With sadness, artist James Brinsfield passed away on September 16, 2024. A memoriam written by David Cateforis is Here
On Back Tracks on KUMD radio 103.3 in Duluth, MN, Tara has a conversation with host Luke Moravec about her musical and artistic influence. Please give a listen here.
Also, Tara is an artist-in-residence in Grand Marais, MN through the North House Folk School located there. If you are in the area, please stop by for a studio visit.
We are honored to have curator Annie Dugan speak about our current exhibition "Distant Context" on March 2 at 5:30 pm. The exhibition she will speak about features the work of Peter Granados and five other artists. Ms. Dugan recently visited Peter Granados in his studio in Brooklyn, NY (see image at right) and will have insights to share. We hope you can join us.
We have reached the first year of having solar energy production at our gallery. Total energy production from our solar panels in this first year is a round number of 10.0 MWh. So how does this compare to how much we used? Well, we produced 82% of what we used this year, so only 18% of our power was from the utility grid. We're glad to have the energy from the sun.
Sirpa Särkijärvi, whose work we just exhibited this past summer, opens a new exhibition at her "home" gallery in Helsinki today, October 7.
We are again very fortunate to have writer and curator Barbara O'Brien provide her thoughts and perspectives of Sirpa Särkijärvi's newest paintings in essay form.
Jonathan Thunder has been awarded a 2022 McKnight Foundation Fellowship.
We are very much looking forward to opening Tara Austin's solo exhibition late next month! This reprises, after Covid restrictions made her 2020 exhibition impossible to see, that exhibition with new work completed in the last two years.
Our new roof-mounted solar panels, up and running as of this week, will take care of our gallery's electrical use plus an additional 20% from this week forward.
James Brinsfield exhibits new paintings based on the liminal.
Eric Sall's beautiful "Frazada" painting goes home to a significant local collection.
We are pleased that this great painting is moving to a growing, local private collection.
Two recent paintings by Rabbett Strickland were acquired by significant private collectors early this month.
Jonathan Thunder has just completed his newest painting The Lighthouse.
We are pleased to present Peter Granados - Daily Cards paintings on our interactive website HERE.
We are happy to share an interview (in Finnish with English subtitles) with Sirpa Särkijärvi on the occasion of her exhibition at JNG in 2019. Here is the Vimeo link on our JNG Vimeo page.
In early 2022, we will exhibit new, small-scale paintings by Sirpa.
David Bowen's recent exhibition on water at JNG which closed in early January 2021, will be shown nearly in it's entirety at the Rochester Art Center (RAC) in Rochester, MN. The exhibition opens February 24 will run through May 2, 2021.
We are busy working putting together our next exhibition - a curated grouping of recent gallery artist's and invited artist's work. More information to follow.
Kathy debuts a new online, multi-part work, featuring sound, the words of poet Sheila Packa, and animations with sensitively selected colors and shapes
To round out the year on News items (looking forward to 2021!), we share with you this recent stand-alone video piece from Matthew Kluber - "Color-Scope".
We have added many new gallery artist videos to our Vimeo and YouTube pages, plus some links to some of those on our home page and on individual artists pages. More videos will be added in the near future. Enjoy these discussions with our artists.
Opening December 10, 2020 is "The Art of the People: Contemporary Anishinaabe Artists" at the Muskegon Museum of Art (Michigan). Included among the artists selected by guest curator Jason Quigno is Jonathan Thunder. The exhibition continues through February 28, 2021
On October 31, 2020, curator Christopher Atkins visited us from Minneapolis. Christopher and artist David Bowen had a conversation about each of the four major works in David's exhibition on water. Film maker Allen Killian Moore recorded the conversation and interspersed video and still images of the works. Here is the link to it on our YouTube channel: the conversation
Here is a link to the essay for on water by Mr. Atkins: the essay
James Brinsfield has been busy in the studio this year. He has made several new paintings on paper (17" x 14") and sometimes they are a basis to loosely scale up to a big canvas painting.
In case you were not aware, JNG has an alternate website HERE . It was developed in part as a response to COVID to present our exhibitions a little differently if they could not be seen in person. Check out our Tara Austin and James Woodfill exhibits that are housed there. And we will be adding more content over time.
