Jeremy Szopinksi - Painter

The Thousandfold Principle #5 / Oil on paper, mounted on board / 32" x 25" / 2013

Jeremy Szopinski

Name: Jeremy Szopinski
City/State: Minneapolis, MN
Email: jeremy@jeremyszopinski.com
Website: www.jeremyszopinski.com
MNartist.org profile: http://www.mnartists.org/Jeremy_Szopinski
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/JeremySzopinskiArtPage
Tumblr: http://jeremyszopinski.tumblr.com/

Bio:

Jeremy Szopinski has exhibited at many venues in the Midwest and nationally including Woodward Gallery, Soo Visual Arts Center, Phipps Center for the Arts, Speedboat Gallery and the Duluth Art Institute.  He has also worked as an adjunct faculty member at the College of Visual Arts in St. Paul, MN, as a senior letterpress printer at Studio On Fire in Minneapolis, and has painted murals. He graduated in 1998 from the College of Visual Arts, in Saint Paul, and completed his MFA in painting at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn in 2010.

Triple Fire / Oil on board / 43" x 44" / 2013

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

I'm currently working on a series of smallish scale paintings. I've been experimenting combining printmaking ink with traditional oil paint. The ink has a much different viscosity than paint and does some interesting things when it's scraped across the painting. I've also been using a paper called Terraskin, which is made out of stone. The paper absorbs paint in a different way than a typical gessoed surface. It also is incredibly smooth, especially when mounted to a board, and gives the paint greater luminosity.

How did you decide to become an artist?

I made the official decision after my first year of college. I had been taking a lot of general liberal arts courses and realized art was the obvious choice. It is my calling and I'm miserable if I'm not making paintings.

The Thousandfold Principle #6 / Oil on paper, mounted on board / 25" x 30" / 2013

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

Don't kill your paintings. In other words, don't overwork, know when to stop and how to keep the paint alive. 

Many artists struggle to find ways to sell their art.  How do you sell your work?  How do you market yourself?
I put a good amount of time into promoting my work on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/JeremySzopinskiArtPage), Tumblr (http://jeremyszopinski.tumblr.com/) and my website (www.jeremyszopinski.com). I have an open studio once or twice a year. When I was in grad school I made some decent connections to a few galleries and collectors in NYC.

The Thousandfold Principle #7 / Oil on paper, mounted on board / 32" x 25" / 2013

Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy? 
Jon Reischl: http://www.jonreischl.com/

Ed Charbonneau: http://www.flickr.com/photos/edcharbonneau/

Garrett Perry: http://www.garrettperry.com/

Chris Larson: http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2010/12/chris-larson/

Maria Santiago: http://www.cva.edu/about/fac_art/santiago

Ruben Nusz: http://www.rubennusz.com/

If I were to follow you around to see art in Minnesota, which places would we go? What would we see?

TuckUnder Gallery: http://tuckunder.org/

Bockley Gallery: http://www.bockleygallery.com/

SooVac: http://www.soovac.org/

Art-A-Whirl: http://nemaa.org/art-a-whirl

Midway Gallery: http://www.midwayart.org/

Walker Art Center: http://www.walkerart.org/

MIA: http://www.artsmia.org/

The Thousandfold Principle #8 / Oil on paper, mounted on board / 26" x 25" / 2013

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? 

Lately, I've been enjoying the randomness of Tumblr. It's fun to follow the strange paths it creates. It provides a way to find artists and "collectors" outside of my normal social sphere.

Here are some other blogs and review sites I like to check out:

Art Critical: http://www.artcritical.com/

The Brooklyn Rail: http://www.brooklynrail.org/

Edward Winkleman: http://www.edwardwinkleman.com/

Hyperallergic: http://hyperallergic.com/

From The Top of Her Head / Oil on board / 48" x 62" / 2012

Do you have any exhibits to promote in the near future?I have a solo show called "The Thousandfold Principle" at TuckUnder Projects. May 23 - June 23.  Reception Thursday 5/23 6-9 PM.

