PLEASE NOTE – In an effort to keep our community safe and honor our commitment to bringing the arts to life we are adjusting our exhibition platform. If our venue must remain closed after May 4th, the May exhibition will be on view 24/7 via our windows and virtually via Facebook and Youtube. We will explore on-line live event options in lieu of a public artists’ reception. Presenting the exhibitions in this format is not ideal, but the artists and staff felt strongly about maintaining our visual arts exhibition program during these difficult times of social isolation. It is our stories, images, and songs that keep us connected.
Opening May 11th, From Here features the work of two rural Minnesota photographers. Both artists are expanding the language of photography through new modes of manipulation and materials, adding to the rich history of making photographs.
Su Legatt is an artist, educator, and community organizer based out of Moorhead, MN. Her photography, installation, and social practice projects explore the quiet, often unnoticed, individual moments of everyday life. Su’s works featured in From Here reference the methodology of Chine Colle with a contemporary, digital approach. She creates multiple images- composite panoramas, digitally printed onto thin layers of tissue paper before adhering them together.
Kristi Link Fernholz lives and works in Appleton, MN. Her studio practice begins with an ongoing exploration of small towns, rural landscapes, and her farm. She seeks out images of rural textures, dripping light, shapes and colors that offer a timestamp of beauty and emotion. Kristi merges two traditional modes of image making; photography and Encaustic painting.
The works in this exhibit exemplify the evocative marriage of the artist’s hand and machine. The results from each artist offer a translucent and ephemeral portrait of history, memory, place, and time.
what artists inspire/inform your work?
Kristi: Paul Strand was one of my earliest influences. White Fence was a turning point for me when I was in my early 20’s. Lately, I’ve been inspired by local artists Deb Connolly and Vicky Radel.
Su: Suzanne Lacy and Merle Laderman-Ukeles, traditional printmaking and experimental photography (I’m not a revolutionary or anything, but I don’t know of anyone who’s really doing the type of alternative digital process I’m displaying in this exhibition. The closest thing is chine colle in printmaking.)
what do you love most about working with photography?
Kristi:
I love the ability to see the out-of-focus parts of the composition. I love the documentation quality of the photo mixed with abstraction.
Su: Photography is an incredibly powerful tool to inform the public, but it also has the power to elevate and preserve the subject. Taking a photograph of something is an empowering act for the individual and an equalizer for the masses. It’s available to everyone, for the most part, but also allows the creator to tell the world that that object, that moment, is of such a value that they have chosen to record it for all time, to make it available to everyone in the future.
Describe your work in 10 words or less?
Kristi: Images of the native prairie and rural Minnesota.
Su: My work exposes, challenges, and preserves authentic contemporary Minnesota culture.
Favorite place to see/experience art?
Kristi: Public art, museums, and galleries. I also love seeing the art in people’s homes, it is always interesting to see artworks people choose to live with.
Su: I like to visit every kind of exhibition site, from small regional spaces to funky galleries in large cities, to the mega institutions. It really depends on where you are and what is available to you. But, I get ‘gallery-ed out’ after about three hours, so the big institutions require some pre-game prep, breaks in the cafe or gift shop, and a viewing companion with a good sense of humor.
What do you do for fun when not working in your studio?
Kristi: Hiking, biking, cooking, gardening.
Su: Bake, crochet, and go on outdoor adventures with my husband and four year old.
The Visual Arts Exhibition series is made possible in part by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Southwest Minnesota Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
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