Art Attack 2011

The Northrup King Building will host its annual Art Attack event this coming weekend, November 4th – 6th. These bi-annual open studio events offer the public a rare opportunity to peek into the working studios of 200+ artists and meet the people behind the product. The autumn Art Attack has typically been a more intimate event, as only the Northrup King Building is open to guests, rather than all the studios of the NE Minneapolis area as is the case with the Art-A-Whirl events in May each year. So before you go into hibernation mode, get out this weekend and discover some of the budding talent right in your back yard. Get a sneak preview on Thursday night, 5-9p, as many of the galleries and studios will be open for the monthly 'First Thursday' event. 

Our friend and neighbor down the hall, Kyle Osvog, will be showing and selling his own ceramic sculptures and vases, as well as hosting a guest artist, Josie Lewis. Lewis is a Minneapolis based artist who makes large pieces of art compiled of layers and layers of little pieces of paper. About her work, she says, "I love what already is. The world, as is, offers bounty. I love to sort it, organize it, catalogue it, and liberate it. I make this bounty bigger and weightier. American fashion magazines, already excessive in literal mass and volume, come to my door monthly. I anxiously examine them to consider the true meaning of artifice, style, and beauty. I do this, of course, by reading them upside down." Her website offers a stage-by-stage pictorial of the process she goes through. The end product is an abstract yet ornate collage with the beauty of a stained glass window. 

Studio 443 of Icebox Gallery will be hosting the work of one of the most privileged photographers of Tinsletown in the 1970s and 1980s. Ulvis Alberts was born in Riga, Latvia in 1942. After being displaced during the war, he moved with his family to the US in 1949. The exhibition, entitled Camera as a Passport, is a collection of moments he captured while gaining that elusive invitation into the quieter moments of celebrity life. "I planned on returning to Seattle, but Hollywood doors opened up a bit and my still camera became a 'visitor card'." 

Sun Gallery Chinese Art and Antiques in suite 451, will be exhibiting and selling art by Chinese peasants of the Shaanxi Provence. The works have become collector pieces as the peasant way of life has become more modernized. The artists are all untrained, giving their pieces an unharnessed honesty. The paintings represent the everyday life themes and concerns of the people in a wonderful, bright medium. 

And of course, we are excited to host our own guest artists at Danish Teak Classics, Nathan Danials. As a child, Danials lived the good life on a family farm in Wisconsin, no doubt nurturing a love for building something by hand, guided by the principles of nature and simplicity. Danials become interested in modern design after moving to the Twin Cities to work for a local furniture company. He began his own design career by designing modern outdoor furniture, but has since branched out into, as you could have guessed by the name – burd haus, Bauhaus-esqe birdhouses. The burd haus has everything that would appeal to any architecture aficionado – quality materials, appealing colour combinations, simple (mostly functional) form, and a quirky individuality. My favourite is the simple blue Po-Mo styled house. If you don't live in Minneapolis/St. Paul, you can purchase the burd haus at Daniels' Etsy store, but come by to meet the artist and say hello if you're able! Don't miss the major art event of the Autumn season!

Art Attack
Northrup King Building
1500 Jackson St NE, Minneapolis MN 55413

'First Thursday', November 3, 2011   5:00 – 9:00PM
Friday, November 4, 2011                5:00-10:00 PM
Saturday, November 5, 2011            Noon – 8:00 PM
Sunday, November 6, 2011              Noon – 5:00 PM

Caroline Engel for Danish Teak Classics