Jeremy Szopinski

(Photography by Joanna Carina of Carina Photographics)

Tuck Under Projects

LAI Profile

Steven Lang - Photographer

Steven Lang

Name: Steven Lang

City/State: Minneapolis, MN
Email: info@stevenlang.net
Website: www.stevenlang.net
MNartist.org profile: http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=103175
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheArtistStevenLang
Twitter: @thespectacles

Bio~ Artist and writer Steven Lang received his B.F.A. from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.  In 2012, he was a resident artist at Elsewhere, a living museum set in a former thrift store in downtown Greensboro, NC, and was a participant in the 4th season of CSA — Community Supported Art, sponsored by mnartists.org and springboardforthearts.org. He has recently exhibited at Rosalux Gallery, Soo Visual Arts Center, and the Walker Art Center’s Walker Shop. His short story, “Tandem,” was included in the recent Milkweed Editions anthology Fiction on a Stick. His short-short story, “The Scarecrow,” was published in 2011 as finalist in the mnLIT series on mnartists.org.

Greensboro, North Carolina

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

I'm currently working on self-publishing a photo book. The book is called A is for Elsewhere, and is the result of a recent artist residency at Elsewhere, a "living museum" in Greensboro, North Carolina.

How did you decide to become an artist?

When I was five years old I found an open can of deck paint and painted myself completely red. It has never really worn off. 

Greensboro, North Carolina

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

"Throw your work away." - Victor Caglioti

Many artists struggle to find ways to sell their art.  How do you sell your work?  How do you market yourself?

I struggle with that a lot, and like most artists I don't have the answers. But I do have a website, www.stevenlang.net

Greensboro, North Carolina

Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy? 

Allen Brewer

Pamela Valfer

Aaron Dysart

Carrie Thompson

Richard Barlow

Alyssa Baguss

Andy Sturdevant

Johnathan Hamilton

Ruben Nusz

Andy DuCett

Dustin Yeagar

David Rathman

Joan Vorderbruggen

Broc Blegen

Noah Harmon

Cheryl Wilgren Clyne

Alex Kuno

Nick Howard

Tara Costello

Many, many more! 

If I were to follow you around to see art in Minnesota, which places would we go? What would we see?

I would walk around with my camera, mostly, and find the art I'm looking for that way. But recently I've been to Air Sweet Air, SooVAC, Midway Contemporary Art, and the MCAD Gallery. 

Greensboro, North Carolina

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 like Tumbr for that. Here are some examples:

http://hyperallergic.tumblr.com/

http://flyoverart.tumblr.com/

http://photolia.tumblr.com/

Greensboro, North Carolina

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

I am currently showing work in the Artists in Storefronts project. I'm also their documentary photographer. 

Lisa Bergh and Andrew Nordin

Inheritance of Location

Lisa Berg and Andrew Nordin

Rural Aesthetic Initiative

Name: Rural Aesthetic Initiative (Lisa Bergh/Andrew Nordin)             
City/State: New London, MN
Email: arthouse@arthousenewlondon.com    
Website: www.arthousenewlondon.com
MNartist.org profile: http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=100922   http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=134471

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/ARThouse/121392238937  https://www.facebook.com/berghl  https://www.facebook.com/andrew.nordin

 Twitter: @okbergh  @ajnordin

Bio~ 

Andrew Nordin-

Andrew Nordin studied both Painting and Graphic Design at St. Cloud State University after attending Ridgewater Community College. He received his MFA in pictorial arts from San José State University in California. Growing up in the farmland areas of southern Kandiyohi county and exploring the lakes area in both summer and winter has helped in forming his aesthetic: ruggedly crafted works that mix landscape elements with the language of painterly abstraction.

Andrew is the Gallery Manager and Art Instructor at Ridgewater College. In addition, he is an adjunct instructor at St. Cloud State University, where he teaches digital art, drawing, and painting.

Lisa Bergh-

Lisa holds a BFA in printmaking from the University of Arizona and an MFA in Spatial Arts from San Jose State University. Lisa’s work moves from 2-d works on paper, to small sculptures and installations, which are all informed by the ideas of memory, place, and the body; beauty and the grotesque, and an ongoing curiosity in collections and display.

