Tag Archive: Kristi Abbott

  1. Visage

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    Visage: A Contemporary Portrait Show –  An exhibition featuring Amit Michaels, CL Martin, Brant Kingman, Hend Al-Mansour, Jade Patrick, Kao Lee Thao, Kelly Helsinger, Kristi Abbott, Leslie Barlow, Mat Ollig, Nell Pierce, Pam Eader, Patrizia Vignola, Stephanie Friest, Surelle Strike, Russ White and Van Holmgren – 17 artists exploring the contemporary lens of society by questioning what defines a modern portrait in a digital age. Curated by Francesca Bernardi.


    Amidst the prevalence of selfies and manipulated images, identity is often blurred. In our exhibit, Visage seventeen Minnesotan/Wisconsin artists have used varied artistic styles through collage, photography, oil, and acrylic paintings to create stunning portraits of figures from their imagination, their peers, and women who have impacted society.

    Visage prompts viewers to reflect on the complexities of identity and perception in today’s digital age, delving into contemporary portraiture by questioning what defines a modern portrait in the 21st century. Each portrait acts as a mirror, connecting the viewer to the subject’s image and a deeper reflection of what it means to be human and how we experience emotion while aiming to cultivate curiosity and foster connections between viewer and artwork.

    “Every artist comes from a unique background, whether an emerging artist in Minneapolis or an established artist that has shown worldwide. As I curated Visage I dove deeply into the intricacies of the modern-day human experience, wanting to encourage visitors to engage with diverse perspectives and appreciate the richness of human expression.” – Francesca Bernardi, Curator

    PUBLIC OPENING NIGHT:
    Friday, May 10th  // 7–10PM
    Featuring: Amit Michaels, CL Martin, Brant Kingman, Hend Al-Mansour, Jade Patrick, Kao Lee Thao, Kelly Helsinger, Kristi Abbott, Leslie Barlow, Mat Ollig, Nell Pierce, Pam Eader, Patrizia Vignola, Stephanie Friest, Surelle Strike, Russ White and Van Holmgren.
    $10 presale available
    • $15 day of the event
    • FREE for members
    • DJ Paul Frett

    FIGURE DRAWING CLASS:
    Thursday, June 13th // 7– 9PM
    Loose instruction and facilitation by Brant Kingman
    • 18+ event
    • Live nude model
    • $20 to reserve your spot (space is limited)
    • Please bring your own drawing materials

    GAMUT 12TH ANNIVERSARY PARTY:
    Saturday, June 22nd 2024 // 7 – 10PM
    A fun-filled evening with muralists painting live in the courtyard, raffle prizes throughout the evening plus music brought to you by House Queens; DJ Sassy G and Michelle Muse!
    • $15 presales coming soon
    • $20 day of event
    • FREE for members 


    ABOUT THE CURATOR 
    Francesca Bernardi is the new Gallery Director and co-owner of Gamut Gallery. They are an art therapist, artist, art collector, and burgeoning curator. Through their work in art therapy, they are a skilled relationship cultivator, attentive communicator, and passionate about building community with multifaceted individuals. Visage is Francesca’s first solo curatorial endeavor. Francesca’s excitement for curating will lead to many more exhibits highlighting artists in Minneapolis.

    ABOUT THE ARTISTS
    Amit Michael is a self-taught artist based in Minneapolis, MN. He started art at a young age after moving to Minneapolis from Be’er Sheva, Israel when he was seven years old. His first group art show was at age nine as part of a youth program at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Amit focused on music as his primary art form when he entered college, he graduated in 2015 from MCTC with an Associate’s Degree in Sound Engineering. He has played many venues as a musician, and recently in the past few years has found his way back to his brush. Much like Amit’s music, his process is improvisational and fluid. Working with a color deficiency inspires him to create high-contrast pieces, featuring many layers of bold patterns and textures within his portraits. He experiments with pronounced motifs and does not paint with a preconceived design, this allows him complete spontaneity leaving him open to the end result.

