Tag Archive: solo exhibit

  1. Earth’s Alchemy Artist Talk

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    Saturday, February 19th
    Earth’s Alchemy Artist Talk featuring Rock Johsen – moderated by Cassie Garner, Director of Gamut Gallery & Ceramicist Carter Casmaer.

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    We invite you to start your day out with Rock’s two favorite things; art & science. Join us for a conversation with exhibiting solo artist, Rock Johnsen, moderator Cassie Garner & Ceramicist Carter Casmaer. Listening to Rock Johnsen engage with patrons that came to his exhibiting opening left the room with an overall feeling of awe. Rock’s passion for science and art combined for the ultimate experience our all attendees. We guarantee you will not want to miss the opportunity to listen to Rock dive into his biggest project to date. This will be a limited capacity event and we recommend getting your presale to reserve your seat.

    Earth’s Alchemy has turned Gamut Gallery into a transcendent winter-scaped wonderland. Just like no two snowflakes are alike, each piece featured in this exhibit is one of a kind, inspiring us to remember science in everyday life and its inherent influence on societal progress and inclusivity. Rock’s work represents the certainty of constant evolution at an atomic level, the diversity that stems from these atomic interactions, and their eventual influence on our collective appreciation and interest in expressing ourselves through art.

    Learn more about Earth’s Alchemy: www.gamutgallerympls.com

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    ARTIST TALK
    Saturday, February 19th, 2022 • 10am
    Moderated by Cassie Garner, Director of Gamut Gallery & Ceramicist Carter Casmaer, followed by open Q & A

    • 30 person limited capacity event
    • FREE pre-sales available and recommended
    • All tickets are will-call at the door
    • Masks required indoors
    • This event is FREE in thanks to the Artist Initiative grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board

    MN State Board Art Grant.
    Rock Johnsen is a fiscal year 2021 recipient of an Artist Initiative grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.[/bscolumns][bscolumns class=”clear”][/bscolumns][bscolumns class=”one_half”]

    Rock Johnsen is a scientist and potter living in Minneapolis, MN who grew up in Kansas and Missouri. He obtained a Bachelor’s degree from Pittsburgh University in studio arts with a focus on ceramics and chemistry. Rock’s work explores concepts of duality that he has been perpetually confronted with growing up as a queer person of mixed race in the United States. He uses human anatomy and creatures to examine our comfort level with functional items and also explores the links between chemistry and geology in ceramic glaze.

    His unique crystal growing process is really the recreation of an environment. Rock uses a kiln to simulate the earth’s mantle. Over several hours, between 1800-2200 degrees Fahrenheit, the mixture of basic elements transition to a liquid state. While the vessel’s surface is still fluid, zinc and silica atoms attract one another due to their natural polarities, migrating through the liquid to form larger molecules. With each new piece, Rock mimics environmental conditions by making slight adjustments to the temperature and holding times of the ceramic media; the chemical properties of each element emerge from the crystal solution as the final size, shape, and reflection of each piece becomes an individual representation of material science.

    Carter Casmaer is a Doctor by day and ceramicist by night. He first learned ceramics in his hometown of St. Louis and has ten years of experience working with clay. He aims to make beautiful, functional, affordable pieces that are a pleasure to interact with one’s daily life.

    Cassie Garner is a graphic designer, art curator, and gallerist living and working in Minneapolis. A founder of Gamut Gallery, Cass began as a graphic designer and has grown with the gallery over time. Three years into business when the gallery was forced to relocate, she joined the ownership team and became the gallery manager where she applied her many years of retail and customer service experience. In the spring of 2018, Cass transitioned into the role of Gallery Director and now leads operations and project management for exhibitions and events. Her other passions include collecting art, dancing, making connections, and spending time in her Southside home.

  2. Earth’s Alchemy – Featuring Rock Johnsen

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    Exhibition Extended through Saturday, March 5th, 2022!

    February 4th – March 5th, 2022 // Rock Johnsen solo exhibition exploring the periodic table through his custom ceramic glazes.