Also, as Director of JNG, I have found the time to do a little writing on some art topics that I might have ordinarily discussed with you were we looking at an artwork together.
Please enjoy.
A thoughtful review by Elisabeth Kirsch of James Woodfill's online and physical exhibition Code Practice: Certain Objects and Certain Systems for KCStudio magazine.
The time is finally here for the on-line opening of Jim Woodfill's response to the pandemic situation. Go HERE for the artist's new animation and sound work based on the physical Code Practice work including an Interactive page where you choose which animation / sound groups you want to play together.
Fox News paid us a visit during the Pandemic. Tara Austin's exhibition "Boreal Ornament III" was all ready to open on March 27, 2020, but the pandemic caused the gallery and many other related spaces to close.
As we refocus during this COVID period, stay tuned for an on-line extension of James Woodfill's "Code Practice" through several brand new animation and sound pieces that reference the studio process surrounding the physical works. The original schedule was to open Code Practice at the gallery in Duluth on June 26. The spring 2020 world-wide events have created an opportunity to adjust this plan. So we will have the physical Code Practice works on-line, new animated pieces created by the artist on line, and sometime this summer, we will open a limited exhibition of physical exhibition at the gallery of projections of the new animated / sound works, and selected kinetic light sculptures.
From the American Composer's Forum announcement of the award: As a composer and installation artist, Kathy McTavish creates open, improvisatory systems that explore the porous, intimate boundaries between humans and machines. Kathy's work blends sound, data, text, code and abstract, layered moving images. For her, code is a pattern language :: a choreography ::: a score.
We are pleased to be working with Rabbett Before Horses Strickland. Rabbett is a skillful painter using Renaissance painting skills on native subject matter.
On March 27th, Duluth artist Tara Austin’s solo exhibition Boreal Ornament III opens at Joseph Nease Gallery. We welcome you to join us in an exploration of the mathematically infinite. Employing designs both fractal and organic, Austin’s vast body of work is a testament to nature and reality. Her rich landscapes are of chaos, complexity, and order. They hold as much inherent beauty as a satellite image of a hurricane, a sunflowers' petals, or an assemblage of diatoms under a microscope. At every scale, Austin's work reminds us of both the rational and the emotional – the linear and non-linear, the opposite yet coexisting forms – that are a perfect mirror of the natural world around us.
Tara Austin, with her first solo exhibition opening at JNG on March 27, was recently awarded a Fellowship award by the American-Scandinavian Foundation. Her award is to study and advance her knowledge in Scandinavian Folk Arts and Cultural Traditions for Rosemaling. Rosemaling is a traditional scandinavian decorative craft that Tara incorporates into her paintings and other works. She will travel to Norway for three months starting late summer 2020 to observe and study the use of and masters of rosemaling.
The American-Scandinavian Foundation (ASF) initiated this program in 2017 to support Scandinavian folk arts and cultural traditions in the Upper Midwest. ASF is committed to celebrating and preserving Nordic (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sápmi, Sweden) culture throughout the United States
This Friday, February 28th, American Institute of Architects (AIA) Minnesota will be hosting a portion of its Lake Superior Design Retreat within the Joseph Nease Gallery. Participants will enjoy a dinner within our gallery space, which is currently exhibiting Kathy McTavish’s solo work in “count. map. pulse. breathe.” The Lake Superior Design Retreat is an annual, winter weekend extravaganza in Duluth, Minnesota. Architects and others interested in design will be gathering to explore the corners of design with six invited design professionals who share their passion for their art and/or craft and discuss their creative stories.
We are pleased to be exhibiting the work of Duluth artist David Bowen in fall 2020. The exhibition will exhibit four of his digital scupltures, all based on water data, and dating from 2015 to 2020.
Join us for Kathy McTavish’s Artist Talk on January 25th, 2020 at 2 pm!
(Little did we know this would be the last artist talk for our exhibitions for a long while - hope you made it)
Check out this nice profile and accompanying interview video with Matthew Kluber. His is the first in a series of profiles about 2019–2020 Iowa Artist Fellows.
