New Carleton Gallery Exhibit Features Faculty Artists’ Perspective on the Outdoors

The work of Carleton College art faculty members Dan Bruggeman, Kelly Connole, Fred Hagstrom, David Lefkowitz, Stephen Mohring, and Linda Rossi is highlighted in a new exhibit opening Friday, April 3. Entitled “Natural Resourcery,” the collection reflects each artist’s exploration of nature and culture in their work. Western culture both romanticizes nature and exploits its resources. Americans love to “escape” to the woods, but hate bears, bugs, weeds, and other “pests.” Featuring drawings, paintings, photographs, and sculpture—“Natural Resourcery” confronts our paradoxical relationship with the natural world.

The opening reception is Friday, April 3, from 7 to 9 p.m., with remarks by the artists beginning at 7:30 p.m. A fun way to celebrate spring, this event is free and open to the public.

mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana;color:#0D0804">Dan Bruggeman, senior lecturer in art, teaches observational and figure drawing. His own work reflects an interest in the portrayal of natures complexity and the challenge of presenting a whole comprised of parts belonging to different dimensions. Bruggeman has recently exhibited his paintings and dioramas at Groveland Gallery in Minneapolis and Bridgewater, Lustberg, Blumenfeld Gallery in New York. His work can be found in public and private collections including The Minnesota Historical Society. He has also received McKnight, NEA and Minnesota State Arts Board fellowships.

mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana;color:#0D0804"> 

mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana;color:#0D0804">Kelly Connole, assistant professor of art, teaches ceramics and metalsmithing. A story teller by nature, Connole uses clay to examines relationships between humans, their environment, and other creatures. Her work has been exhibited nationally and has received numerous awards including a McKnight Residency and a Jerome Foundation Project Grant. She serves on the board of directors for Northern Clay Center, a non-profit arts organization committed to advancement of the ceramic arts.

mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana;color:#0D0804"> 

mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana;color:#0D0804">Fred Hagstrom, professor of art, teaches printmaking, drawing, art and narrative, and artist's books. After earning his B.A. from Hamline University, he studied with S.W. Hayter at Atelier 17, Paris. He works in a wide variety of media, with an emphasis on intaglio and woodblock prints. Examples of his work can be found in the Groveland Gallery, http://www.artsmia.org and http://www.walkerart.org, and he has exhibited in national and international competitive exhibitions. He has also received http://www.mcknight.org and http://www.blandinfoundation.org Fellowships.

mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana;color:#00478D">David Lefkowitz Verdana;color:#0D0804">, associate professor art, teaches painting, drawing and the Jr. Seminar: Critical Issues in Contemporary Art. In his own work, Lefkowitz combines Western traditions of representational oil painting with the flotsam and jetsam of consumer culture to draw attention to the complex relations between image and object, past and present, and nature and culture. His work can be found in the collections of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, the Miami Art Museum, and The Langen Foundation in Neuss, Germany. He is represented in New York by DCKT Contemporary, in Minneapolis by Thomas Barry Fine Arts and in Chicago by the Carrie Secrist Gallery .

mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana;color:#0D0804"> 

mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana;color:#0D0804">Stephen Mohring, associate professor art, teaches sculpture, woodworking, and critical theory. His artwork uses steam-bent wood, laminated wood, steel, medical imagery, video and robotics to explore systems of physical transformation. Stephen also works as the resident set designer for Ten Thousand Things Theater Company. His work has been exhibited nationally, internationally, and has received numerous awards. He helped found and serves on the advisory board for The Soap Factory, a Twin Cities nonprofit organization that supports emerging artists, and is an occasional contributing writer on contemporary visual arts issues for Rain Taxi Review of Books.

mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana;color:#0D0804"> 

mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana;color:#0D0804">Linda Rossi, associate professor art, teaches photography, digital photography and the Junior Seminar Critical Issues in Contemporary Art. Her work is primarily in large-scale photo installation including video and sculpture to illuminate both historical and current issues. She has received numerous Jerome, McKnight and Minnesota State Arts grants. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally including the Strogonvo Palace, Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia and the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art in Iran. color:black">

“Natural Resourcery” will be on exhibit through May 9, 2009. The Carleton College Art Gallery is located near First and Winona Streets in Northfield, in the lower level of the Music and Drama Center on the Carleton College campus. The gallery is open Monday through Wednesday, noon to 6 p.m.; Thursday and Friday, noon to 10 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. For more information on the exhibit, the lectures, or for disability accommodations, call the Carleton Art Gallery at (507) 222-4342 or visit www.carleton.edu/campus/gallery.