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    With the new year in full swing, the transformative power of winter in the Twin Cities sets the stage for Gamut Gallery’s first show of 2022: Earth’s Alchemy.  We are thrilled to host Minnesota State Arts Board recipient, Rock Johnsen, who shares his passion for chemistry and geology in his first solo gallery exhibition.

    Through his experimental glazing methods, the distinctive and delicate crystal structure highlighted in Rock’s body of work evokes the familiarity of ice cracking under the weight of heavy-soled snow boots this February.  From everyday objects like plates, mugs and bowls to his larger-than-life periodic table installation, Rock explores the intersection of art and science by way of the earth’s rare elements and his pottery wheel.  In doing so, he shows us that elements can interact with one another within the confines of solid and functional objects.

    Just like no two snowflakes are alike, each piece featured in this exhibit is one of a kind, inspiring us to remember science in everyday life and its inherent influence on societal progress and inclusivity.  Rock’s work represents the certainty of constant evolution at an atomic level, the diversity that stems from these atomic interactions, and their eventual influence on our collective appreciation and interest in expressing ourselves through art.

    MN State Board Art Grant.
    Rock Johnsen is a fiscal year 2021 recipient of an Artist Initiative grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund. [/bscolumns][bscolumns class=”one_half_last_clear”]

    MEMBERS ONLY PREVIEW NIGHT
    Thursday, February 3rd, 2022 // 6-9pm
    Meet & greet with Rock Johnsen
    • This event is for Gamut Gallery Members, become a Member today!

    PUBLIC OPENING & ARTIST BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION
    Friday, February 4th, 2022 // 6-9pm
    • This event is FREE in thanks to the Artist Initiative grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board
    • Limited 30 person capacity
    • FREE pre-sales available & recommended
    • Masks required indoors

    ARTIST TALK
    Saturday, February 19th, 2022 // 10AM
    Moderated by Cassie Garner
    • This event is FREE in thanks to Artist Initiative grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board
    • Masks required indoors
    • Coffee & treats provided[/bscolumns][bscolumns class=”clear”][/bscolumns]

    Rock Johnsen is a scientist and potter living in Minneapolis, MN who grew up in Kansas and Missouri. He obtained a Bachelor’s degree from Pittsburgh University in studio arts with a focus on ceramics and chemistry. Rock’s work explores concepts of duality that he has been perpetually confronted with growing up as a queer person of mixed race in the United States. He uses human anatomy and creatures to examine our comfort level with functional items and also explores the links between chemistry and geology in ceramic glaze. 

    His unique crystal growing process is really the recreation of an environment. Rock uses a kiln to simulate the earth’s mantle. Over several hours, between 1800-2200 degrees Fahrenheit, the mixture of basic elements transition to a liquid state. While the vessel’s surface is still fluid, zinc and silica atoms attract one another due to their natural polarities, migrating through the liquid to form larger molecules. With each new piece, Rock mimics environmental conditions by making slight adjustments to the temperature and holding times of the ceramic media; the chemical properties of each element emerge from the crystal solution as the final size, shape, and reflection of each piece becomes an individual representation of material science.

  3. Setting The Groundwork

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    May 29 – June 26, 2021
    Setting the Groundwork– a solo exhibition by Reggie LeFlore exploring his take on the multidimensional elements of creating, storytelling, and relationships with space and time.

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    A city is constructed for utilitarian purposes but for many artists, it is an eternal canvas or stage that, when used correctly, has the ability to stimulate dialogue within communities and abroad. Reggie LeFlore’s solo exhibition, Setting the Groundwork, incorporates his awareness of and appreciation for the multifaceted perspectives and practices of art in the public sphere to interrogate the power of space in the built environment and its connections to the natural world. 

