolis, MN
Email: heatherrosekim at gmail.com
Website: http://www.heatherkim.net/
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/heatherhaedalkim
MN Artists: http://www.mnartists.org/heather-kim

Tell me about your work? What are you currently working on? How is this different from past projects?

My art is about narrative portraiture, an introduction to a person's mythology, their constructs of identity.  
I would describe my current body of work as mixed media portraiture--oil on canvas portraits paired with scent vessel portraits and edible taste portraits. 

My art is influenced by my synesthesia, a “...neurological condition in which the stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia ; 8/17/2013)  I take what I see, smell, and taste with my models, whom I have all worked closely with and are also artists, and create a portrait.

I am also currently the executive pastry chef at Hola Arepa. I feel like that I am able to successfully execute my taste portraits now that I cook professionally, something that I would not have attempted in the past.

Also, last year my dad had a major hemmorhagic stroke, leaving him paralyzed on his right side and unable to communicate.  My dad, being the amazing human being that his is, has fought viciously back to be himself and live life fully again.  This has inspired me to fight for what I love and not to take anything for granted.  I am loving life twice as hard.  
This is re-shaping my work into something new.  I hope to be able to express all the delightful awkwardness and beauty of who a person is, who I am, and who I want to introduce you to. I cannot separate one part of my life and say that has nothing to do with art.  Everything that I do as an artist has to do with my art.  Everything is art, art is everything.  If it isn’t, then I’m probably not doing it right.


How did you decide to become an artist?

Perhaps this is a decision for some, but in my case, it is what I have always been.  I do not know how not to be artist.  So I guess you could say, I decided to become an artist by deciding to be myself.


What was the best advice given to you as an artist? 

My mentor, Harry Ahn, once told me the beauty in art lies in the struggle.  My art must be freakin' gorgeous by now.



Many artists struggle to find ways to sell their art.  How do you sell your work?  How do you market yourself?
I sell my work through Altered Esthetics or by inquiries from my Facebook.  I market myself though Altered Esthetics and Facebook.  

I have recently become a tattoo apprentice at 4 Points Body Gallery, and hope to sell my art and market myself through the tattoo medium as well.  


Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy? 



If I were to follow you around to see art in Minnesota, which places would we go? What would we see?
We would go to the MIA to visit Georgia O'Keeffe's "View from Pedernal", the Walker Sculpture Garden to sit and wonder in James Turrell's "Sky Pesher, sing some karaoke and play some ping pong in Wing Young Huie's basement after going to a beautiful thought-provoking opening at his Third Place Gallery, or dance party away while viewing wicked smart fun local artists at Public Functionary.




In addition to www.Local-Artist-Interviews.com, where do you go online for good art resources, whether to find a new artist, or to see what is going on in the art world locally and otherwise? 

Heather Kim

Do you have any exhibits to promote in the near future?
Altered Esthetics Solo Exhibitions Alumni Group Show at Nomad World Pub Opening Thursday, December 11 6-8 pm on display through February 4th 2015


Altered Esthetics Gallery Profile

Saturday, November 1, 2014

AZ Gallery - Gallery Profile



Tell me about your gallery.
The AZ Gallery is located at 308 Prince Street on the first floor of the historic Northern Warehouse which was built in 1906.  It is next door to the Black Dog Wine Bar & Café and across the street from the St Paul Farmers Market.  It opened in 1997 as an artist cooperative and is owned and operated by 10 artist members. The gallery exhibitions change monthly and typically involve an exhibition organized by one of the members, in conjunction with one or more guest artists.  In April and October, the gallery is dedicated to exhibits for the St Paul Art Crawl and we have some regular shows from year to year including the 100 Best High School Artists Show sponsored by the St Paul Jaycees in March, the St Paul Almanac Book Release Show in September and the Lowertown Art Show in November. Our website, www.theazgallery.org contains information about applying for membership.  10 is our maximum number of artists who do 2D wall art but we might consider adding an artist who does 3D work.  Artists pay an annual fee, a 20% commission on work sold and agree to work 9-12 hours a month in the gallery.
 