In addition to her own studio practice Lisa is an adjunct instructor at St. Cloud State University, where she teaches drawing.

ARTHouse with view of Chandelier by Jonathon Gomez Whitney

Rural Aesthetic Initiative|ARThouse

In the summer of 2007 Andrew and Lisa created ARThouse- a phantom, residential exhibition event space located in their New London home. Through exhibitions and site -specific projects, ARThouse works to nurture and support the creative endeavors of artists and deepen public understanding of contemporary art.

Most recently, Andrew and Lisa have formed Rural Aesthetic Initiative, a project that folds together their individual studio practices, collaborative projects, curatorial work and community arts programming interests. 

Andrew Nordin: hue precipitation – 2011, 16” x23” oil on panel

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

Andrew:

We tend to have lots of irons in the fire. Currently, we are finishing a cycle of works investigating video and installation. The project Inheritance of Location was a public art project supported by the Southwest Minnesota Arts and Humanities Council,- with Legacy funds.  The product of our research was a ‘kiosk’ of sorts, a sculpture made of local ash planks that resembles a house or outbuilding structure. Inside is a HD screen with video textures and sound, mostly of landscape phenomena culled from being in our “neck of the woods”. We have been showing the piece in a variety of places from traditional white cubes to libraries. It even spent a week at the grocery store in Ortonville, Minnesota.

Lisa:

Our individual studio work contrasts comparatively, visually and conceptually, between Andrew’s material based large-scale abstract paintings and my large scale drawings and intimate sculptures.  Working collaboratively on the video landscape projects is impacting each of our individual studio practices. Andrew has been making medium scale landscape paintings. I am working on a new series of pencil drawings titled “Vertigo” which are playful explorations of mapping, pattern, landscape and abstraction.  It has been enjoyable and refreshing to add the collaborative work to our individual projects.  We have been working side by side as artists and domestic partners for nearly 15 years. The creation of RAI has for the first time really allowed our ideas and aesthetics to inform one another. 

Andrew Nordin: county 20 pond – 2011, 48” x36” oil on canvas on panel

How did you decide to become an artist?
Andrew:

As a kid, I always drew and had been imaginative, and thought of being a cartoonist by the 4^th grade. From there, fort making, whittling, stop-animation films and looms were influences that I guess I’ve carried on to current studio practice. (*Yes, I may have been the only 6^th grader with my own looms, and I made them for friends too.) My grandmother always bought me art supplies and gave me things like Bob Ross books. She loved to paint genre scenes from rural Minnesota. I bet she would think I finally got it straight working on landscape paintings rather than abstraction!

Lisa:

While working on an anthropology degree at a community college in Tucson, Arizona and I was required to take a basic design course. Next thing you know, I have a BFA from the University of Arizona in printmaking & photography and an MFA in spatial arts from San Jose State University.  

Origins of Love by Lisa Bergh

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

Andrew - Stay productive and feel comfortable failing.

Lisa - Find a community of peers and if you can’t find a community, make one.  The ARThouse project was created with this notion in mind. 

Many artists struggle to find ways to sell their art.  How do you sell your work?  How do you market yourself?

Andrew:

Beyond the occasional private sale or purchase award neither of us try to sell a lot of work.  We have both participated in the Minnesota State Art’s Board Percent for Art Program. I’ve made a lot of large work that is hard to market, but the intention is usually just making and exhibiting, relating to a space. Recently, I’ve been commissioned to do work, (which is why I started doing landscape paintings) ….and would like to pursue that more.

Lisa:

Selling work is great and I am always happy to make a sale. However, selling my work has never really made the top of my priority list. Currently, I am more interested in finding unique venues and projects that offer an opportunity for me to play around with ideas and create more ephemeral works.

The Arcane Collection by Lisa Bergh

Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy?