“A frayed thread”: Whether the split wires of a computer circuit board; a single line of code from a spooling cacophony of code-driven conversation; a thread of cello or wind in a digital fugue; one out of hundreds of layers of digital shapes - scrolling on monitors and through projections (grey, then black, then blue, red, yellow); a circle stitched into fabric and batting and pooled chording; the tied ends of a loom-woven shawl/covering/scroll – this is the metaphor that unites and runs through the body of Kathy McTavish’s multi-layered trans/media installations.
Join us this Small Business Saturday, November 30, from 12 to 5 pm, for a pop-up showing of handcrafted Dala horses by Duluth artist, Tara Austin and one-of-a-kind books by Kathy McTavish. We’re delighted to be showcasing these immensely talented artists and can’t wait to share their work with you in time for the holidays!
Sirpa Sarkijarvi has been busy with her Transcription series of paintings recently seen at JNG. She opens her exhibition of her newest paintings in this series on November 28 at Ama Gallery in Helsinki, Finland.
In the current (December) issue of Black & White magazine, there is an excellent feature on Tim White's photography.
We are now working with Jonathan Thunder, who participated in our Sweep exhibition in 2018. We have two of his newest paintings available on our website and Artsy site. Jonathan and his partner have just relocated from Duluth, MN to Tulsa, OK - we look forward to seeing how his new surroundings will impact the direction of his artwork.
Kathy McTavish is one of five artists that have been working this year as part of a mentor-based fellowship program. The program culminates in an exhibition at the Rochester Art Center that showcases art experimentally practiced at the intersection of art, technology, and digital culture. The opening is October 11, and an artist talk event is November 16.
Our recent visit to Kansas City included a good studio visit with Jim Woodfill. His recent studio work includes colorful new wall mounted structures that are 3-D paintings and reward the viewer's movement.
Kathy McTavish continues her investigations with quilted and woven work in blacks, greys, and whites. The exhibit is linked here (scroll to the bottom), is coordinated by the Duluth Art Institute and the Duluth Mayor's office, and will be on display through September 2019. Kathy will have a solo exhibition at JNG opening in November 2019.
Warren Rosser has created a series of six new digital paintings in an edition of 20. Depicted on his Artist's page. See our Artsy site for more information.
Tara Austin will be exhibiting some new work up north in beautiful Grand Marais, MN in July at the Johnson Heritage Post gallery. Hope you can see it.
Tara will be having a solo show at JNG in March 2020.
Had a great visit with Matthew this week and we installed his exhibition Friday I'm in Love - all is ready for the opening reception on June 28. At right is a side view of one of his new smaller scale paintings "Split Infinitive".
Rachel Hayes installs a huge new installation as part of her Tulsa artist fellowship in Tulsa, OK.
The endings of exhibitions are always bittersweet. Sirpa 's Särkijärvi's exhibition Transcriptions closes in just two weeks.
James Brinsfield has been busy in the studio in 2019 and has recently completed two new major paintings. Both are being exhibited this month in Kansas City at Museo, a high end furnishing retail location. If you are in the area, hope you can stop in and see them paired with appropriate interior furnishings. See James' artist page on our website, or our Artsy site for full images of these two 2019 paintings - "Ametora" and "Hat and Beard".
Maija Jenson of KUMD Radio in Duluth interviews Sirpa about her exhibition Transcriptions
The Jerome Foundation has announced that Kathy McTavish is part of the group of the first recipients of the new Jerome Hill Artist Fellowships program. This is a significant award that extends over two years with and exhibition opportunity at the end. Congratulations Kathy!
Sirpa Särkijärvi - Transcriptions opens Friday March 22 with the artist in attendance. She has arrived in the US spending a few days in Chicago and will be in Duluth on March 20. Twenty paintings arrived from Finland last month, and installation of Transcriptions nearly complete. We look forward to seeing you Friday, or whenever you can stop by the gallery through June 1. Barbara O'Brien has written a nice essay for the exhibition linked here.
Raissa Venables photograph "Duomo di Orvieto, All That Glitters is Gold" 2008 / 2019 was recently acquired by the Tweed Museum of Art in Duluth. The photograph is currently on display at the Museum as part of the "Space: Time & Place" exhibition through February 2020.