The gallery also has a gift shop where members and guest artists sell locally made items such as notecards, calendars, pottery, jewelry, prints, umbrellas, soaps, purses, glass boxes & paperweights.  Artists are invited to apply to sell their items in the gift shop and at our December Holiday Bazaar.  There is a 40% commission for non-members.  We also have space outside the gallery that we rent for $20 a day or $30 a weekend (June-Sept) called the Summer Market where artists can sell their work in an art fair like setting with no commission to take advantage of the crowds at the nearby Farmers Market.  The gallery is also available for rental for weddings and private parties.
 
Our next show at AZ Gallery is called "50 Shades of Red 2" and is a follow-up to our popular "50 Shades of Red" show last February for Valentine's Day.  Members were allowed to invite 3 guest artists apiece and the idea is that all of the works of art on display would contain a shade of red as a predominant color in the piece. The show runs Feb 5 - Feb 22.  An opening night reception will be held Friday, February 6th from 5-9 pm as part of Lowertown First Fridays.
 
AZ Gallery is open Thursday and Friday nights from 5-8 pm and Saturdays and Sundays from 9 am to 3 pm.



Who are three or four local artists who represent the quality and style of work you exhibit at your gallery?
There are 10 member artists:
Jessie McNally - painter & mixed media assemblage - http://theazgallery.org/gallery-artists/jessie-mcnally/
Derek Davis - Plein aire painter - http://theazgallery.org/gallery-artists/derek%20davis/

Tell me about your gallery.
The AZ Gallery is located at 308 Prince Street on the first floor of the historic Northern Warehouse which was built in 1906.  It is next door to the Black Dog Wine Bar & Café and across the street from the St Paul Farmers Market.  It opened in 1997 as an artist cooperative and is owned and operated by 10 artist members. The gallery exhibitions change monthly and typically involve an exhibition organized by one of the members, in conjunction with one or more guest artists.  In April and October, the gallery is dedicated to exhibits for the St Paul Art Crawl and we have some regular shows from year to year including the 100 Best High School Artists Show sponsored by the St Paul Jaycees in March, the St Paul Almanac Book Release Show in September and the Lowertown Art Show in November. Our website, www.theazgallery.org contains information about applying for membership.  10 is our maximum number of artists who do 2D wall art but we might consider adding an artist who does 3D work.  Artists pay an annual fee, a 20% commission on work sold and agree to work 9-12 hours a month in the gallery.
 
The gallery also has a gift shop where members and guest artists sell locally made items such as notecards, calendars, pottery, jewelry, prints, umbrellas, soaps, purses, glass boxes & paperweights.  Artists are invited to apply to sell their items in the gift shop and at our December Holiday Bazaar.  There is a 40% commission for non-members.  We also have space outside the gallery that we rent for $20 a day or $30 a weekend (June-Sept) called the Summer Market where artists can sell their work in an art fair like setting with no commission to take advantage of the crowds at the nearby Farmers Market.  The gallery is also available for rental for weddings and private parties.
 
Our next show at AZ Gallery is called "50 Shades of Red 2" and is a follow-up to our popular "50 Shades of Red" show last February for Valentine's Day.  Members were allowed to invite 3 guest artists apiece and the idea is that all of the works of art on display would contain a shade of red as a predominant color in the piece. The show runs Feb 5 - Feb 22.  An opening night reception will be held Friday, February 6th from 5-9 pm as part of Lowertown First Fridays.
 
AZ Gallery is open Thursday and Friday nights from 5-8 pm and Saturdays and Sundays from 9 am to 3 pm.

Who are three or four local artists who represent the quality and style of work you exhibit at your gallery?

There are 10 member artists:

Jessie McNally - painter & mixed media assemblage - http://theazgallery.org/gallery-artists/jessie-mcnally/
Derek Davis - Plein aire painter - http://theazgallery.org/gallery-artists/derek%20davis/





For Artists:
How do you prefer artists contact you regarding exhibiting in your gallery?
We don't generally accept any outside requests for shows.  Artists can inquire about selling items in our gift shop or Holiday Bazaar, renting display space for the biannual Art Crawls or renting space at our outdoor Summer Market by emailing us at info@theazgallery.org


What general advice would you give to artists trying to show in local galleries?
Make friends with one of the established artists in the gallery and they can bring you in to an exhibit when guests are allowed.