    CL Martin is a queer, figurative artist working in traditional media. She creates mysterious characters who exude their own distinct identities in a kind of still performance, imbued with diverse influences from history, allegory, design, psychology, and social constructs. She has studied art all her life and received a BFA in Painting from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. In 2007, she received an Artist Initiative Grant from the MN State Arts Board and the National Endowment for The Arts. She has exhibited internationally from Italy to New York and her work resides in private collections across the globe.

    Minneapolis artist Brant Kingman trained himself by studying masterworks in the great museums of Europe following graduation from Amherst College in 1976. After returning from abroad, he lived in New York City for seven years booking 62 shows in art venues such as the prestigious PS1 run by MOMA.  Kingman was shot in the chest in 1982. He returned to his hometown of Minneapolis where he maintains a studio in which he paints and creates bronze sculptures for galleries across the United States and in 10 foreign countries. His most recent major exhibits include a show at the Vietnam National Museum of Art in Hanoi and, through April 2018, paintings at MoMA in NYC. Years of exhibiting objects convinced Kingman that object making is but part of the artistic process that fits into the larger envelope of experience design. The artist now considers his primary role that of creating healthy, creative communities.

    As a child, Hend Al-Mansour carved large female figures into sand. Growing up, she was acutely aware of her limited opportunities as a Saudi Arabian woman. So instead of art, she studied medicine in Cairo, Egypt. For many years she practiced as a cardiologist but also built a reputation among her colleagues for the images she drew in the doctors’ rooms. In 1997, Al-Mansour relocated to the United States, where she finally was free to follow her calling: art. She earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from the MCAD and also completed another Master of Art History at the University of St. Thomas. Al-Mansour’s art reflects the female culture of her hometown.  Arabic and Islamic aesthetics influence her work which references gender politics in the Arab world. In vibrant colors, her screen-prints integrate stylized figures, Arabic calligraphy, and designs of Sadou (Bedouin style) and henna. Al-Mansour was awarded McKnight Fellowship in 2018, Jerome Fellowship of Printmaking in 2013/14, the Juror’s Award of the Contemporary Islamic Art exhibition in Riyadh Saudi Arabia in 2012, and Minnesota State Art Board Artist Initiative grant in 2005. She has shown her work in regional, national, and international exhibitions, lectured on Arab art and her journey, and curated exhibitions featuring Middle Eastern artists. Al-Mansour is a co-founder of the group Arab Artists in the Twin Cities and was a member of the Arab American Cultural Institute in Minnesota, where she worked to promote the understanding and expression of Arab culture in the West.

    Kao lee Thaou uses the weapon of coffee my superhero powers are heightened, allowing me to create unique yet stylistic surreal and dream-like landscapes. Her world changed once I picked up a paintbrush.All of her inspirations come from her dreams and personal experiences. With every stroke Kao Lee leaves behind a window into her soul, hoping to spark inspiration in others. Her creations speak to her on a subconscious level defining what the result will be, she opens an inner channel and let my subconscious take over. Kao Lee runs her own 3D animation company called Folklore Studio where they produce animation for television and film. Animation is her window into the world, it enables her to merge her passion for art and love of storytelling to create art that is both personally meaningful and enjoyable for others.

    Kelly Helsinger is a Minneapolis-based artist primarily focused on abstract expressionism. Her work strives to balance chaos and control through color and intricate lines. She holds a multidisciplinary bachelor’s degree focused on art, psychology, and creative writing from St. Cloud State University and has been selling her work professionally since 2010. From 2016 to early 2023, Kelly created under the name “MEA”, an acronym for her blog and alter-ego, Messy Ever After. Messy Ever After stood for embracing creative whims and accepting the chaos within an artistic identity and direction.

