Varesk explaining her creative process of “Colonize” to the group.
Photo by Drew Kerner
The Kruk Art Gallery in Holden Fine Arts revealed a new contemporary art exhibit by four local artists on Friday, October 22nd. Matt Kania and Amy Varesk initially intended to open this gallery at Holden back in 2020 but are glad they waited.
Kania, Varsek and their comrades Erin Endsley and John Sager produced thought-provoking pieces that they are proud of. The main idea behind this gallery was to play with shadows because they are “an example of relics that we leave behind us” said Sager.
Each artist took a unique approach to this idea of remembrance. Varesk’s Tired (2021) pieces and Human Nature (2021) used reclaimed materials such as blown-out tires and Little Tree Car Fresheners to communicate the physical things we leave behind.
Interestingly, Sager used this concept to show off his photography skills. He took pictures of the Armory in Duluth to capture the idea of nature reclaiming humanity. Kania used serigraph, a printmaking technique, to show off the harsh contrast of shadows. Endsley sculpted a suspended torso in the gallery to show off a sense of weight that we carry.
Ann Dugan, Senior Lecturer in Visual Arts, curated this gallery and had fun playing around with the setup. “Since they [the artist] all worked together to put on this show, I designed the Gallery to reflect their collaboration,” said Dugan. Reading the titles of the artwork is essential to understand the feelings the artists want to convey.
“This whole exhibition is a remembrance… We all have stories and our own personal remembrance. Each one of my prints has a story, one that’s personal to me, but we all will interpret it differently” said Kania.
The Kruk Art Gallery will hold this exhibition from October 28th through November 30th in Holden Fine Arts, with the Project Gallery showcasing separate works by Shannon Cousino.