For Collectors:
What is the typical price range for works for sale in your gallery?
Aside from the gift shop, prices for framed art range from $50 to $2000, with most in the range of $95 - $500.





Do you have any advice for collectors looking locally to buy art?

You can get some wonderful pieces at very reasonable prices by buying and supporting local artists and since our gallery is run by the artists, you also get to meet them, get to know them and follow their careers.  It makes the experience much more personal.



If by chance all of the local art galleries were having opening receptions on the same night, where else would you recommend people go to maximize their art experience? 

To get the full Lowertown Art Experience when all the neighborhood galleries, studios and artist lofts are open, you would want to come during the St Paul Art Crawls, held twice a year the last weekend of April and the second weekend of October. www.artcrawl.org  

Another good time is the evening of the first Friday of every month when we are part of Lowertown First Fridays www.lowertownfirstfridays.org  

If you are in Lowertown at another time, we would recommend you visit Three Sisters Eclectic Arts, a gallery with over 90 artists just two blocks down 4th Street from AZ Gallery http://www.threesisterseclecticarts.com/




Dominique Winders



Dominique Winders
Minneapolis, MN

Bio: 
Dominique began her fascination with small, shiny objects at the age of 3 when her grandmother introduced her to a tin of broken bead necklaces. Over the years, she explored the concept of "eye candy" as a jewelry artist creating one of a kind pieces of wearable art that were each unique, asymmetrical, yet perfectly balanced. Her progression into sculpture and incorporating found objects into larger works was a natural step; integrating rusty relics with precious jewels. Each piece contains a story, a root and a reason.

Dominique travels frequently to France discovering treasures in flea markets, churchyards and farmsteads and currently lives in Mpls, MN. Her paintings and sculptural objects have been shown in group shows at Altered Esthetics and she was a featured artist in the Speakeasy at VOICES IX in Dubuque, IA. This year, she participated in the Altered Esthetics Solo Artist Exhibition program and joined the co-op gallery, Tres Leches Art in Northrup King Building in November, 2014.



Tell me about your art: 
My current body of work is entitled "Giant's Jewelry" and the project is composed of wire sculptures and wire accented paintings. "Giant's Jewelry" conceptualizes the post-apocalyptic adornment created by tribal societies in a world left in ruins. Religious relics, vines of wire and semi- precious stones are combined with discarded, found objects in various states of disintegration and decay. Even after The End, there will be unpredictable beauty found in imperfection and chaos. Represented in these pieces is the scope of human existence; suffering, sustenance, tension, opposition, hope, despair, endurance, memory and the tenuous balance between mankind and nature. The pieces are allegorical and include wall hangings, mobiles and most recently, I have been painting and embellishing the pieces with wire and metal findings.



When did you decide to become and artist? 
I did not make a conscious decision to become an artist, it is just part of my nature. I like thinking out of the box.

Best advice from an artist: 
I used to be very concerned with rendering an image as precisely as possible so be sure that the meaning didn't get lost in the piece but then an artist friend demanded that I don't hold back. He said, "Don't be afraid of the paint." I liked that idea. It gave me freedom to follow the will of the medium as opposed to me trying to be so exact.

How do you sell your art? 
I have just started this year to branch out and find the courage to exhibit my art. I have a profile on mnartists.org and am now a member of the Tres Leches Art co-op gallery at Northrup King Building.

MN Artists I enjoy: 
There are many artists I appreciate. The 2 who come to mind are Aldo Moroni for his dedication to a theme, Jim Denomie for his explosive use of color.

Art in MN: 
I have always been a fan of Gallery 13, I am intrigued by Public Functionary shows and I love Franconia Sculpture Park.