    As a collage artist, Kristi Abbott is fascinated with the use of color, pattern, and texture and tries to combine these elements in her work innovatively and excitingly using a combination of papers, paints, and other embellishment materials. Kristi also feels challenged to continue to push the boundaries of technique, subject matter, and provocation.  She is keen to understand some of the driving forces that shape our culture, communities, and social patterns.  Therefore each piece and series is thoughtfully researched and conceptualized to tell a story through the use of familiar imagery richly layered throughout each artwork. Her influences in her work include pop art and pop culture, Hollywood, music, and fashion. Kristi’s technique is still evolving and employs an exploratory and playful process, which can incorporate costuming, photography, graphic manipulation, collage, and painting.

    Leslie Barlow is a visual artist who primarily uses oil painting to embrace and investigate the entangled and elaborate web that comprises the intersections of racial identity, community, love, and belonging. Her work often captures community members in intimate forms that reveal vibrant and vital dimensions. Leslie’s work has been featured in the group exhibitions Rituals of Resistance at the Minneapolis Institute of Art (2021–2022), In Search of Lost Time at Dreamsong in Minneapolis (2021), and Creative Confinement at Minnesota’s Rochester Center for the Arts (2020–2021), among others. She has received the Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship (2021), the Cultural Community Partnership Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board (2020), and the McKnight Artist Fellowship (2019). Leslie’s work is in the collections of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Minnesota Museum of American Art, the Weisman Art Museum, and US Bank Stadium, among others. Barlow is also a founding member of Creatives After Curfew, a collective of mural artists formed in the summer of 2020, and a founder of Public Functionary’s PF Studios, an incubator and studio program centering on emerging BIPOC artists.

    Mat Ollig is an oil painter living and working in NE Minneapolis, Minnesota. He studied at the Accademia di Bella Arte in Florence, Italy, and graduated from the Perpich Center for Arts Education in Golden Valley, MN prior to receiving his BFA in Painting & Drawing from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) in Minneapolis, MN. Mat’s large, multi-faceted paintings were a result of his continued fascination with memory, reality, and perception funneled through the lenses of history and oil painting. Ollig’s influences include the movements of Cubism, Postmodernism, and Relational Aesthetics, as well as the work of artists such as Gerhard Richter, Mark Rothko, and Alexander Ross. Mat Ollig’s work has been featured nationally, has been awarded the 2016, 2018, and 2020 MN State Arts Board Artists Initiative Grant, and has many paintings in notable permanent collections, including the Hyatt Regency, Schecter Dokken Kanter, Code42, Ogletree Deakins, BI Worldwide, and the Weisman Art Museum.

    Nell Pierce is a collage artist, acrylic painter, muralist, and teaching artist who sees art as a powerful tool for telling both individual and collective stories. They are part of the muralist collective, Creatives After Curfew and have been a facilitator and teacher for over a decade, working with organizations like Telling My Story and the Speaking Out Collective to support people of all ages in schools, community centers, prisons, and other settings to connect to themselves and feel agency in creating their narratives through visual art and theater. In 2024, they started teaching art classes for adults out of their studio. In their practice, they create paintings and collages (primarily portraits) on commission. Nell is currently working on a multi-year series, Q’llage, that explores how the strategies that support them and their queer community to stay true to themselves are mirrored in the natural world — drawing from their own experience and interviews with people in their LGBTQ2IA+ community. 

    Pam Eader is an artist working in oils and acrylics. She focuses on stylized portraiture of women, both real and imagined. She has spent the past 30 years buying and selling antiques and collectibles and draws inspiration from vintage photographs and textiles. Although she has been interested in art from an early age, it wasn’t until 2016 that she decided to pursue it as a career. Pam works out of her home studio in Cedarburg, Wisconsin and her work can be found in studio 159 of the Northrup King building in Minneapolis.