Lisa:

Jonathon Gomez Whitney’s furniture design work is perfection and the quiet nature, internal dialog, and poetic pacing of his art projects are always a home run with me. Lately, I can’t get those Samantha French pool images out of my head.  My aesthetic interests are pretty varied. The collection of artists’ projects presented via ARThouse does a great job of circling around all the different aspects of art and public art I adore.

Gomez Whitney   http://www.gomezwhitney.com/story

Samantha French http://www.samanthafrench.com/

ARThouse http://www.flickr.com/photos/arthousenewlondon

Andrew

I’m interested in artists who seem to have an interesting dialogue going with ‘the problematic of painting’….and the presentation of abstraction/representation. 

Andy Messerschmidt 

Ruben Nusz 

If I were to follow you around to see art in Minnesota, which places would we go? What would we see?

Andrew – The campuses at Ridgewater, where I teach, have some great percent for art purchases. A huge Brian Frink abstraction, a Michon Weeks painting, are some of the standouts. If you took a drive around our perimeter of geographical activity, you’d see some of the great “Colossus of Roads”. Minnesota landmarks like Darwins’s ball of twine, Olivia’s corn cob, Belgrade’s crow, and Alexandria’s Viking.

Lisa – I am sucker for a great yard. I am fortunate to live in an area where folks often have a lot of outdoor space.  Seeing how people interpret, groom and build these public/private spaces is always a treat for me.

We always try to make it to the Walker Art Center and Minneapolis Institute of Art, (especially the MAEP gallery) when we are in town. August 9^th we will be involved with the Walker Art Center’s Open Field “Drawing Club”…come on by.

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? 

Artinfo http://www.artinfo.com/

Painters’ Table http://painters-table.com/

MNartists http://mnartists.org/

 Rural American Contemporary Art Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/ruralamericacontemporaryartists/

Image of artists (photo credit Jacinda Davis)

Do you have any exhibits to promote in the near future?

RAI has a show opening at Tuck Under on August 2, 2012.  We are really excited to exhibit in a space similar in spirit to ARThouse. After that, we have projects in the works for a show at Riverland Community College, the gallery at SMAHC (Southwest Minnesota Arts and Humanities Council) and a show at University of Minnesota-Morris. That will take us through 2013.

Andy DuCett - Artist

AOT has been here forever, except when it wasn’t, 2009

Andy Ducett

Name: Andy DuCett
City/State: Minneapolis, MN
Email: andyducett@gmail.com
Website: http://andyducett.com
MNartist.org profile: http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=108955
Twitter: @cettdu

Bio~ Andy DuCett is from Winona, MN and received his MFA from the University of Illinois.  He currently teaches at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and the University of Wisconsin-Stout.  His work has been shown in galleries in Chicago, San Francisco, New York City, Milwaukee and Honolulu, as well as many Twin Cities locations.  He has been published in New American Paintings, Vita.mn, Paper Darts, The Portland Mercury, Illiterate Magazine, DailyServing.com, as well as publications in Toronto, Berlin, Tokyo, and London.  He recently was commissioned to make a drawing for the First Free Saturday series at the Walker Art Center and was recently admitted to the Viewing Program at The Drawing Center in New York City.  


Working towards something (trust me), 2010


Tell me about your work? What are you currently working on? How is this different from past projects?
My work ranges from drawing to installation to collage, with the subject matter orbiting around ideas of memory, finding importance in the mundane and how we all organize and navigate the world around us.  My current project is something I’ve been working on for a little over 2 years now, and will culminate in a solo exhibition called “Why we do this” at The Soap Factory in Minneapolis in September.  It’s different in the size and scope, and most definitely in the planning aspect. I have two sketchbooks completely filled with sketches and ideas, a scale model that I’ve been planning out the space, and an Adobe Illustrator document with exact measurements layouts and floor plans.  

I usually build something in my studio and transport it to the space, but in this case, I don’t have the space to do that, so this will be just plans until a few months before the show opens.  The Soap has cleared out a lot of space for me and my interns on the second floor to start construction, but everything we build has to be able to be carried down the narrow staircase and fit through a doorway.  Lots of challenges!  

