The Fine Arts Exhibit is always a popular attraction during the Minnesota State Fair. With many more submissions than gallery space, the competition is tough. Congratulations to all of the artists who were selected to be a part of the show. This year, 2834 entries were received and only 337 were accepted into the show. The spectacular show featured more than 30 artists with ties to the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District, eight of them winning awards. Three out of the eight judges also have affiliations: sculpture Dennis Kalow, drawing/pastel Jo Ann Hendricks and printmaking Ingrid Restemayer.
In the Oil/Acrylic/Mixed Media category “This is Fine” by Russ White won 3rd place and “Socialite” by Mat Ollig won honorable mention. Other artists in this category include: Nelson Anderson, Leslie Barlow, Shelly Beaumont, Megan Bell, Suzann Beck, Jeffrey Gauss, Brendan Kramp, Ava Lambert, Kendall Laurent, Cara O’Connell, Dyan Padgett, Mark Peterson, R!sha, Seangarrison, and Surelle Strike,
Sculpture category artists include: S Catrin Magnusson and Jodi Reeb.
Suzanne Shaff won 3rd place for “Root Vegetables” while Donald Aggerbeck won honorable mention in the Watercolor/Gouache/Casein/Tempera category.
Cory Favre won 2nd place for “Time to Pretend” in the Drawing/Pastel category. Joyce Lyon was also included in this category.
Printmaking selected artists include: Amy Rice, Melissa Sisk, and Brian Wagner.
Judith Yourman was awarded honorable mention for “les Demoiselles in the Ceramics/Glass category.
In the photography category, Steve Ozone and Christopher Selleck both won an honorable mention. Other. artists include Michael Anderson and Howard Christopherson.
Studio Here artists with ties to the District include: Sanjukta Mitra on August 23 and Jeffrey Gauss on August 26. Studio Here is a special exhibition that provides a window into the practice of 12 Minnesota artists. Each selected artist spent 12 hours in the Fine Arts Building creating art and giving the public a glimpse into their artistic process.
Congratulations to all artists who were a part of this incredible show! Click here to view all the art in this year’s show. Apologies to anyone local who may have been left out of the list. Please contact us if we missed your name. To read a great Star Tribune article about the art in the fair this year by Alica Eler, click here.
Article and On-site Photos by Lisa Roy