    Artistically, Patrizia Vignola’s interests have always manifested with the human form, more specifically with faces. Although she has strong abilities to capture a likeness, traditional portraiture was never her goal. It was always more about portraying something deeper, more emotional or philosophical about being human. Through the eyes of her subjects, she hopes to speak to the viewer on things about the human condition, the workings of the human brain, the individual on the inside vs. the one perceived on the outside, our connection to each other, the word we inhabit, the universe and our purpose in it. In more recent years, starting just after the birth of her daughter, these ideas began to culminate into thoughts around circumstances we are born into. From the time we are conceived, others have expectations of who we are. We “come with” a socioeconomic background, a cultural identity, stereotypes, gender norms, drug addictions, mental illnesses and so much more all built into us by the people in our family histories. These things we “come with” some wear with pride and some struggle to remove, improve, or change their entire lives.

    Russ White is an artist, writer, and designer living in Minneapolis. Born and raised in the Carolinas and Mississippi, he received a BA in Studio Art from Davidson College and has maintained a studio in the Casket Arts Building in Northeast Minneapolis since 2014. White has exhibited his work regionally and nationally and is the recipient of three Minnesota State Arts Board grants (2018, 2020, & 2022). He also works as Senior Editor for MPLSART.COM and as a Communications Specialist for the University of Minnesota Department of Art. He served on the board of directors for the Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association and was editor-in-chief of their annual In Studio magazine from 2018-2020.

    Stephanie Friest explores how portraiture; particularly the uncanny or the unseen can connect to an audience and in doing so, create an emotional and visceral response. The motives that drive her work – as a whole – is her evocation to expose. The central themes are as diverse as her experience as being human. Drawing from these occurrences, Stepahnie’s work uncovers everyday motifs of sexuality, identity, race, gender, motherhood & death; concepts which we may partake in daily, yet sum to include as a significant part of the daily human experience. She is interested in playing with line and color; to blend the two and in doing so, construct a marriage of cohesion. I primarily use oil paints in my artworks, while the foundation of this particular body of work is illustration, which has been created through the use of charcoal and graphite. 

    Whether it is paint or ink, Surrelle Strike creates visual narratives and tells stories with her art. Since the beginning of time, we’ve told stories. Sometimes these tales were an escape into fantasy, but often storytelling was used as a way to teach morals and to share life-or-death advice. Fairy tales would be filled with love, and disappointment, warnings about types of men that a woman may encounter in the woods, or quiet recipes for ending an unwanted pregnancy. Fairy tales and fables were filled with the realities of both tragedy and hope. When she creates, she wants to tell a story, Surrellle wants you to think about what is happening in an image and find a way to connect with it personally. She loves weaving symbolic details into her artwork, to add to the narrative. She hopes you feel empowered, moved, excited or overwhelmed, and that her artwork speaks to you.

    Van Holmgren was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and raised in central Iowa. He has worked as a professional artist for 10 years and as a full-time artist for the last six. His work has been shown across the United States and as far as London, Australia, Canada, and Brazil. There is a certain visual vibrancy that is consistently seen in his work, be it with color or content. Art is an idea, a way to present a statement to the universe and shout as loud as you can. His work depicts the modern human inevitably confronting and negotiating all of today’s experiences. Actions that have happened, will happen and possibly could happen. Much is the same with Van’s more sculptural work, where he presents the viewer with everyday objects revealing silent intentions, often juxtaposing man-made traps with arrows. He uses smoke in his work to show that humans have been there and have done something to the area. Snakes are often used to depict poisonous people who have no intention to help others than themselves. It is the artist’s job to wade through the muck of society to find truths to present to the viewer.

    Jade Patrick is a photographer and visual storyteller, experienced in art curation and filmmaking. Her lens consistently gravitates towards people; unsung heroes, relationship dynamics, and whimsical explorations of light on humanity. Her short documentary “A Life in Opera” (2021) premiered at the Paris Short Film Festival and received many accolades. She loves to document events and live performances, and special moments for friends and families. She lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and four children.

