Minot State University
01/15/2025 | News release | Distributed by Public on 01/15/2025 12:37
Contemporary works on paper at Minot State University
MINOT, N.D. - The Northwest Arts Center at Minot State University is showcasing a diverse selection of contemporary art and a solo exhibit by an internationally recognized Midwest artist to kick off the new year beginning Jan. 9.
"INT'L Paperworks 2025" is the 53rd annual juried art competition sponsored by the Northwest Arts Center. The program was founded to enhance the visual arts experiences of students, the campus, and the regional art community and to build a teaching fine art collection. The exhibitions attract excellence in contemporary art each year.
Featuring 39 artworks by 32 artists from around the U.S., artworks on or constructed of paper are the focus of the show. In addition to paintings, prints, photography, and drawings, the exhibit contains several pieces incorporating handmade and cut paper techniques.
The juror for 2025 is Michael Reedy, an artist and Professor at Eastern Michigan University's School of Art and Design. His work has been included in over 250 national and international exhibitions and featured in over 40 books and journals, including "Hi-Fructose," "Juxtapoze," "Spectrum," and "Fresh Paint." Reedy was also recently featured in Create Magazine, Creative Quarterly, The Moleskine Project Vol. 2 (Spoke Art), and Manifest Gallery's 15th International Drawing Annual.
In "Extraordinarily Ordinary," Reedy explores anatomical illustration as reminders of the physical nature of our existence, its vulnerability and mortality. Drawing on the history of medical illustration to convey moral lessons as well as inform and amaze, his goal is to reorient sterile modern medical imaging within this framework of Memento mori to serve as reminders and warnings of death. The resulting drawings also incorporate antagonistic cherubs, apocalyptic hordes, floating brains, more geometric alien landscapes, cascading vortexes, and hypno-spirals.
"My hope is to transport the viewer to another plane and space infused with a sense of scientific aura, moral lesson, and morbid entertainment," states Reedy. "This point of tension between hope and despair, humor and pain, and living and dying is infinitely interesting to me - and represents my mindset every time I look in the mirror and see another grey hair."
A public reception and online viewing of "INT'L Paperworks 2025" with the juror will be held on Thursday, Jan. 23, from 6:30-8 p.m. Reedy will be giving a juror's talk at 7 p.m. with an awards presentation to follow. Reedy will also be presenting his own exhibition and experiences in the Art Seminar Series on Friday, Jan. 24, at noon. Held in the newly renovated Hartnett Hall, Lecture and Recital Hall 106, Art Seminar presentations offer students and the public the opportunity to learn about the work, lives, and experiences of guest artists visiting the University. The lecture is open to public audiences and streamed live to the Northwest Arts Center's social media channels.
While at the Northwest Arts Center, "INT'L Paperworks" and "Extraordinarily Ordinary" are on view Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday, 1-5 p.m. through Feb. 20. The Walter Piehl Gallery is located on the lower level of the Gordon B. Olson Library at Minot State University, with its own entrance on the south side of the library. The exhibition and related events are free and open to the public.
The Northwest Arts Center is supported in part by a grant from the North Dakota Council on the Arts, which receives funding from the state legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.
PRESS CONTACTS
JoHannah Grosz, Exhibition Coordinator, Northwest Arts Center, 701-858-3264
[email protected]
Greg Vettel, Director, Northwest Arts Center, 701-858-3264
About Minot State University
Minot State University is a public university dedicated to excellence in education, scholarship, and community engagement achieved through rigorous academic experiences, active learning environments, commitment to public service, and a vibrant campus life.
Published: 01/15/25