Patricia Graham, writing for the Informality Blog, covers Rosser's recent exhibition at Haw Contemporary.
Kathy McTavish is working on a new body of work using her code that is integral to her installation work. She is using a high-end long-arm quilting machine and her hand, and together they "soft code"; draw and document her graphic machine language that does not otherwise stay fixed in the projection work. At right is a detail of one of her current pieces. We will be posting more information with a statement and show several of her completed pieces soon on the website and our Artsy site.
We are proud to bring Finnish artist Sirpa Särkijärvi to Duluth in March, 2019, with an opening reception on Friday, March 22. Sirpa is an accomplished painter and a rising star in the Finnish art scene.
Warren Rosser has an exhibition of all new work in Kansas City at Haw Contemporary Crossroads space, on display through January 16, 2019.
Allen debuted his new film "Desolation Slow" at Elastic Arts in Chicago on December 7. See his website, for more information and a Vimeo video link of the film's trailer. Congratulations Allen!
Had a great visit to Kansas City in early November to visit gallery artists and pick up new work for Color and Pattern. We met with Jim Woodfill (brought some nice Whirl drawings back); met with Cary Esser (brought two beautiful, large Parfleche ceramic pieces back); picked up some recent small scale paintings and one major painting from Eric Sall, and had a good studio visit with Jim Brinsfield as he works on new paintings in the studio. And of course, had to have some good BBQ.
At right is Eric Sall's "Stars and Stripes", 2017
Painter Karen Owsley Nease and Choreographer/Dancer Laura Goodman combine talents for a Minnesota Ballet performance. More information on our website under exhibitions.
Our last week of this great exhibition of James Brinsfield's work of the last 20 years.
Inhalt (sold) left, and Hubbub right, both 1998
James Woodfill's work "Whirl signal" and three "Whirl" drawings recently acquired by the Tweed Museum of Art in Duluth, MN was on display at the museum.
In March 2019, the annual NCECA (National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts) will be held in Minneapolis, MN. Cary Esser has been selected by curator Elizabeth Carpenter to particpate in THE FORM WILL FIND ITS WAY: CONTEMPORARY CERAMIC SCULPTURAL ABSTRACTION from January 22 to March 30, 2019.
An exhibition of the work of Kathy McTavish and Cecilia Ramon in the Free Range Film Barn, Wrenshall, MN - August 26 thru September 3, 2018
Thanks to Perfect Duluth Day for asking about our first year in Duluth.
Link to it here
In conjunction with James Brinsfield - A Twenty Year Retrospective, James Martin has written a thoughtful essay about the work and how Brinsfield's abstract painting has cultural relevancy. We invite you to read the essay at this link.
Great news - artist Tara Austin joins the Gallery! For now we give you a brief introduction to her work - Stemline, 48" x 48" is at right. Her approach is both traditional and contemporary as she paints and reverse side paints on both glass and plexiglass. We will post more information about Tara and her work on our Artist pages in the near future.
We had a great trip to KC in early June to pick up the work for James Brinsfield - A Twenty Year Retrospective. We visited with James Martin who is writing an essay for the show; visited Anxious Abstraction at the Nerman Museum with James B and got a personal tour of the show he is in. We also had good, if short, studio visits with Don Kottmann to see several new paintings he is working on; Warren Rosser who shared some new digital work and new paintings and we brought back some small works. And a good visit with Jim Woodfill to see some new work including some colorful "box" paintings. And of course, had a couple opportunities for good BBQ.
We open James Brinsfield, a retrospective of work over the past 20 years, to the public on June 23. We will be heading down to Kansas City to select the work for this exhibition late this month. This will be an interesting exhibition to see the evolution of this painter's work over a long period, and we will bring out some gems not seen in public for a long time.
Jim is currently part of "Anxious Abstraction" at the Nerman Museum (see News item below). He is painting a new work for the exhibition as the painting at right (detail shown) is going to a collection in Houston.
Another FOX interview for JNG, thanks Natalie. This time we cover why you should attend the last two weeks of Sweep / Tim White / Allen Killian-Moore; the upcoming Brinsfield retrospective, and the Downtown Duluth Arts walk initiative. (You may have to see a 15 second ad at the beginning - apologies).