  2. Art Is For Everyone

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    Art Is For Everyone – Gamut Gallery celebrates a decade of Art and Community in the Twin Cities. Our exhibit features artists Aldair Dosmil, Ash Hane, Barret Lee, Bunny Portia, James Zucco, John Foster, Kristi Abbott, Rodrigo Oñate, Lora Hlavsa, and Urban Camper.


    Gamut Gallery will be closed 6/1 – 6/5 for Independence Day.  You can shop our collections online while we’re away.

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    Gamut Gallery has thoroughly enjoyed a decade of art, music, performance, and collaborations! From our first location in the Handicraft Building to our current home in Elliot Park, the relationship that continues to define our space is the one we share with you every day. As we look forward to another year together, we invite you to join us in celebrating ten years by attending our first summer exhibition of the year: Art is for Everyone!

    As the gallery evolves from one show to the next, the heart of Gamut’s mission remains the same: we believe that art fosters community, and everyone should have access to becoming a collector! In honor of our tenth anniversary, ten of our supporters, from dabblers to devotees, have graciously agreed to lend us one of the pieces that first caught their eyes and captured their hearts. The loaned work will be displayed in tandem with new, original pieces by the corresponding artists. Gamut is delighted to welcome back artists Ash Hane, Barret Lee, Bunny Portia, James Zucco, John Foster, Kristi Abbott, Rodrigo Oñate, Lora Hlavsa, Urban Camper, and 2Mil for this group exhibit. As a special compliment to the month-long retrospective display, portraits captured within the homes of the featured collectors will be on view along with a few words of their own stories that embody Gamut’s mission of bridging artists and their communities to life!

    “Come for the art and stay for the party!” We couldn’t kick off a show as big as this without you!  Join our space on opening night for food and festivities with live music and performances back-to-back.  We can’t wait to celebrate all of our collectors who have supported small businesses and working artists over the past ten years. Whether you have been with us from the very beginning or are among our newest friends, our story begins and ends with you!

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    10-Year Anniversary Party:
    Saturday, June 11th, 2022 // 4 PM – 10PM
    $15 pre-sales available until June 10th
    • $20 at the door, FREE for members
    • Music by Daniel Volovets, Digital Nap, James Patrick & Sassy G 
    • Icy Icy Baby Snowcone Truck
    • Taqueria Victor Hugo Taco Truck
    • Live art by Hibaaq Ibrahim, Evan Weselmann & Jamie Owens
    • Photobooth with Caleb Timmerman 

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    Featured Artist Bios:

    Aldair Dosmil is a Mexican street artist, born in Morelia, Michoacán. He has dedicated his work to the appropriation of urban spaces with murals since 2015. With a varied and eclectic style, he represents through Mexican folklore an iconic character of his work, a personal reinterpretation of the torito de petate dance, one of the most traditional emblems of Morelia.

    Ash Marlene Hane can be found wandering amongst the myths and the stars, greeting the spirits of the animate cosmos, and dancing amongst the northern forests. A student of  *the way of things* she is in tutelage with the Great Mystery and a devotee of the Jovian path. Her current body of work is an intuitive collaboration with Creator, inviting re-enchantment and magic into the eye and heart of the beholder. Ash studied Printmaking and Art history at the U of M and MCAD, co-owner of the former Midnight Brigade Gallery, and creator of TLA Press. Ash Marlene Hane has shown at numerous galleries and is the recipient of an MRAC Next Step Grant. Her practice centers around an ethic of experimentation and is in collaboration with the Nymphs and Muses of creation.

    Barret Lee is a Minnesota-based fine artist and illustrator with a BA in drawing and painting from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) in 2016. Barret is a multidisciplinary artist who works in a range of mediums. He paints a wide variety of subjects, including wide-eyed characters, playful landscapes, and pop culture. 

    As a representational feminist artist working in oils, encaustic, pencil, and video, Bunny Portia examines issues of aging, change, and traditional ideals of female beauty. Her work is based on personal experience and incorporates a retrospective view from her 70-year vantage point. Fifty years ago, Bunny Portia spent the summer of her sophomore year in college stuffed into an impossibly tight-fitting, padded costume, serving drinks and meals to customers who bought into the Playboy myth. Using that experience juxtaposed to her image today, she explores age bias and her experience growing old. Her large Memento Mori skeleton paintings made their debut at Gamut Gallery in 2017.

