Tag Archive: Kelsi Sharp

  1. MPLSART Sketchbook Project Exhibition

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    April 10 – May 8, 2021
    MPLSART and Gamut Gallery present the MPLSART Sketchbook Project Exhibition.

    FEATURING: AK Garski, allison anne, Annie Hejny, Ben DiNino, Betsy Alwin, Black Daze, Christopher E. Harrison, Christopher Carr, Christopher Aaron Deanes, Colee Recke, Derek Meier, Destiny A. Davison, Hend Al-Mansour, Jamie Owens, Jennifer Davis, Jesse Quam, Jon Reischl, Kar-Keat Chong, Kelsi Sharp, KJ, Krista Anderson-Larson, Kristine Fretheim, Leeya Jackson, Lizardman, Lora Hlavsa, Nicholas Alan Straight, Niky Motekallem, Philipo Dyauli, Reid Olson, Reggie LeFlore, Russ White, Sean Ferris, Stacey Combs, Tony Cheng, Tyler Faketrap

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    The 2020 MPLSART Sketchbook Project is a unique survey of the Twin Cities visual arts community during one of the most challenging years. 68 local artists contributed 120 pages of original work to a series of five traveling sketchbooks. The sketchbooks have been compiled into a beautiful 88 page hardcover book available for presale via Kickstarter March 2nd with all net-proceeds split among the featured artist.

    When the sketchbooks were near the end of their travels, MPLSART connected with Gamut Gallery to host a pop-up exhibit to showcase the five original sketchbooks. Collaboratively, the concept evolved into a full length exhibition, featuring new works from a wide selection of the artists contributing to the project. 

    Given the magnitude of artists and limited wallspace, an open call was sent to all 68 artists and the first 35 to respond would have the opportunity to showcase an original work in the exhibition. In less than 24 hours, the roster filled up with established and emerging artists, creating an eclectic exhibition featuring muralists, studio artists, street artists, graphic novelists, collage artists, and more. Gamut attendees may recognize familiar names that have been on exhibit at Gamut in the past, and can look forward to 13 new artists who will be exhibiting their work in the gallery for the first time. 

    The exhibition has no defined theme, only a set of guidelines – works had to be new originals and available for under $500. Many artists drew inspiration from their sketchbook pages. In addition to featuring 35 original works, the exhibition will also be an opportunity to see the five original sketchbooks first-hand before going to auction at St. Paul based Revere Auctions.

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    Members Only & Press Preview Night:
    Friday, April 9th  // 6-9pm
    A VIP Preview Night for Gamut Gallery Members:
    become a member today!!
    – Existing Members RSVP for FREE
    – 45 minute reserved tour sessions
    – 10 visitors per tour
    – Masks required
    – Temperature taken upon entry
    – Please stay home if you are feeling unwell

    Public Opening Night:
    Saturday, April 10th  // 5-9pm • $7
    – 45 minute reserved tour sessions
    – Pre-sale tickets required
    – 10 visitors per tour
    – Masks required
    – Temperature taken upon entry
    – Please stay home if you are feeling unwell

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    ABOUT MPLSART
    MPLSART is a guiding voice in the Twin Cities visual arts community. Founded in 2005, MPLSART has been covering the best local exhibitions, artists, galleries, and more for over a decade. The Minneapolis and St. Paul arts community has long been hailed as one of the best in the nation and we work tirelessly to showcase the hard work of this amazing community as well as strive to create a more sustainable arts scene for all.

