Worth A Look: The Minnesota State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition

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"Worth a Look" is a series of semi-regular essays about excellent art, interesting ideas, and whatever other cool stuff we find around town. Go see art; it's good for you.

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Banner image: Julie Caffey, Mom's Cashmere #3 (detail). Sewn, hand-quilted, applique with Mom's cashmere sweaters.

 

Full disclosure up top: my work is in this show, but that’s not why I’m writing about it. Also, I have several years of history with this show as both a participant and a juror (along with more than one rejection), but that’s not the reason either. The reason is that this is one of the biggest and most intense art experiences of the year in the Twin Cities, especially judged by sheer volume alone: 332 works of art, all in one room. You’re entering a group exhibition of group exhibitions: the blended tastes of eight jurors selecting work within their own categories, pieced together on the walls and pedestals of the Fine Arts Building like a jigsaw puzzle portrait of Minnesota culture. 

The show’s greatest strength and weakness are its size: it’s a lot to take in. During the Tuesday night preview event, I found myself caught in a certain flow of foot traffic, which actually encouraged a slower reading of each piece in succession — a welcome antidote to the few glancing seconds typically spent with artworks at a museum. And there really are some pieces worth spending time with; the beauty of the show’s breadth is that the list of favorites will invariably change from person to person. Photos, drawings, paintings, sculptures, prints, textiles, there's something for everyone here, and you may be surprised by what grabs you. Rebecca Yaker’s yellow sweater knitted like a legal pad, for instance, was one of the stand-outs for me.

 

Rebecca Yaker, disequilibrium To discory. Wool, knitting. All photos by Russ White, with apologies for glares and shadows.

Nadine Gross, The Blues Are Still Blue. Digital print on fine art paper.

Mei Lam So, If Looks Could Kill (detail). Lithograph.

 

It will be interesting to spend time with the online catalogue, divided by category, to get a more concise read of each juror’s tastes, because that’s really what it comes down to. (Also important is what was submitted, and I beseech every eligible artist to apply next year — the weirder, more cutting edge work the better.) This year’s jurors are no slouches themselves, including some local luminaries like Suyao Tian, Terrence Payne, and Tia Keobounpheng, among others. As a juror myself, curating last year’s Drawings/Pastel section, I can tell you it’s an enjoyable but painstaking task whittling down your picks, and much of it comes down to little more than a whim in deciding what makes the final cut — invariably lots of solid work has to be rejected. In the end this year, around 2,300 artists who submitted work were left out. That's a rather staggering number, and many of those artists will be showing work at two Salon des Refusés-style shows this month as well: Rejected 2024 at Burl Community Art Gallery (formerly AZ Gallery) and Minnesota State Fair Reject Show at Douglas Flanders & Associates.

But for one room, 332 is enough, and it’s wise to pace yourself during such an undertaking — and allow plenty of time to see it all — lest you find yourself skimming through the last half and missing the chance to connect with a real banger, like Lexi Ames’s exquisite ballpoint pen drawing of sheepguts. Or Meagan Marsh Pine’s stunning Self-Portrait in Camouflage, green-faced with fresh top surgery scars. Or a funny little painting of The Morgans of Omaha by Ron Schempp. Or whatever your own favorites end up being.

 

Jo Garrison, Vintage 60's Dress (Grandma). Acrylic on canvas.

Rachel Collier, Basic Nature (viewed from side). Needle felted wool stretched over canvas.

Meagan Marsh Pine, Self-Portrait in Camouflage. Inkjet print.

Ron Schempp, The Morgans of Omaha. Acrylic on wood panel.

 

We’re trained to think of contemporary art as urban and aloof — that a venue as pedestrian and accessible as the Minnesota State Fair cannot possibly land an emotional punch on our upturned noses. Who's to say whether any of the work in this show belongs in the lofty halls of the Whitney or the Guggenheim — maybe we are a bunch of flyover dullards after all, that deepest of insecurities in the hearts of Midwestern culturati. But some of the darkest, weirdest, and best work I’ve ever seen was made in a barn (Lee Bontecou) or out in the country (Andrew Wyeth) or above a garage in “greater Minnesota” (Jim Denomie). Art is everywhere and for everyone, and what a gift that one of the biggest and broadest shows of the year may also be the only gallery experience that a lot of folks at the Fair get to have. I know next week will be the only time my city ass will have set foot in a barn this year, too, and that’s not nothing either.

So go forth, art-lovers, and rub elbows with your countrymen. Listen in on their unfiltered critiques; maybe roll your eyes with joyful disdain at how much you disagree about these pictures. Cluck your tongues at what won ribbons, perhaps, but above all keep an ear out for when, all of a sudden, the word “wow” slips out beneath your breath. That’s your cue to linger an extra moment, before the flow of the crowd sweeps you on and through and back out again onto Cosgrove Street, in search of ridiculous foods and pedestrian wonders. Art’s the best, and the State Fair is a close second. ◼︎ 

 

Jandi Small, Gonna Need A Bigger Peeler, Pa. Oil on canvas.

 

The 113th Minnesota State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition is on view August 22 – September 2, 9am – 9pm each day of the Fair.

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This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.