    James Zucco spent many years creating award-winning work as an art director in advertising.In 2015, he shifted his focus to fine art. His work resides in private collections around the world and was recently featured in New American Paintings. James has also created illustrations for clients including The New York Times, New York Magazine, and Mother Jones.

    Manipulating time and light, John Foster is creating works of art that evoke a visceral response. Through a radical synthesis of poetry and engineering, highly technical feats of geometry leave us with objects that do not appear to have passed through the artist’s hands. Foster draws on sacred geometry to provide the base parameters for an experience that grips viewers, drawing them into the moment with a kaleidoscopic play of color, texture, and rhythm. Colors dance and transform as the eye moves from one perspective to another, generating iridescent figures that metamorphize as viewers move around them.

    Kristi Abbott is an Australian multimedia collage artist. Kristi spent 8 years growing her art business in Minnesota, having her own gallery in downtown Minneapolis for 3 years. She has won several awards and public commissions and her work is collected across the US and Australia. As a collage artist Kristi is fascinated with the use of color, pattern, and texture. She combines these elements in her work in an innovative and exciting way using a combination of papers, paints, and other embellishment materials. Each piece and series is thoughtfully researched and conceptualized to tell a story through the use of familiar imagery richly layered throughout each artwork. She describes her amazing and innovative methods as “painting with paper”. After a year-long art residency in Texas, she has returned to Minnesota, where she looks forward to adding artworks to the previous series as well as creating completely new series and artworks inspired by her life and travels.  

    Lora Hlavsa is a self-described “professional dabbler”. Professionally, she solves creative problems as an art director and designer, but her personal fine art and illustration practice reveals an unconstrained world of color and energy. Inspired by femininity, pop culture, nature, and intersectionality, she uses color, pattern, chaos, and emotion to create multi-dimensional works that reflect the many (and often innocuous) layers of the daily human experience.

    The creation of characters and fantastic worlds is the universe that defines the work of Rodrigo Oñate (Rocodrilo). Originally from the city of Queretaro, Mexico, Roco embarked on his career as a self-taught plastic and graphic artist, influenced by the pop culture of the 80s, comics, graffiti, and various artists representing Mexican art. By extracting himself from his context and looking at it from the outside, he found a better appreciation and understanding of Latin American culture, thus conceiving a style with a contemporary and modern vision of Latino folklore, mixing techniques that since his career has gained great relevance as in graffiti or pop art.

    Urban Camper is a Minnesota-based photographer who primarily documents street art and graffiti. His focus is to give some permanence to a generally ephemeral art form. With the same sense of documenting a moment in time, Urban Camper journals life experiences with his camera.

  3. Elliot Park Art Walk

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    Celebrate a summer day with amazing local art, laughs & local Twin Cities makers!

    Experience historic Elliot Park neighborhood through a comedian-led tour from Theater of Public Policy. Learn fun facts about the neighborhood, check out historic landmarks, and explore exclusive promotions and experiences in the Elliot Park Arts Quarter featuring Gamut Gallery, Kristi Abbott Art, Fades Of Gray Inc. Bee Ink Tattoo, Rose Salon, Bandbox Diner & FINNEGANS Brewery. Enjoy a pop-up makers market at Gamut featuring Las Ranas Jewelry, Made in Mpls, Thraxis Threads & Cross Stitches by Juliana!

    Join us for an evening of celebrating the incredible art here in the Twin Cities and the Elliot Park neighborhood! Stay tuned to the Elliot Park Arts Quarter Facebook Page for details!