    Informed by his everyday interactions and collaborations with folks in the community, organizers, graffiti writers, curators, and fellow artists, LeFlore’s work embraces the nuances and complexities of street art, guiding him throughout his creative projects. While Reggie primarily uses spray paint and hand-cut stencils to create vivid, large-scale portraits and imagery, intentionality and subjectivity, unconditional to medium, provide him the space to examine the various layers of identity and legacy of cultural abundance. Boundless to the constraints and aesthetic expectations, Setting the Groundwork showcases LeFlore’s exploration of storytelling and the strength and healing that comes from sharing our ancestry and honoring it. 

    Setting the Groundwork is Reggie LeFlore’s visual autobiography. Through the use of six portraits, each representing a different chapter of creativity in his life, viewers will have the opportunity to get a look into his inspirations as a child and to his collaborations across his life, highlighting his connections to community and the environments that surround it. Each foundational portrait represents a piece of LeFlore’s methodology, supported with elements containing his past, future and his current bookmark resounding on identity, afrocentricity and purpose. These experiences and influences create a larger than life, bold, vibrant story; a mural per se of his life, from his roots in Omaha to his life in Minneapolis.[/bscolumns]

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    Members Only & Press Preview Night:
    Friday, May 28th  // 6-9pm
    A VIP Preview Night for Gamut Gallery Members:
    become a member today!!
    – Existing Members RSVP for FREE
    – 45 minute reserved tour sessions
    – 20 visitors per tour
    – Masks required
    – Please stay home if you are feeling unwell

    Public Opening Night:
    Saturday, May 29th  // 6-10pm • $7
    – 45 minute reserved tour sessions
    – Pre-sale tickets required
    – 20 visitors per tour
    – Masks required
    – Please stay home if you are feeling unwell

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    ABOUT REGGIE LEFLORE
    Reggie LeFlore is a visual artist who creates to praise individual and collective stories through human portraiture.  His inspirations are drawn from the concepts and philosophies of Street Art culture and Illustration – using aerosol, acrylic paint and various graphic design techniques to construct pieces in varying styles, scales and surfaces. Reggie uses visual arts to amplify both his surrounding environments and the narratives contained within them.

  4. If These Walls Could Talk

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    ITWCT_Fbcoverphoto
    MINNEAPOLIS – Saturday, May 10, 2014, 7:00-11:00 p.m. is the opening reception for “If These Walls Could Talk;” the exhibit runs through May 31. Danger, hands-on history, extreme sportsmanship, discovery, an artistic process; Urban Exploring combines these elements into one subversive passion. However, when you ask photographer Cameren Torgerud why he continues to explore early and mid-century American ruins, he alludes to reasons that can’t be pinned down. He has captured some of the rarest images a local digital photographer has unveiled, including subjects since demolished. Still, neither documentation or his resulting art define his expeditions; he counters: “sometimes I don’t even bring my camera.” At Gamut Gallery, Torgerud takes a departure from recent light painting exhibitions, to debut these photographs of abandoned structures. The series chronicles five years of voyages into forgotten spaces locally and in tumbled-down parts of towns across the country.

    Torgerud’s photographs allow the eyes to move around these spaces as if actually there, illuminating more than the focal point to explore. His use of High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging goes beyond a basic enhancement. He applies the technique to retain essential details that would otherwise be lost to the constraints of each abandoned building’s natural light. ”Forgotten Theater” takes the viewer inside an abandoned school, draped in construction materials so aged that they are incrementally peeling from the ceiling and walls. There is a peaceful, cathedral-like effect in the still decipherable assembly hall stage, lit by bars of trespassing sunlight. Despite the meditative hold of the series, a trace of violence co-exists in the slow-motion disintegration of these abandoned stomping grounds.

    Cameren Torgerud aka “Light The Underground” was raised in a family of photographers. He studies photography and digital imaging at the Minneapolis Community and Technical College (MCTC) and works as a freelance photographer. He has shown artwork consistently over the last three years at local galleries and other establishments, and has been published in several periodicals. His started making a name for himself experimenting with long-exposure light painting on urban exploring trips into buildings, sewers and caves. Torgerud’s freelance business has evolved to include portrait photography, with experience in weddings, engagements and graduation photos. He plans trips around urban exploring frequently, and has treasures like abandoned jailhouse keys to show for it.