Online resources: 
I look at the mnartists.org website almost everyday and I am so excited with their new format. I have several friends who are dedicated patrons of the arts and they help me stay connected to shows. For other art news, I get updates on Facebook from Art Times, Steampunk sites, MoMA, The Paris Review.

Upcoming art openings: 
Nomad World Pub on Cedar Ave. Thursday Nov 13 2014  6-8 pm. Musical guests: Meme. 
Ongoing - Tres Leches Art 1500 Jackson NE in the Northrup King Building 1st Floor.



Image List:
1. Crown of Thorns
2. Mobile detail
3. Things I Miss
4. Oiseau In Our Midst
5. Headshot Dom

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Jen Dolen - Photographer

Jen Dolen
Photographer


Name:  Jen Dolen
City/State: St. Paul, MN
Email: jedolen at gmail.com
Website: http://365plusphotos.blogspot.com/ and mnartists.org/Jen_Dolen
Facebook page: Jen Dolen
Etsy Page: https://www.etsy.com/shop/AlteredEsthetics
(Ae is an arts organization and artists may choose to sell their work through Ae's site if they don't want to maintain their own)
Instagram: JenDolen

Tell me about your work? What are you currently working on? How is this different from past projects?
I've got a lot on my plate right now (f/t job, p/t job, p/t grad school, volunteer), so making art is not at the top but it's always on my mind. 

Superficially, I'm consistently interested in imagery that uses lines as a strong visual component. Sometimes it's really just the visual features of an image that grab me, rather than underlying content... so that's something I try to work on, adding or finding more layers of meaning. 

In recent years I've enjoyed working with TTV (Through The Viewfinder) photography, which uses a DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) camera to shoot through the viewfinder of a film TLR (Twin Lens Reflex) camera. It creates a nostalgic effect by showing the focusing screen of the film camera, including imperfections on that screen. That kind of look is very effective for emphasizing the mood of a strong environmental space such as the north woods. I have one of those images on view at Glam Doll Donuts this September, and there are more on my 365plusphotos.blogspot.com page.  

I've paid more attention to portraits in the last few years, as well; my family has grown with my role as a bonus parent every other weekend, so I think a lot about how to photograph my boyfriend and his son in meaningful ways. Some say that photographs are more interesting when people are in them. I don't think that's an absolute rule, but I am enjoying framing this child as he grows, and searching for meaningful moments in the time we have with him. He gave me the ultimate compliment a few years ago (age 4) when he watched me compose a photograph. He looked at it and then said, "Jen, you take better pictures than my mom."



How did you decide to become an artist?

Working in the darkroom is a magical place. I got hooked in high school, but didn't grow to really love image-making and visual arts until college. I was about to finish undergrad as a psych major/art minor, and was looking at social psych PhD programs but realized that I didn't want to leave the creative environment. Leaving that image-making behind felt like a bleak thing to do. Around that time, a friend of mine was an art major and I was envious... I told him he was lucky. Then I thought, "why don't I just do that?"


What was the best advice given to you as an artist?
 
Talking to my adviser in college (I upped art to a major and stayed on to complete the BFA), I was working on a mundane sort of project, but had been interested by it. Someone had told me that *everybody* did that kind of project, so I was feeling down about it. He looked at me and said, "Well, have you done it before?" 



Many artists struggle to find ways to sell their art.  How do you sell your work?  How do you market yourself?
I sold at an art fair once, but haven't found the energy and time to do that consistently. Social media is fun, but I don't try to market myself very hard. I've sold a few pieces through gallery shows in the past, but selling art isn't a driving force for me. I'm more interested in the creative process, working through ideas, making it work, and sharing (I love Instagram). But, I admire those who consistently market their own work, whether it's their main job or not.



Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy?
Since I've volunteered at several art organizations around town and am on the board of Ae, I regularly see a lot of art from very talented local people, but I really enjoy having the pleasure of knowing some great artists personally. Most of these people are photographers, but there are a few painters and other visual artists (two of these folks are technically in Wisconsin): 



If I were to follow you around to see art in Minnesota, which places would we go? What would we see?
I used to give tours at the Walker and the Garden tours were my favorite, so the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden is high on the list. http://www.walkerart.org/garden/
I haven't been there in a while, but the Russian Art Museum is really excellent, as well. http://tmora.org/

Nothing beats the local northern art, along the north shore... Grand Marais is a special place. http://www.visitcookcounty.com/communities/grand-marais/

Altered Esthetics' also has a wonderful solo artist program with new solo art shows installed monthly at Nomad World Pub on the West Bank.