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    ELLIOT PARK ART WALK
    Saturday, August 15th // 1-4pm • FREE
    Party begins at Finnegans 1pm
    Tour times at 1:30pm, 2:30 pm & 3:30pm
    Return to FINNEGANS for live painting by Reggie LeFlore

    RSVP today, 8 spots available per time slot • Face Masks Required
    To RSVP, purchase a Free ticket via Gamut Gallery’s online shop.

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  4. ART POP!

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    The Elliot Park Arts Quarter is proud to announce the inaugural ART POP! Block Party, set for September 2019!

    The ART POP! Block Party is a full day event for all ages celebrating the dynamic artists, creatives, and small business owners living, working, and thriving in one of Minneapolis’s most historic neighborhoods, Elliot Park. ART POP! Block Party will feature live painting, food trucks and brews, local vendors in a pop-up art market, and interactive activities up from one end of the block to the other.

    This year neighboring independent businesses located on South 10th Street came together to create the Elliot Park Arts Quarter (EPAQ). In partnership with the Elliot Park Neighborhood (EPNI), EPAQ was awarded funding by the Great Streets Business District Support Program. With that funding, EPAQ is proud to host the inaugural ART POP! Block Party on Saturday, September 21st, 2019 from noon – 6pm. For the first time ever in east downtown, the intersection of 10th Street & Centennial Place will be filled with music, dancing, food, and a live-art showcase reflective of the diverse and growing Elliot Park community. 

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    You won’t want to miss this celebration!
    Saturday September 21st
    Noon – 6pm • FREE • All Ages

    For the comfort of others, please no animals allowed
    This event is being co-hosted by the Elliot Park,  Neighborhood (EPNI) , Gamut GalleryKristi Abbott Art, Fades Of Gray Inc., Bee Ink, Rose SalonBand Box Diner, and The Theatre of Public Policy.

    – Live Performances by Sarah White, Al Church, 26 Bats, Craig Clark Band, Somali Museum Dance Troupe, & Mickey Breeze
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    Live Art by Anton Horishnyk and Martzia Thometz
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    Interactive Art Displays by Mary Jane Mansfield and Kristi Abbott, plus Colab Creation Station by Gamut Gallery
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    Historical Art Walk Tours by the playful members of the Theater of Public Policy
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    Pop-up Art Market with local artists vendors selling work along the street
    – Beer Garden hosted by FINNEGANS Brewery and Erik the Red benefitting FINNEGANS Community Fund–donating 100% of its profits to hunger relief charities.
    Food Trucks and featured eats by Band Box Diner

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    HISTORY OF ELLIOT PARK & THE ARTS QUARTER
    Nestled at the edge of downtown, the Elliot Park neighborhood is one of Minneapolis’ oldest and most historic neighborhoods. Located adjacent to U.S. Bank Stadium, the neighborhood hosts  an abundance of historical architecture and well-known establishments including Bandbox Diner, HCMC, The Armory, 9th Street Historic District, Hinkle Murphy Mansion, and the Elliot Park greenspace. More than just a neighborhood—it’s also an arts and community hub to the Elliot Park Arts Quarter (EPAQ). EPAQ consists of locally owned small businesses including Gamut Gallery, Fades Of Gray Inc., Kristi Abbott Art, Band Box Diner, Bee Ink, Rose Salon, and with support from The Theater of Public Policy ,and  Finnegans Brewery

    Thank you to all of our sponsors: Drexel Apartments, Hennepin Healthcare, Sherwin Williams, Portland Tower, Clear Channel, Speed Pro Printing, Green Rock Apartments, North Central University, Life Center, Weidner Apartment Homes, and The City of Minneapolis Greater Street Grant.

  5. 7 Warrior Women Artist Panel Talk

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    The three main contributing artists to the “7 Warrior Women” exhibition will join together to discuss their inspirations and collaborative process.

    Pushing the boundaries of her technique and subject matter, Kristi Abbott led a group of local artists to create a collection of works that center around seven imagined and embodied figures—women from each of the Earth’s seven continents. These mystical and bold feminine characters represent the strength and energy of women around the world and across time. Imagined through costumes, photographs, paintings, world maps, and other elements, carry certain cultural markers distinctive to their geography and heritage, but their power and beauty speak universally to the essence of the feminine.