Allen and Tim had a great discussion of their respective work at the gallery on May 19, 2018 with each other of the commonalities and contrasts (Allen - art film; Tim - new photographs) on display through May at JNG. A dialogue between the "still" and "moving" image, silence and sound. Hope you joined us and brought your questions. We will release parts of the great discussion over time.
A review by Elisabeth Kirsch in KC Studio magazine of a recent two person exhibition at Sherry Leedy with new work by Cary Esser and Marcus Cain.
A good interview with Matthew on his influences and process. We are looking forward to his solo exhibition at the gallery in summer 2019.
Allen Killian-Moore will open his film "Permanent State of Exception" on April 21 at JNG. The film includes a commissioned musical score by Andy McCormick of the ensemble "Dreamland Faces" to accompany his film's visual and sound design elements. At right, Allen works on the installation.
Tim White will also exhibit new photographs opening on April 21.
"Anxious times breed anxious art..." writes Alice Thorson about this six person group exhibit "Anxious Abstraction" at the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art in Overland Park, Kansas. Mr. Brinsfield is one of six national artists included in the exhibition. At right is a detail of "Blue Vase" 2017, one of Brinsfield's included paintings. A link to the Nerman exhibition page is below.
Thanks to Natalie Froistad of Duluth Fox21 News interviewing gallery manager Amanda Hunter and director Joe Nease about the current Sweep painting exhibition.
Thanks to Karen Sunderman for covering the gallery and Karen's art on WDSE TV. Below is link to WDSE page, in turn takes you to the YouTube version of the interview.
It was wonderful having author and arts writer Alicia Eler drop by the gallery recently. Alicia was at the Duluth Art Institute to discuss her new book The Selfie Generation: How Our Self-Images Are Changing Our Notions of Privacy, Sex, Consent, and Culture. She is also the visual art critic at the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Thanks to Business North for covering our progress thus far and upcoming plans.
View from Director's office: Artist Bookshelf, and a view sliver of Wayfinding, Christmas tree in progress.
We have also just added an artist page for Cary Esser with images of her Parfleche work and bio, enjoy.
We have added an artist page for Marcus Cain with images and bio; take a look.
We had a great turnout today for our ribbon cutting with Mayor Larson, local and regional press, and local public. Thank you to all. Two days before our official opening which also had a great turnout!
Marcus Cain, a friend, artist, and KCAI alumni development manager paid us a visit and headed back to Kansas City today. Marcus brought up nine great paintings, a few of which we will exhibit during our inaugural show opening next week. Our development manager, Jim Goodman, accompanied us and took this picture of Marcus (left), Karen Nease (center) and Joe Nease at Duluth's Enger Park overlooking the Duluth harbor on a blustery October 9th day.
We have two weeks before we open! Thank you to DNT and Christa Lawler for writing about us. Below is a link to the article.
Our Kansas City trip this month included a great studio visit with Don Kottmann and we brought back some brand new paintings.
Pictured is Don next to a new painting acquired by the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art in Overland Park, KS.
Rachel Hayes has had some great success with images on Instagram. She has just returned from Italy after installing a piece for a significant Angela Missoni fashion event. That is Rachel's piece overhead.
Gives a great intro to her chance work opening at the Tweed Museum on October 19.
Business North, a great monthly publication covering business in the northeast MN and northwest WI region covered our upcoming gallery opening. Thanks to BN and Sheryl Jensen.
James Martin wrote a nice article about us in the current issue of KC Studio. See page 38. Thank you James and editor Alice Thorson.
We continue to bring work into the gallery and have another trip scheduled to Kansas City next month to pick up work for our first exhibit and our inventory. The work at right is a recent arrival from James Brinsfield, Starry Divide, 36" x 30", oil and enamel on panel, 2017.
Matthew Kluber visited us and delivered two paintings for our upcoming Three States inaugural exhibition of which he is a part. We had a little time to spend at the big lake.
We have uploaded some new videos on her Artist page.
