Opening Reception: Sat, Aug 9: 2pm - 3pm

Artistry is pleased to present Groundwork, a two-artist exhibition featuring the work of Cindy Koopman and Margi Grill. Through printmaking, painting, and botanical research, the artists explore the layered intersections of nature and human intervention—offering new perspectives on how we study, shape, and coexist with the plant world.

Working from weekly sessions at the Bell Museum’s herbarium, Cindy Koopman begins her process with scientific observation—drawing preserved plant specimens that have been flattened and arranged not for aesthetic value, but for classification and study. Using laser engraving and experimental printmaking, Koopman transforms these botanical forms into works that reference both natural structure and artificial system. Maps, coordinates, and text embed each piece with a sense of place and purpose, while vivid color and shape push the boundaries of form, inviting us to question how we record and reimagine the natural world.

Artistry and the Minnesota Wildlife Refuge are proud to present Badges by Cameron Zebrun. Our interpretation of the natural world can be seen through many different lenses: an emotional response to a sunset, a map bringing order to the random or giving direction to the lost. Nature can be seen as a symbol of spiritual power or a force that must be conquered. With the Badges series, Zebrun investigates landscapes through the shifting themes of history, science, romance and exploration, as well as the textures, patterns, and color of land, water and sky. Using the images of a camera shutter closing, the Badges Series tells many stories all informed by nature through multiple lenses of interpretation.

Artistry and the Minnesota Wildlife Refuge are proud to present The Leaf Has a Song in It by Stephanie Hunder.Her work expresses a desire to place the natural world in a human context, specifically the Minnesota woodlands and prairies where she grew up. Her prints often begin with documented forms and textures drawn directly from the landscape. She combines these images with scientific diagrams as a way to study our contemporary relationship to the natural world. Merging these distinct types of information creates a visual connection between sense and comprehension; the complex, qualitative physical characteristics of the environment, and the simplified constructs we use to think about them.

Opening Reception: Saturday, January 25, 2025, Noon - 2pm
Interactive Artist Talk: Saturday, March 1, 2025, 1pm - 2pm

Artistry and the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge are excited to announce Under the Canopy by Emily Gray Koehler. Under the Canopy is a collection of traditional woodcuts by printmaker Emily Gray Koehler investigating the flora, fauna, and fungi found in our Midwest forests. Join the artist as she looks up through pines at the Milky Way on a crisp winter night, steps softly into a golden wood enveloped in the scent of fallen leaves, dips her toes in a wooded river at dawn, and studies the delicate ephemeral beauty of a forest floor blanketed in spring flowers. Revel in the artist’s eye as she seeks to remind us of what we have yet could so easily lose.

Artistry and the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge are excited to announce Little Spirits by Moira Villard. This thrilling exhibition highlights insects and wildlife Moira that shaped her childhood on the Fond du Lac Reservation in Cloquet, Minnesota. We are especially delighted to showcase new works Villard has created that celebrate the rich history, vibrant ecology, and natural beauty of Minnesota.

Artistry and the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge are excited to announce Perspective Memories by Jade Lent and Billy Thao. Both Jade and Billy grew up in Minnesota and have been creating illustrations since they were children. Their process and perspectives grew with them creating the artist they are today. We are excited to bring them together in the Confluence Gallery to share their perspectives of the Minnesota River Valley and how nature has influenced their lives.

Artistry presents A Delicate Society: Minnesota’s Wild Plants & Vertebrates in Watercolor & Pencil by Tanya Beyer in the Confluence Gallery located in the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge’s Education March 14, 2024 through April 28, 2024.

Gallery Hours: Thursday-Sunday: 10:00am-4:00pm; Closed on Federal Holidays

Free Painting Clouds using Watercolor Workshop: Friday, April 5, 2024 from 1:00-2:00pm. CLICK HERE TO RSVP FOR THE WORKSHOP.

Opening Reception: Friday, April 5, 2024 from 2:30-4:00pm

The Audacity to be Asian in Rural America: we owe you no apologies is a series of 12 watercolor and Chinese ink scroll paintings on rice paper that visually tells the story of the Hao family’s Chinese American immigrant experience in rural west central Minnesota.

ARTIST
Gordon Coons

RECEPTION
TBD
The reception is free and open to the public.

ARTIST
Susan Feigenbaum

RECEPTION
Sunday, April 16th from 2:00 to 4:00pm.
The reception is free and open to the public.

ARTIST
Kat Corrigan

RECEPTION
Saturday, January 14th, 2023 from 5:00-7:00pm
The reception is free and open to the public.

ARTIST
Kim Gordon

RECEPTION
Friday, October 28, 2022
The reception is free and open to the public.

ARTIST
Erik Olson

OPENING RECEPTION - Saturday, August 27, 6:00 - 8:00pm
ARTIST TALK - Friday, September 23, 6:00 - 7:00 pm

The reception and artist talk are free and open to the public.