The Duluth Art Institute has announced "The Young and the Restless," an exhibit by some of the young artists working in the region.
The institute says the exhibit will be an excellent chance for collectors to invest in the future of our arts community.
It includes the following artists:
- Ben Boylan was born in Moose Lake and grew up in Finlayson. He received a BFA in painting from the University of Wisconsin-Superior and is currently living in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Duluth. He exhibits his work regularly in Duluth and in the Twin Cities.
- Sarah M. Brokke was raised in Grand Forks, N.D. She earned her BFA in pre-graduate studio art from the University of Minnesota Duluth in 2002. In 2004, she graduated with her MFA in painting from a joint program run by the Studio Art Centers International in Florence, Italy, and Bowling Green University in Ohio. She lives in Duluth.
- Cassandra Carlson-Vergona was born and raised in Cloquet and attended the Rudy and Lola Perpich High School for the Arts in Golden Valley. Carlson-Vergona received her BFA in painting from the University of Minnesota Duluth.
- Eric Dubnicka is originally from Cameron, a small community in northwest Wisconsin. After five years in Alaska working for the Forest Service he enrolled at the College of Visual Arts in St. Paul. In 2002, after receiving his BFA, he moved to Duluth to focus on his artwork.
- David Everett was born and raised in Duluth. He received a BFA in pre-graduate studio art from the University of Minnesota Duluth in 2001. He has participated in several exhibitions of his work, most notably a solo exhibit at Mezera Fine Arts Knife River in 2004
- Sarah Hiemer was born and raised in Duluth. Her arts education was primarily gained through watching her mother paint. Hiemer's work ranges from dreamlike figurative paintings to poster and CD covers for local bands. Hiemer authored and drew a cartoon strip that ran weekly in the Ripsaw. In addition, Hiemer has organized exhibits such as the recent Dia-rama-rama exhibit in Duluth.
- Bridget Riversmith is a Duluth native and a self-taught outsider artist and illustrator. Her artwork has been described as cathartic, edgy and tapping "into the whimsy and child-like quality in all of us." The work is rendered in brightly colored water-based paints, pen and ink, and mixed media. Though not ambidextrous, she paints and draws using both hands.
- Mavis Farr grew up near Detroit. Farr studied art from her great-grandfather, at Wayne State University and Oakland University. Farr received her bachelor's degree from the College of Saint Scholastica. Farr exhibits regularly in Duluth and in the Twin Cities.
- Robert Pokorney grew up in Duluth on Park Point and graduated from Colorado College in 1999 with a degree in art history. He is currently finishing a French language degree in Paris.
- Letisha Rice was born and raised in Washburn, Wis. Rice is working on her degree in funeral science from the University of Minnesota Duluth. Rice staged a solo exhibit of her paintings at Pizza Luce in Duluth in the fall of 2004.
- Andrew Witrak was born in Rochester and grew up in Duluth. He graduated from St. Olaf College in 2000 with a degree and distinction in studio art. He worked in New York City for the next four years under the sculptor Tom Otterness. He now lives and works between Paris, France, and Duluth, where he is working as head art director for Superior Freshwater Surfboards.
- Adeline Wright is a native Duluthian. Wright attended the Rudy and Lola Perpich High School for the Arts in Golden Valley. She is the owner of Adeline & Co., a hair salon. Wright is an art patron. Wright curates exhibits at her salon by local artists and artists from all over the world.
- Pablo Pacheco was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He came to Duluth in 1988. He has taken basic art classes through high school and other private courses in Puerto Rico and New York City.
"The Young and the Restless" opened May 5 and runs through Aug. 7. A dialogue with the artists is set for May 12 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. The show is in the George Morrison Gallery at the Art Institute's Depot space.
