Ken Wenzel: Crossings

Traffic Zone Gallery presents Crossings, an exhibition of oil paintings by Ken Wenzel featuring works from his Bridge Series. These paintings are based exclusively on bridges crossing the Mississippi River in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, made from on-site studies and reference photographs.

Showing
September 14 through October 16, 2015
Monday - Friday, 8 am to 5:30 pm and by appointment

Opening Reception
September 19, 6:00 to 8:00 pm
Free and open to the public

 

Viewing the bridges from a distance, or close-up, and even from underneath, the paintings are a testimony to the scale of our material ambitions as a culture. At the same time the images have a mysterious aspect, infused with the quiet and very steady attention of a curious mind. American painter T. L. Solien, in presenting Wenzel with an award in the Art on the Plains X Exhibition at the Plains Art Museum, described Wenzel’s work as “having roots in American Social Realism.”

Biography
Ken Wenzel is a midcareer representational painter. He paints figurative, landscape, and still life works in oils on canvas and panel. Wenzel received his BFA Degree in 1983 from The School of Visual Arts in New York City. He relocated to San Francisco and taught art to emotionally disturbed boys. Wenzel completed his MFA at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1989 and moved to Minneapolis. He presently teaches in the Art Department at Century College, Saint Paul College, and lectures and teaches drawing at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. His work has been exhibited and collected regionally and nationally.