Virginia Randolph Bueide vrbart.com

Virginia Randolph Bueide's paintings are always influenced by her surroundings, whether it be from time spent in France or Italy, New York, Los Angeles or Austin, Texas. In the last few years, inspiration has arisen from the ponds, lakes and woodlands near her home in Minnesota. Bueide’s paintings are powerfully imbued with her genuine sense of wonderment. With a wry sense of humor as well, she has in her long career portrayed not only lakes and waterlilies, but also has painted scenes to include: farm life, city scenes, farmer’s markets and domestic kitchens, gardens and swimming pools. Her eye catches peacefulness in a scene, but is alert to the energy of beings, as well, from children to deer and the wonderful wild life that frequent her area.

Bueide’s paintings, prints and drawings are included in museum, corporate and numerous private collections throughout the United States and France. She has also been a recipient of the prestigious Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant, recognizing the exceptional quality of her work.

Statement
Drawing and painting has been a way of life for me since I was 4 or 5 years old, 80 years ago. I’m so happy to exhibit work with Doug Flanders again, who showed some of my Waterlily Series a few years back. While working on that particular series, I was grateful to receive the 2014-2015 Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant. I’ve also been very fortunate to have a long art history, especially in Minnesota. Starting at 21, to be honored at MIA & Walker Art Center Biennials, to be in multiple solo and group exhibitions, also in several collections, Museum, Corporate, Public and Private.

So here we are with 30 or so paintings of the Picnic Series, the latest of many different series, through time. In the first painting of the series, Cosmic Picnic, I wanted to bring the feeling of life after the death of my dear husband of 56 years. Metaphorically, the caterpillars crawling out of the grass onto the quilt turning into chrysalises, to then emerge as butterflies, was kind of a grief release.

Some of the paintings stem from happy memories of a family cottage on the Kinnikinnic Creek in Wisconsin. Others were inspired by walking around lakes and where I live now, in Bloomington. Being in nature and surrounded by wildlife has nurtured much of my art, bringing a sense of solace and joy. Having grown up in a loving family with 5 (stellar), younger siblings and learning to roll with the punches, was good training ground. My three lovely adult children, their spouses and my 4 amazing adult grandchildren, also inspire me to stay upbeat, focusing on the positive. With this Picnic Series, I wanted to express the joy of being outside, to loving good food & to lift spirits in this beautiful, but crazy world. Paintings are like prayers!

Gayle Cole gaylecolepainting.com

For the most part, I have lived in the Midwest (Missouri, Wisconsin, Minnesota), but also for shorter periods, in the Northeast (New York and Maine), and even for a brief time, in the South (the Mississippi Gulf Coast). Even as I worked in various jobs to pay the bills, painting has been an ongoing continuum, and I've tried to keep a modest exhibition record throughout my moves. Since 2004, I’ve lived in St. Paul. My work has gone through different stylistic phases over a long period of time. It has strong origins in abstraction and formal concerns, even at times when representation became a major factor in the imagery, as in the most recent body of work.

Still Life Paintings
In this current work, still life objects have emerged as the main subject matter within the compositions. These objects are drawn from a personal collection of handmade pottery, as well as household objects. While they present a challenge for me in the rendering of form – a likeness, so to speak – the space surrounding the objects presents the opportunity for abstract invention. Abstraction and improvisation are incorporated into the image as a whole. Color is especially important in this process, as I work with the interplay between the three-dimensionality of the objects and the flatness of pictorial space.

Segmented Squares
An earlier series of work called “Segmented Squares” involved abstraction and color in a more discernible way. In these pieces, the picture surface was covered with small, faceted divisions of color. I came to think of these color-facets as a metaphor for moments in time, and later, as expressing elements and moods in jazz music. This body of work evolved over several years with a concentrated emphasis and exploration of color relationships and interactions. “Still Life Paintings” and “Segmented Squares” are the two most recent series of work in my overall output. Over time, the work has evolved along different themes and subject matter. And yet, it also develops out of its own formal underpinnings, and always operates within the boundaries of the canvas and pictorial space. Both current work and the larger trajectory of my overall development are noted in the different sections of my website.

Joan Porter-Einsman joanportereinsman.com

Joan Porter-Einsman is an active Minnesota artist. She has a Bachelor of Science in art education, a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting and drawing and a Master of Fine Arts. Joan has taught multiple art classes at the University of Minnesota, Bloomington Art Center, Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College, Dakota Art Center, Lac Coulte Oreilles Ojibwe Community College and Minneapolis Community College. She has owned her own gallery and has also been represented by several others. Joan has exhibited extensively in the US, Canada, Europe, Japan and more.

When Joan was 23 years old, she was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, which affected her joints and she needed several surgeries. She says she “began graduate school as a ‘bionic woman’ because she had right wrist implants.” Art is important to her, and so she learned to use her left wrist to paint and draw. Joan paints with both hands. Today, her images are colorful metaphors of nature, environment and travels.

Statement
Each piece is an intense exploration of personal relationships, human emotions and life experiences in a sumbolic format. In recognizing this symbolism, my own visual language has adapted from several sources including nature, the Arabic alphabet and Norse, African, Native American and Biblical mythologies. The tree, which occurs prequently, has a complex series of mythological interpretations, as well as personal associations. The tree represents life itself on this earth, as well as my own joints. The leaf shape represents both spiritual and physical growth and recovery. Also, in my content, is the continued exploration of the dualistic nature of empowering experience, Crisis vs Opportunity. My paintings reflect all of these concerns in the  use of highly contrasting values, shapes, lines and texture. Each new work, however, is an entity onto itself and a new discovery for me.

Education
1987 MFA University of Minnesota: Studio Arts – Painting, Drawing
1983 BFA University of Minnesota: Studio Arts – Painting, Drawing
1959 BS University of Minnesota: Art Education – Speech-Communication Minor