     

  2. Virtual Web XR Finale

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    Check out the VR Gallery Today! —> https://virtualrem5.com/DaAcLFq/prestigious-twin-rendezvous

    FEATURING: Alejandro Zhang, Amina Harper, Andrea Osterhout, Anna Brauch, Anna Johnson, Barret Lee, Brandon Movall, Canaan Mattson, Christopher E. Harrison, Claire Hickman, Colee Recke, Corrie Steckelberg, David Mueller, Destiny Davison, Eduardo Salgado, Erin Paradis, Jacqueline Nuzzo, Jamie Owens, Jessica Kitzman, Justice Jones, Kate Sciandra, Kehayr Myles-O’Shaé Brown-Ransaw, Kelsi Sharp, Leah Edelman-Brier, Leeya Jackson, Lora Hlavsa, Lynda Mullan, Margaret Lindahl, Martzia Thometz, Matthew J. Bindert, Merick Reed, Nicole Thomas, Philipo Dyauli, Reid Olson, Ron Brown, Russ White, S. Catrin Magnusson, Sherstin Schwartz, Sidney Coleman, Stephanie C Friest, Suyao Tian & Torey Erin.

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    Welcome back to our virtual gallery space for the finale of this year’s Annual Call for Work Exhibition. The chosen 43 works will tell you stories and let everything else slip away for a moment, releasing judgement allowing the art to do the work in the revamp of our vr gallery space. Navigate your avatar as you float through ideas of projection, optimism, truth, and action. The virtual gallery creates a wild, saturated world that breathes life into us from behind your computer screen. These elements convey a hopeful and restorative life ahead, needed and perhaps appreciated now more than ever.

    At the finale you may meet the artists behind these stories, hang out with your friends, and make your way through this rich, fertile ground featuring jewel tones that actively pull everything together. Welcome the magnetic pieces as they imagination and occupy your whole mind. Finally, Make your way to our back courtyard that contains a few new twists & turns from local artist Brian Skalak. At the end of your visit, if you see a piece you love, you can support these artists & the gallery through the click of your mouse![/bscolumns][bscolumns class=”one_half_last_clear”]

    C4W:2020 Finale Virtual Web XR:
    Friday, November 13th 2020
    Online Meet-up: 7-9pm // FREE
    Featuring this years Call for Works Artists and courtyard take-over by Brian Skalak

    • Late to the party, you’ll be able to wait in a virtual lobby until a spot opens up so don’t leave if we’re full.
    • Attend from your home, via laptop or VR headset from your web browser
    • Click to Learn how to onboard & navigate the space

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    FROM THE CURATOR:
    “Lush Future developed around ideas of projection, optimism, truth, and action – creating a wild, saturated world that breathes life into us from every angle. Revealed in a body of work by 42 artists, these elements convey a hopeful and restorative life ahead. Biological elements invite inspiration of growth through texture, material, pattern, and figure. This rich, fertile ground features jewel tones pulling everything together, welcoming wet, magnetic pieces to pull at the imagination and occupy your whole mind.” – Katie Garrett

  3. C4W:2020 Artist Talk

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    Featuring C4W:2020 Artists: Kelsi Sharp, Lora Hlavsa, Philipo Dyauli, Reid Olson, Alejandro Zhang, Merick Reed, S. Catrin Magnusson, Russ White, Nicole Thomas & Jessica Kitzman.

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    This is not your typical artist talk. This talk will be a Q&A Chain — a method where the curator begins by selecting a piece that intrigues them and asks the artist a couple questions. From there, each chosen artist picks the next one, opening up the dialogue and inviting the artists to respond to each other. There will be ten artists, each having the opportunity to speak about their piece for approximately 5 minutes, and will conclude with closing remarks from the curator, Katie Garrett and Gamut’s director, Cassie Garner.

    Katie Garrett  has kicked on the chain by asking Kelsi Sharp & Kelsi has chosen Lora Hlavsa, Lora has chosen Philipo Dyauli, Philipo has chosen Ried Olson, Reid has chosen Alejandro Zhang, Alejandro has chosen Merick Reed, Merick has chosen Catrin Magnusson, Catrin has chosen Russ White, Russ has chosen Nicole Thomas and Nicole has chosen Jessica Kitzman. [/bscolumns]

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    ARTIST TALK – Q & A Chain
    Wednesday the Nov 11th, 2020 7-8pm
    Moderated by Katie Garrett
    Hosted on Mplsart.com

    Shop the Entire C4W:2020 Collection!