The other big difference between this and my past work is that all 12,000 sq. feet will be one installation, using video, sound, performances and inviting viewer interaction at times…all things that I’ve never done before.


Thumbs up, we must be living right, 2008-2012


"What is Art?" is certainly too big of a question to ask here, but what do you hope your audience takes away from your art? What statement do you hope to make?
I hope my audience uses my work as an opportunity to re-examine the world around them.  I want people to find importance, notions of beauty and interest in the mundane and simple things around us at all times… from things like end tables, desk lamps and scraps of things that we think as just utilitarian or peripheral.  All of these things are the support structures that prop up our everyday actions and encounters.  Our surroundings are of the utmost interest to me, and I’m strangely thankful that people keep throwing away all of this interesting stuff for me to find in alleys and second hand stores…. I like reclaiming things and suggesting that people have a second look.


What was the best advice given to you as an artist? 
To pay attention to what you’re paying attention to.


Tell me about your work space and your creative process.
My studio is in a 2 stall garage and is packed with about 10 years of things that I’ve collected from places like thrift stores, dumpsters, estate sales and thing that people have given me because they think I’d give it a good home.  It’s pretty intense, visually speaking, but I’ve always worked best when I have a lot of visual stimuli around me.  



My creative process usually starts with me moving things around.  Not just art objects, but re-organizing or re-arranging my space.  It might be moving the stapler to the other side of the table, or cleaning off my table and moving everything to another surface, but something about it helps familiarize me with my environment.  The busywork and putzing around is really helpful, while it may seem counterproductive at times.  Having a record player in my studio is important too, flipping sides every 15 minutes helps keep me moving around.  

Image of workspace


Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy?
There really are way too many to mention, we as Minnesotans are really fortunate to have such a diverse artistic environment… that said, here’s a short and very incomplete list:

Allen Brewer: http://allenbrewer.com/home.html
Scott Stulen: http://scottstulen.com/
Ruben Nusz: http://www.rubennusz.com/Art/rubennusz.html
Pam Valfer: http://pamelavalfer.com/home.html
John Fleischer: http://johnjfleischer.com/
David Rathman: http://www.larissagoldston.com/artists/davidrathman/index.aspx
Jennifer Danos: http://jenniferdanos.com/
Ryuta Nakajima: http://ryutanakajima.com/
Jennifer Davis: http://www.jenniferdavisart.com/
Natasha Pestich: http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=204696
Joshua Norton: http://joshuanorton.net/
Andy Sturdevant: http://andysturdevant.com/
Charles Matson-Lume: http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?action=info&rid=57006
Bruce Tapola: http://www.mnartists.org/article.do?rid=173002


Lastly: I was a member of Rosalux for about two and a half years and they continue to have a great space and great group of artists on their roster: http://rosaluxgallery.com



Thumbs up, we must be living right, 2008-2012 (detail)

If I were to follow you around to see art in Minnesota, which places would we go? What would we see?

Walker Art Center: http://walkerart.org/
Soap Factory: http://soapfactory.org/
Rochester Art Center: http://rochesterartcenter.org/
Dressing Room: http://dressingroom-aot.blogspot.com/
Midway Contemporary Art: http://www.midwayart.org/index.php
Minnesota Institute of Arts; MAEP Galleries: http://www.artsmia.org/
MCAD Gallery: http://mcad.edu/events-fellowships/gallery-exhibitions
Weisman Museum: http://www.weisman.umn.edu/
Franklin Art Works: http://franklinartworks.org/


Exploring while able, or, looking a little closer, 2011

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?
Daily serving: http://dailyserving.com/
Fecal Face: http://www.fecalface.com/SF/
MnArtists.org: http://www.mnartists.org/
But does it Float: http://butdoesitfloat.com/


Do you have any exhibits to promote in the near future?
I’ll be posting updates about my process for “Why we do this” on The Soap Factory blog, as well as the Walker Art Center’s blog section (http://blogs.walkerart.org/).  

The show opens on September 8th and runs through November 11, 2012.

Image of artist

Also read, Paper Darts interview with Andy.