Between Worlds at Artistry (Bloomington Center for the Arts, MN)

Dancer, acrylic/graphite, 12w x 16h x 1.5d”, 2019, $550 (SOLD)

Join exhibiting artists Karen Brown, Jennifer Davis, and DC Ice for their newest exhibition, 

"Between Worlds"; a fun and wily visual journey where the line between the human and animal worlds becomes blurred. 

Artistry at Bloomington Center for the Arts in Bloomington, MN

April 5th - May 3rd, 2019.

(The theme of the show is "Anthropomorphism"- the attribution of human characteristics or behavior to a god, animal, or object.)

Inquiries: rdaly@artistrymn.org

Bug, acrylic/graphite, 12w x 16h x 1.5d”, 2019, $550

Night Flower, acrylic/graphite, 24w x 30h x 1.5d”, 2019, $2000

Pants, acrylic/graphite, 12w x 16h x 1.5d”, 2019, $550

Mindful, acrylic/charcoal/graphite, 12w x 16h x 1.5d”, 2019, $550

Top Dog, acrylic/graphite, 12w x 16h x 1.5d”, 2019, $550

Shy, acrylic/graphite, 12w x 16h x 1.5d”, 201, $550 (SOLD)

Eat, acrylic/charcoal/graphite, 12w x 16h x 1.5d”, 2019, $550 (SOLD)

Moth, acrylic/charcoal/graphite, 24w x 30h x 1.5d”, 2019, $2000

Dog, acrylic/graphite, 24w x 30h x 1.5d”, 2019, $2000

Poodle, acrylic/graphite, 12w x 16h x 1.5d”, 2018, $550

Pussycat, acrylic/charcoal/graphite, 12w x 16h x 1.5d”, 2018, $550

Rainbow, acrylic/graphite, 12w x 16h x 1.5d”, 2019, $550 (SOLD)

Song, acrylic/charcoal/graphite, 12w x 16h x 1.5d”, 2019, $550

Wings, acrylic/graphite, 12w x 16h x 1.5d”, 2019, $550

Welcome, acrylic/graphite, 12w x 16h x 1.5d”, 2019, $550

Good Dog, acrylic/graphite, 12w x 16h x 1.5d”, 2018, $550

Pact, acrylic/graphite, 12w x 16h x 1.5d”, 2018, $550

The following three paintings from the series were edited from the show but they are available via my Etsy shop (links below) and are now hanging on the wall at Barbette in Mpls:

Juggler, acrylic/graphite, 12w x 16h x 1.5d”, 2019, $550

Ice Cream, acrylic/charcoal/graphite, 12w x 16h x 1.5d”, 2019, $550

Blueberry, acrylic/charcoal/graphite, 12w x 16h x 1.5d”, 2019, $550

All of the paintings in my studio before the show.

My studio looks sad and lonely now. Back to work!

I don't normally make sketches before I paint but because I had just over a month to create this show, I did. It helped me organize my thoughts. I'm thinking of making these into little coloring books...

 Sketches taped to my studio wall.

"Humans have always been fascinated by animals. Between Worlds celebrates and explores that attraction through art. Exhibiting artists Karen Brown, Jennifer Davis, and DC Ice each incorporate anthropomorphism in their artwork; attributing human traits to animals. Although they may have different motivations, all three artists appreciate the story telling, complexity, and freedom that arises with personified characters.

For Karen Brown, her spiritual connection to the natural world fuels her interest in learning the life lessons that animals provide and how they might help us to better understand our own feelings through transformation, enlightenment and wisdom. “My sculptures create a…magical place somewhere between reality and the dream world, between childhood and adulthood, between animal and human.”

The intricate paintings by Jennifer Davis also reside on the edge of reality and provide a narrative quality that explores a fantastical universe full of strange planets, transmuted species and surreal situations. Unlike Brown, Davis isn’t seeking answers. In fact, her paintings may leave one with more questions to ponder than solutions. “Every day my invented language of symbols grows, repeats and changes. My paintings are not meant to be didactic, rather to read like pages torn from a strange storybook full of narrative quandaries and engaging puzzles.”

DC Ice’s illustrative stories on scratchboard have become an outlet for her and a safe place to store honest feelings and a full range of emotions from grief to joy (sometimes in the same painting). The animal characters help provide this type of complexity as well as the ability to strip away some of the unnecessary weight of human preconceptions. “I like creating animals with human attributes because I can capture a clearer sense of human emotion without the viewer’s vision being clouded with stereotypes or unconscious prejudices. 

- Camille LeFevre”