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    About C4W:2020 – Lush Future

    Gamut Gallery’s annual Call-4-Work exhibition is not a show that influences what art should be. Instead, the chosen guest curator brings their unique perspective and interpretation of the submitted works ranging the full “Gamut” of visual media. 

    A theme emerged around ideas of projection, optimism, truth, and action – creating a wild, saturated world that breathes life into us from every angle. Revealed in a body of work by 42 artists, these elements convey a hopeful and restorative life ahead. Biological elements invite inspiration of growth through texture, material, pattern, and figure. This rich, fertile ground features jewel tones pulling everything together, welcoming wet, magnetic pieces to pull at the imagination and occupy your whole mind.

    Meet the Artists:
    Jessica Kitzman     is an interdisciplinary artist exploring identity tensions and personal/cultural history as a queer single mother.  Her bright and playful textile compositions often represent the land between mother and child: a messy and playful overlap of past, present, and future, full of impossible contradictions.  “Outside Myself” is a reflection on letting go as a child grows.  It’s about the physical and emotional labor of growing someone in your body, and the extreme feelings of watching them walk out into this world.  

    Lora Hlavsa is an artist, illustrator, and designer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her artwork is inspired largely by femininity, intersectionality, and multiculturalism. Born to an American father and a Filipino mother, Lora’s work is also an exploration of her own cultural heritage and the constant tension that arises from belonging to two worlds. Lora uses color and pattern to create detail-rich compositions that feel cluttered yet intriguing and suggest a world larger than the frame that the work is contained in.

    Merick Reed is a modern minimalist sculptor, photographer and designer living and working in Saint Paul, Minnesota. His work expresses simple, graphic geometry balancing spare aesthetics with playful assertion. Influenced by graphic and architectural design, his sculptural wall paintings are gestural arrangements; an interplay of dimensional facets and saturated monochromatic panels.

    Alejandro Junyao Zhang is a Chinese interdisciplinary artist who builds relations between performance, 3D animation, video, electronic music, experimental images, and installation, currently based in Minneapolis, MN. His art practice focuses on the visibility of the Chinese queer identity and the composition of the physical or virtual identity habitats by utilizing the space, architectural props, and virtual reality through post-club aesthetics.

    Philipo Dyauli is a painter, illustrator and draftsman from Tanzania and currently resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He works from the Northrup King Building as a part of the Studio 400 program. His work is inspired by pop art, film, illustration and graphic design creating a body of work that reflects his life between his two homes in the United States and East Africa. Often Philipo’s work ivolves depictions of his favorite family traditions, friends and personal heroes.

    Catrin Magnuson is a multidisciplinary artist currently working with sculptural forms in clay and industrial felt.  Using the iconography of geology as a starting place, she utilizes a muted color palette that suggests earth, metal, charcoal.  Catrin is drawn to the quiet remnants of violent movement, connecting deep time and macro processes to a personal timeline.  She holds a MFA from Minneapolis College of Art and Design, a BFA from CU Boulder and filmmaking/screenwriting degrees from MCTC.

    Russ White is an artist and writer living in Minneapolis and working out of his studio in the Casket Arts Building. Focusing mainly on figurative colored pencil drawings and mixed media collages, White uses a brightly colored, almost cartoonish realism to address complicated personal and political themes. He also works as a writer and editor for MPLSART.COM.

    Reid Olson is a painter currently living in Minneapolis. His work spans a wide range of media including painting, drawing, collage, printmaking, photo transfer and fashion in a distinctive style that is all his own. What began as a passion project for Reid has now become a self-sustaining enterprise focused on portrayal of the mystery of the human condition.

    Nicole Thomas is a second generation Vietnamese American practicing interdisciplinary arts, curation, and writing in Minneapolis. Her visual arts practice centers the Southeast Asian diaspora experience in the United States and mental health effects of generational trauma. In response to unresolved, dysfunctional behavioral habits, Nicole creates in series and collections to describe patterns and a continuation of unhealed wounds. The dynamics between loss/longing and memory/resilience are common themes throughout her studio practice.