    Abbott, a native to Australia, carefully forms intricate portraits out of varying types and textures of paper for her collage work. Her portraits are often embedded with hidden images, “small secrets” relating back to some part of the personality or biography of the individual, unlocking their story one detail at a time.

    Negishi, a Japanese mural artist who works with traditional and contemporary imageries, created the spray painted backdrops for each piece, as well as several smaller complimentary pieces that will be presented alongside the seven warriors.

    Epperson is a tattoo artist, painter, and maker, who contributed to the exhibition through her tattoo-like body paintings adorning each warrior, and created the headdresses and face paint worn by several of the women. Negishi and Epperson work in a similar way to Abbott, drawing on narrative and conducting thorough research that serves to inform their flowing, energetic images.[/bscolumns]

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    7 Warrior Women Artist Panel Talk
    We’re calling this a SNOW-DAY after all! This event has been canceled and the gallery will be CLOSED for the day. Safety is most important. Stay tuned though, we are working behind the scenes to launch a podcast where curators and artists can go more in depth about the exhibits.

    #7WarriorWomen will be on display for one more week with open hours on Thursday, Friday and Saturday 1-7pm, and is available online:https://gamutgallerympls.com/shop/current-exhibition/

    Featuring Kristi Abbott, Yuya Negishi, and Sarah Epperson
    Moderated by Jade Patrick
    Photos by Patrick Clancy Photography

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  6. 7 Warrior Women

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    Gamut Gallery is pleased to announce a collaborative exhibition, 7 Warrior Women, produced by artist Kristi Abbott opening on March 31, 2018.

    Inspired to push the boundaries of her technique and subject matter, Abbott led a group of local artists to create a collection of works that center around seven imagined and embodied figures—women from each of the Earth’s seven continents. These mystical and bold feminine characters represent the strength and energy of women around the world and across time. These figures, imagined through costume elements, photographs, paintings, world maps, and other elements, carry certain cultural markers distinctive to their geography and heritage, but their power and beauty speak universally to the essence of the feminine.

    Abbott, a native to Australia, carefully forms intricate portraits out of varying types and textures of paper for her collage work. Her portraits are often embedded with hidden images, “small secrets” relating back to some part of the personality or biography of the individual, unlocking their story one detail at a time. Contributing artists include Yuya Negishi, Sarah Epperson, RJ Kern, Kada of Artful Eclectic, and six local models. Negishi, a Japanese mural artist who works with traditional and contemporary imageries, created the spray painted backdrops for each piece, as well as several smaller complimentary pieces that will be presented alongside the seven warriors. Epperson is a tattoo artist, painter, and maker, who contributed to the exhibition through her tattoo-like body paintings adorning each warrior, and created the headdresses and face paint worn by several of the women.

    Negishi and Epperson work in a similar way to Abbott, drawing on narrative and conducting thorough research that serves to inform their flowing, energetic images. Kern, a fine art photographer, skillfully captured the essence of strength in the seven warrior women who were directed by Abbott at a recent photo shoot for the project, while Kada translated Abbott’s concepts through makeup and body paint containing iconic imagery on several of the women for the shoot. Those images served as a building block in the creation of the collages, one of the many layers and steps in a thoughtfully choreographed process. The final result is a powerful body of work that illustrates Abbott’s exceptional talent with this dynamic and fresh approach to collage art and collaboration.

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    EXHIBIT OPENING 
    Saturday, March 31st, 7-11pm
    $5 admission // FREE with Gamut Gallery Membership

    ARTIST TALK 
    Saturday, April 14th, 2-4pm, FREE
    Learn more about the process of creating 7 Warrior Women from Kristi Abbott, along with contributing artists Yuya Negishi and Sarah Epperson.


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