I love searching out local artists and artisans. Even though too often I have to covet rather than buy their work, at least I get to share some of it with you. The most impressive collection I’ve seen: the one that belongs to Fox 9 news anchor Robyne Robinson. Shortly after we photographed and published her art-filled home, Robyne came up with the idea of an exhibition that explores the relationship between artist and art patron. Being Robyne, she made it happen. She and co-curator Yuri Arajs of Placement Gallery selected 12 Minnesota artists from her collection and asked each to exhibit two new works at “Buy/Collect: Arts Patronage in Minnesota.” The show opens this weekend at Bookmen Stacks in the North Loop (a location intentionally chosen to represent a Twin Cities neighborhood that attracts emerging art patrons) Midwest Home magazine is one of the show’s sponsors, so join us to see ground-breaking pieces from some of our favorite local artists. And if you think “arts patron” is a relic from the Renaissance, learn otherwise later this month through panel discussions that will examine the role of the patron, the contemporary art market in Minnesota, and much more.
ABOVE: Aesthetic Apparatus. BELOW, LEFT: Amy Rice. BELOW, RIGHT: “Pisces Rising” by Al Wadzinski.
ABOVE: Erica Rassmuson.