    Kelsi Sharp aka Kelsi Sharp is an African American artist and sign maker. Growing up in the American Southwest, Kelsi is strongly influenced by the signage, gas stations, and other relics found on the historic Route 66 highway. After studying construction methods, earning certifications in fabrication technologies, and apprenticing in an iconic Santa Fe sign shop, Kelsi started Sharp Design Co., a signage and environmental design company based in the Midwest.

  4. C4W:2020 Lush Future

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    FEATURING: Alejandro Zhang, Amina Harper, Andrea Osterhout, Anna Brauch, Anna Johnson, Barret Lee, Brandon Movall, Canaan Mattson, Christopher E. Harrison, Claire Hickman, Colee Recke, Corrie Steckelberg, David Mueller, Destiny Davison, Eduardo Salgado, Erin Paradis, Jacqueline Nuzzo, Jamie Owens, Jessica Kitzman, Justice Jones, Kate Sciandra, Kehayr Myles-O’Shaé Brown-Ransaw, Kelsi Sharp, Leah Edelman-Brier, Leeya Jackson, Lora Hlavsa, Lynda Mullan, Margaret Lindahl, Martzia Thometz, Matthew J. Bindert, Merick Reed, Nicole Thomas, Philipo Dyauli, Reid Olson, Ron Brown, Russ White, S. Catrin Magnusson, Sherstin Schwartz, Sidney Coleman, Stephanie C Friest, Suyao Tian & Torey Erin.

    Curated by: Katie Garrett

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    Gamut Gallery’s annual Call-4-Work exhibition is not a show that influences what art should be. Instead, the chosen guest curator brings their unique perspective and interpretation of the submitted works ranging the full “Gamut” of visual media. When Katie Garrett accepted the challenge of curating this year’s C4W: 2020, she practiced an exercise in responsive curation, empowering the 175 artists to lead the way through all 745 submissions.

    On par for C4W, the 2020 submissions were a wild slice of the local art scene. A cross section of who saw the call, and who felt compelled to contribute. It was especially heartening to discover a collection of submissions from artists novel to the gallery. As a step toward more balanced representation, Gamut Gallery waived all submission fees for Black Artists and Artists of Color. This is a practice that we will continue with progressing into the future, opening the door to artists that may not have had the accessibility in previous years.

    A theme emerged around ideas of projection, optimism, truth, and action – creating a wild, saturated world that breathes life into us from every angle. Revealed in a body of work by 42 artists, these elements convey a hopeful and restorative life ahead. Biological elements invite inspiration of growth through texture, material, pattern, and figure. This rich, fertile ground features jewel tones pulling everything together, welcoming wet, magnetic pieces to pull at the imagination and occupy your whole mind. These chosen 43 works tell you stories and let everything else slip away for a moment, releasing judgement allowing the art do the work.[/bscolumns]

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    Back to Back Openings:
    Friday October 9th & Saturday October 10th
    7pm – 10pm • $5 // FREE for Gamut Members
    Shop the Collection!

    • 45-minute ticketed tour times
    • 4 tours each night
    • 20 visitors per tour
    • Masks required
    • Temperature taken upon entry
    • Please stay home if you are feeling unwell


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    ABOUT THE CURATOR:
    Since 2005, MPLSART has been the Twin Cities’ best resource to access local art. Katie and team have been running the site since 2014. MPLSART is dedicated to building a larger art audience, and being a voice for under represented and emerging artists. Since 2017, Katie has used a curatorial role with The Hive Salon in Minneapolis as an experimental opportunity to develop her relationship with local artists and introduce new work to the clientele. In early 2019, Katie was selected to jury Wintertide, produced by Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association (NEMAA), facilitated by Public Functionary.

    Katie delights in applying her decade-long background in advertising to the fine arts, elevating the role of art in everyday life. She wants everyone to know how much better life is with meaningful art on your walls and artists as friends. She is determined to make an art-lover (and art-buyer) out of every resident in MSP.