In addition to www.Local-Artist-Interviews.com, where do you go online for good art resources, whether to find a new artist, or to see what is going on in the art world locally and otherwise?
I am biased, because I am an editorial assistant for the magazine Public Art Review, but PAR's website (under the umbrella of Forecast Public Art, which is the non-profit that publishes the magazine) is great! www.forecastpublicart.org 



What can we expect to see from you in the future?

I currently have four photos up in Glam Doll Donuts with Altered Esthetics' photography themed show ::shutter:: until the end of September. They are a mix of images, including one TTV photograph looking out from the dock at my family's cabin; that place was in the family for decades and we just sold it, so that's very personal. There's also a panning slow shutter speed photo and two shots working with digital image manipulation. 

In October, some of my other work will be part of Ae's West Bank Art Crawl. The crawl combines a group show and a solo show spanning 4 different venues (Brian Coyle Center, 7west, Acadia Cafe, and Nomad World Pub) on the West Bank in Minneapolis. Saturday, October 4 from 1-4pm, you can ride your bike for the West Bank Business Association's West Bank Ride, and check out these sites along the way! Ae is having an after party at the Nomad that evening, too. 

The work I have in the crawl is part of the group exhibition with the Light Topics theme. For me, that theme is more ethereal and visually stimulating than conceptual, so my images respond to the theme very literally. I have a few pieces there that are colorful abstract light compositions as well as an abstract macro image. Ae may install a time lapse video I made that illustrates a clover plant dancing with the sunlight, but that depends upon monitor availability.



(Include dimensions and year made if applicable)
Image List:
1. 30 Days of Biking, Day 27, April 2013 - Digital Photograph
2. Dreaming of Summer, Winter 2013 - Digital Photograph
3. Bench on the Dock, Last Weekend at the Cabin, 2012 - TTV photography
4. Oliver Color Field (2013) - Photograph
5. Zoey's Whiskers (2014) - Photograph
6. Light Composition II (pale), or, Subtlety (2010) - Photograph
7. Image of artist


Saturday, September 6, 2014

Doug Johnson - Photographer

Doug Johnson

Doug Johnson
Minneapolis, MN
Twitter: none
Etsy page: none
Bio:
Born Green Bay, Wisconsin.  Moved to Minnesota at age 11. BA in Studio Art, Southwest Minnesota State University.  As a young man I was a painting student influenced and inspired by New York School painters such as Robert Motherwell, Mark Rothko, Franz Kline, Helen Frankenthaler.  Later I completed a second major in English lit. and creative writing, shifting my emphasis to poetry.  Have made my living in the commercial printing industry.  Spent 25 years publishing poems in little mags, chapbooks, etc.  At age 50 I turned back to visual art, first doing drawings and mixed media pieces on paper, then discovering the joys of digital photography.


Tell me about your work? What are you currently working on? How is this different from past projects?
I think the best way to describe my work is to include here, in full, my 2014 Artist’s Statement:

BORDER INCIDENTS

I harbor a deep mistrust of Artist's Statements.  At best, they tend to prejudice or otherwise interfere with a viewer's response to the work.  At worst, they are misleading, exaggerated, pompous, confusing, etc.  The less dangerous among them take on the characteristics of a powerful sleeping pill.

That said, I believe such a statement can be of value if approached with caution by both writer and reader.  Ideally the art will be viewed first, the statement looked at later as supplementary.  An artist may wish to share, as simply and honestly as possible, something of his or her intent in creating the work, reveal sources of inspiration, or say something about process and technique.  Elaborate explanation or justification tends to go bad quickly, not unlike a banana in a paper sack.  "Art" which requires explanation or justification has no legs of its own, or if it is good work, the rhetoric only gets in the way.

