The Mn Twins: Bly and Rowan Pope
February 17, 2018 - October 28, 2018
The Star Tribune Foundation Atrium, Gallery 180
Free Exhibition
Mia celebrates the pleasure of pure, virtuosic draftsmanship with the first museum show of Minnesota artists and twin brothers Bly and Rowan Pope. They have worked side by side their entire lives. Their focus on drawing and meticulous, painstaking process sets them apart. Each dedicates hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of hours to a single work, drawing skillfully, obsessively, until pencil has transformed paper into a provocative image rendered with photographic precision.
Although the brothers use the same medium (graphite) and technique (photorealist) in their drawings, their subjects and approaches diverge. Bly concentrates on portraiture and nature. He scrutinizes the ordinary, overlooked, and seemingly banal to show such details of life are worthy of appreciation and artistic expression. Rowan focuses on narrative to examine a range of human emotions, a path that can lead to a chilling view of humanity. In their hyper-vivid depictions, both create haunting, memorable, and at times disturbing works of art.
The exhibition will feature a selection of their drawings, paintings, and works in process.
right: Bly Pope American, born 1980 "Maryanna," 2008-2011 Graphite and ink on illustration board Gifts of funds from Janet and Tom Kordonowy, Alan and Dena Naylor, Marla J. Kinney, Rachel and Michael McGarry, Susan and Rob White, and an anonymous donor, and proceeds from the Minneapolis Print and Drawing Fair 2017.17