A nice article about us posted recently on Perfect Duluth Day
Tim White received a NEMBA (Northeast Minnesota Book Award) award earlier this year. Last night (July 24) was the award ceremony where Mr. White spoke and answered questions about his winning book of photographs paired with local writers entitled In and Out of Context, and his upcoming book North to a full house. (the full image of the awards announcement is on Mr. White's artist page).
Kathy McTavish has been hard at work this spring and summer (2017) installing her solo work "chance" in the Sax Galllery at the Tweed Museum. The public is invited to preview it, starting August while she continues to adjust and enhance it, as she may do during its planned 12 month run. Save October 19, 6-8 pm to come celebrate the opening.
Arrived safely back in Duluth with the first of many art works that will be here when we open after a hot and productive week in Kansas City. We have four recent paintings by James Brinsfield, five recent paintings by Eric Sall, and two recent paintings from the newest artist we are working with, Warren Rosser. See our updated Artist page. We had five very interesting studio visits during the trip.
On the side of our gallery building, we will add a nice gallery sign, but the big news is that we are creating the Minnesota Art Wall as well. It will show an art work of a curated artist the first year, and will be a juried, curated competition in later editions, showing one artist's work each time as currently envisioned. The Art Wall will be managed and curated by gallery staff, but will not necessarily be of an artist affiliated with the gallery. The location is very visible on busy, one-way W. First Street. The image is a rough mockup of the idea in progress. We will share the first artist selected in the near future. UPDATE: The Art Wall has been delayed but may yet come in 2019.
Will be in KC for a few days visiting gallery artists, some others, seeing a few exhibitions including summer group shows and Kemper Museum's Magnetic Fields, and bringing back some good pieces for the gallery. More trips to come before we open. A detail of Cary Esser's Veil 16-2-1 is at right.
The interior renovation work is moving along and the space is taking shape. Soon we will be making a trip to Kansas City, bringing back some great work and will share that with you in a few weeks.
Rachel is the first featured artist at Oklahoma Contemporary's new Showroom I Showcase in Oklahoma City. Her installation Test Patterns has been acquired by a significant collector.
Interior material delivery started on June 21 and work started shortly after. All the "stud" walls are up now and door openings cut in, so the space is starting to take shape. More progress!
We are slowly adding some content to our past (Joseph Nease Gallery in Kansas City) exhibitions on our Exhibitions page. Hope you find some of those previous exhibitions interesting and some context for those artists we continue to work with.
Finally, we got our building permit on June 16 - Interior renovation work to start soon - on our way to a great exhibition space. New roof installation started on June 5 and just some detail work remaining; the building is now weather tight. Before you know it, walls, track lights, and artwork will start coming in.
Kathy participated in the 2017 Northern Spark event in Minneapolis / St. Paul. We have uploaded a new video work sample from her on her gallery page that can also be accessed from the Vimeo link below. For more information about the event, go to https://2017.northernspark.org/
Vimeo link https://vimeo.com/220385055
We are very pleased that Heidi Pollard, New Mexico artist and 2016 Joan Mitchell grant awardee, will be showing work at the gallery this fall. We look forward to our new relationship.
Heidi's website is http://heidipollard.com
Rachel Hayes, a nationally recognized artist that creates painterly fabric structures from intimate to the massive scale, will start showing work at the gallery this fall. Rachel showed at JNG in Kansas City early in her career with two solo shows. We introduce her to this area by showing some interesting, modest size, wall works that relate to her large scale work. Rachel was busy early summer 2017in San Francisco installing a major piece in a major permanent collection.
Her website is at http://www.rachelbhayes.com
We worked hard with our architect to get our building permit. Who knew it would be this complicated. It was sorted out soon and then we were on our way to a great exhibition space. New roof installation is complete. We will respect and take care of this great 1916 building.
Mr. Brinsfield will have his first exhibition at JNG V2.0 in Duluth, MN in early summer 2018. Prior to that, stop in and see some of his work already in the gallery. For some background, see the 2011 interview of Mr. Brinsfield with Dr. David Cateforis.
A cropped studio view at right from late 2016 with work in progress.
Kathy McTavish will have a solo exhibition at the Tweed Museum of Art at the University of Minnesota, Duluth opening in October, 2017.
At right is a cropped screen capture from of her chance sketch coding pieces, 2017.
