Tomorrow Night

Opening Reception for New Land of Milk and Honey

February 20, 7 to 11 p.m.; Performance 8 to 8:30 p.m.

New Land of Milk and Honey is an experiment in communal living, an investigation into the history of Midwestern communes and an embrace of collaborative artmaking. It brings together performance, fashion, design and visual art in a low-brow Gesamtkunstwerk. Irony is eschewed the insistence that we are the arbiters of our happiness.

Free

Soap Factory

518 2nd Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414

February 20 through April 4

Closing Party: April 3, 8 p.m.

Now Showing at Nina Bliese and Vision Loss Resources

Como Lilies by Steve Carpenter

"I bring life to my pictures by using marks, layers and color in order to create a history. Spots of color are worked over and over, both pleasing and disappointing areas of the picture. The picture is complete when I can walk away from the drawing and feel no need to pick, scratch or add another mark." -Steve Carpenter

New Works by Steve Carpenter show runs through April 2.

Nina Bliese Gallery

225 6th Street South

Minneapolis, MN 55402

(612) 332-2978

Rug Eyes by Annie Young

Another Show to Try: Experiencing Me at Vision Loss Resources

This show allows you to "visit" the world of artist Annie Young by placing a blind-fold over your eyes, listening to an audio description of the painting while navigating the canvas with your fingers. You see, Annie is blind. That's why this show is called "Experiencing me."

Sounds like a fabulous new way to experience art!

Show ends April 30.

Vision Loss Resources

1936 Lyndale Avenue South

Minneapolis, MN 55403

Great Shows Regarding Women

By Baya, now showing at St. Catherine University

Born in 1931 in Algeria and orphaned at the age of five, Baya was a self-taught artist, whose colorful dreamlike paintings captured the interest of André Breton and Pablo Picasso. Even though their approval won her international attention, and even an appearance on the cover of the Paris edition of Vogue magazine, she lived and raised a family in Algeria and painted until her death in 1999.

Catherine G. Murphy Gallery at St. Catherine University

Breaking the Veils: Women Artists from the Islamic World

This is a unique and compelling international art exhibition that challenges contemporary stereotypes about the lives of women in the Islamic world and celebrates their artistic contribution in shaping a rich, cultural heritage.

It was featured in the Star Tribune today.

Now through April 1.

Goldstein Museum of Design

How Secretaries Changed the 20th-Century Office: Design, Image and Culture

During the 20th century women poured into offices all over the U.S. to work as 'typewriter girls,' stenographers and secretaries. New spaces, furnishings and clothing emerged to meet their needs, while popular culture glamorized them. The exhibition explores transformations in the workplace and women’s lives and features office equipment, furniture, fashions, magazines and much more.

Now through May 23.

Women and Water Rights: Rivers of Regeneration

The Women and Water Rights: Rivers of Regeneration (WWR) project addresses the precarious state of the world’s fresh water supply and the global need for gender mainstreaming in water management. Through an art exhibition and related programs, WWR underscores the message that water access is a universal human right.

This project includes exhibitions, symposium, online catalog and more. Learn more on their Web site. Partner galleries include:

• Boynton Health Center Gallery, University of Minnesota
• The Women’s Center Gallery, University of Minnesota
• Katherine E. Nash Gallery, University of Minnesota
• The Woman’s Club of Minneapolis
• Traffic Zone Center for Visual Art, Minneapolis
• Bohlander Gallery 36, Minneapolis
• MCAD Gallery, Minneapolis
• Mill District Arts Gallery, Minneapolis

Mary Axelson Art Now at Theatre in the Round

Summer Fun by Mary Axelson

The Baptism by Annie Young

Art by Mary Axelson with guest artist Annie Young is now showing at Theatre in the Round! Their show runs through March 5.

An artist reception will be held tonight (Feb. 10) and tomorrow (Feb. 11), 6:15 to 7 p.m.

These are the preview nights for the play The Burial at Thebes by Seamus Heaney. If you are interested in seeing the preview of the play on February 11, email Annie Young and you can see the theatre performance for FREE!

Theatre in the Round

245 Cedar Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55454

612-333-3010

Benches & Binoculars

Photo Courtesy of Walker Art Center

I had overheard a little something about Benches & Binoculars back in November. But when I was wandering around the Walker Art Center at the last Free First Saturday, it wasn't at the top of my mind. In fact, I had all but forgotten about it.

Then I by chance walked into this room. Wow! A visual explosion! An elixir for the winter!

Benches & Binoculars features art floor to ceiling in a two-floor gallery. The art is made up of about 90 pieces of Walker's collection. The variety of sizes and styles draws you in. But so does picking up a pair of binoculars and taking a closer look. Have you ever seen an Edward Hopper painting that way before?

Benches & Binoculars runs through August 15.

Get more info.

Elmyr de Hory, Artist and Faker

Coming to the Hillstrom Museum of Art at Gustavus

Elmyr de Hory, Portrait of a Woman (in the style of Modigliani), 1974, oil on canvas, 21 x 15 inches collection of Mark Forgy

The show "Elmyr de Hory, Artist and Faker" features works by one of the most notorious art fakers of modern times, Elmyr de Hory, who is believed to have created hundreds of fakes of modern masters such as Henri Matisse or Amedeo Modigliani that were accepted into museums and prominent collections in the U.S. and abroad. Mark Forgy, who formed a close friendship with de Hory in the final years of his life, will lend works that the artist gave or bequeathed to him. Some of these were done in the style of other artists but signed with de Hory’s own name, while others were in the artist’s own style.

Events:

• Opening reception on February 15, 7 to 9 p.m.

• Lecture by prominent art critic and writer Jonathan Lopez, author of the 2008 bestseller The Man Who Made Vermeers: Unvarnishing the Legend of Master Forger Han van Meegeren (3:30 p.m., February 28, Wallenberg Auditorium, Nobel Hall of Science).

• A second lecture will be given by Mark Forgy, considering his relationship with de Hory and the aesthetic implications of faked works of art (3:30 p.m., March 21, Wallenberg Auditorium, Nobel Hall of Science).

All events and programs are free and open to the public. Additional information on the Hillstrom Museum of Art can be found on their Web site.

The show runs February 15 to April 18.