I enjoy the active nature of photography, the pleasures of the hunt for the image.  For me the process involves becoming open and receptive to whatever presents itself; however, one discovers through experience that certain times of day (or night) and qualities of light may be preferable, and that certain motifs tend to insist on repeated looks.

Technically, my approach to the photographic image is to emphasize the moment of exposure rather than post-processing.  I like to keep editing to a minimum.  I am drawn to the comparative serenity of the still photograph as an antidote to the barrage of high-speed graphics pelting us out of screens everywhere.

I have little patience for overtly political or sociological concerns posing as art, which seem always to give off an odor of propaganda.  And there's the danger of compromising one's work to please a specific audience, especially in the pursuit of grants or fellowships.  Here I tend to side with the late critic Hilton Kramer who felt that art was being corrupted by various forms of political correctness, dumbed down by an obsession with gender, race, sexual orientation, etc.  He insisted that true art is manifested in the aesthetic sphere, as something which "engages the eye in a significant or pleasurable visual experience."  Art speaks to us directly in its language of lightness and darkness, color, texture, form, and suggestion of movement.  It is in no way dependent on the sanitized language of the universities or government entities.  At the core of all authentic art lies a mystery which cannot be satisfactorily dissected by academics, activists, or bureaucrats.

Recently my emphasis has been on cityscapes or street scenes in which I'm fascinated with the interplay of natural and artificial light, reflections, and an abundance of often chaotic activity.  The term "border incidents" refers to the process of playfully engaging along borders between, for instance, the abstract and representational, rational and chaotic, conscious and unconscious, or interior and exterior.  Rigid structure and flowing dream-material coexist.  My intent is to uncover beauty, which in lucky moments presents itself always with a healthy dose of ambiguity.  I'm tuning in to the slippery nature of "hard" reality, discovering porous and shifting qualities that question the clarity of objects or facts.

     

How did you decide to become an artist?
I feel this is more a question of necessity than a deliberate decision.  Perhaps it was influenced by my grandfather who was a hobby painter.  When very young I was fascinated by his process and the tools involved, loved the smell of the oil paints, etc., the texture of the canvas, the look of the preliminary charcoal sketches, the allure of the many pigments in their tubes.
What was the best advice given to you as an artist?
Here I would credit my painting instructor at SMSU, Edward Evans, who taught by example with his work ethic, spending long hours day and night in the studio.  The word “talent” was almost irrelevant, it was diligence and persistence that mattered.
I would also cite a passage from the Tao Te Ching, Stephen Mitchell translation:
A good traveler has no fixed plans
And is not intent upon arriving.
A good artist lets his intuition
Lead him wherever it wants.


How do you sell your work?  How do you market yourself?
Thus far I have sold work only through word of mouth, my mn artists website and Facebook page, and a few opportunities to exhibit in local galleries.
Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy?
Duane Ditty http://duaneditty.com
Howard Christopherson http://www.iceboxminnesota.com
Robert Roscoe www.robertroscoe.com
And many others!

If I were to follow you around to see art in Minnesota, which places would we go? What would we see?
Rosalux Gallery http://rosaluxgallery.com/
Instinct Gallery http://www.instinctmpls.com/
And of course the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and the Walker Art Center.


In addition to www.Local-Artist-Interviews.com, where do you go online for good art resources, whether to find a new artist, or to see what is going on in the art world locally and otherwise? 

Walker Art Center http://www.walkerart.org/
Minneapolis Institute of Arts http://new.artsmia.org/


Do you have any exhibits to promote in the near future?
Yes, I have a solo exhibit coming up at 2001 A Space, opening September 19.  Please see attached e-postcard with all the information on this show. www.2001aspace.com.


Image List:
1-Sea Change, 2013.jpg
2-35W Bridge, 2012.jpg
3-Pre-dawn Mississippi River, 2011.jpg
4-IDS 4, 2013.jpg
5-Residual, 2014.jpg
6-Wells Fargo from 7th Street, 2012.jpg
7-Inner Space, 2014.jpg