The artists of " Foundlore" talk about their work

Foundlore: American Folk Art Reinvented
April 2-May 7, 2011
Vine Arts Center (Minnepolis, Minnesota)
www.vineartscenter.org

The collaboration of the new exhibition "Foundlore" at the Vine Arts Center consists of five artists, Matt Flueger, Kristoffer West Johnson, Michael Sweere, Jonathan Sweere and Ryan Sweere (three brothers and two friends), who work together in a St. Paul freeway frontage road house that they converted into art studios with backyard windmill.

"Foundlore" is American Folk Art Reinvented. It is an imaginative reinterpretation of a media-saturated environment, making use of today's ever-present overabundance of recycled materials, information and images. From April 2 - May 7th the gallery will be filled with an impressive array of photographs, paintings, drawings, mosaics, hanging mobiles and free standing sculptures -all intermixed to create an assemblage-like installation that draws on the sense of place in which they were created.

All five artists will be at the opening reception which will feature projected video collages, art making documentaries, and animations. The closing reception will feature video projections and live music, by Ryan Sweere's own band, Burnsville City Limits.

About the Artists:

Matt Flueger is a classically trained Fine Arts Photographer living in St. Paul.
His recent work has been a detailed documentation of the remaining structures of Fort Snelling. This body of work addresses themes of decay, re-use and the neglected infrastructure of the American empire. More of his work can be seen at http://jpgmag.com/people/susquesus

Kristoffer West Johnson is a painter and multi media artist who challenges conventional thinking in regard to beauty, using a variety of non traditional and traditional mediums.He shows his work on an ongoing basis in the Twin Cities, and is formally educated in the arts.His work hangs in numerous private collections. You can see more of his art by following him on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/people/kriswjohnson

Michael Sweere works in many mediums, including glass, stone, ceramic tile, tin and wood. His work can be seen in health care, learning and public facilities throughout the country. He is also represented by Sivertson Galleries in Duluth and Grand Marais, MN. See more of his mosaics and collages at http://www.michaelsweeremosaic.com

Jonathan Sweere is inspired by the challenge of learning about a new medium or concept, taking things he knows very little about, researching how it is made and how it works. Doing this, he discovers new talents in a simple common sense approach to problem solving. If he doesn't get instant results, he tries again from a new perspective, until getting it right. He feels that it is his job to put many pieces, perhaps found or recycled objects into an order, to make a functioning whole. More of his work can be seen at http://www.sweereart.com/jonsweere.html

Ryan Sweere takes cues from all over art history to create unique artworks that transform the ordinary into the remarkable. His latest offerings stride from dark, sumptuous, semi-realist oil paintings to mind reeling bottle cap mosaics of mandalas and revered icons. More information at http://www.ryansweere.com

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Tags:

• vine arts center
• minneapolis artists
• twin cities artists
• minneapolis art galleries
• art in Minneapolis
• St. Paul artists
• folkart
• American folk art