Allen Brewer: “Verbatim” and Kristina Estell: “Posture Is Everything”

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Minneapolis, MN, March 1 – The Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program (MAEP) at the Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA) opens two new spring exhibitions April 19: Allen Brewer’s “Verbatim” and Kristina Estell’s “Posture Is Everything.” The first is an exhibition based on responses to works in the permanent collection of the MIA; the second is a graceful meditation on the formal and spatial properties of molded silicone.

Since January, Brewer has been collecting MIA visitors’ written descriptions of their favorite works of art at the museum. He uses these comments to inspire new paintings, drawings, and sculptures—objects that will become “Verbatim.” The number of works in the gallery will increase during the show, as new works are added every two weeks. “Verbatim” promises to be a fascinating study of the differences between seeing and writing and an exploration of the possibilities of language with regard to art objects.

Following the exhibition at the MIA, Brewer will apply the same audience engagement of “Verbatim” with new work when it travels to the Nemeth Art Center in Park Rapids, Minn., in the summer of 2013.

Brewer recently exhibited his work as part of the EVA International Biennial in Ireland and is a visiting professor at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

In “Posture Is Everything,” Estell will build upon a recent installation at Akademie Schloss Solitude in Germany. By articulating sheets of molded silicone, Estell emphasizes the material’s opacity and delicate malleability and shows how it can sculpt space. Estell’s installation will be assembled on-site and delicately executed in order to imbue her materials with an intense presence that will fill the entire gallery.

Estell is based in Duluth and has shown her work in numerous national and international solo shows. Currently, her show “Natural Selections” is on display at the College of Visual Arts, St. Paul.

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PRESS CONTACTS
Tammy Pleshek, (612) 870-3171; tpleshek@artsmia.org
Anne-Marie Wagener, (612) 870-3280; awagener@artsmia.org
Emmalynn Bauer, (612) 870-6364; ebauer@artsmia.org

ABOUT THE MINNESOTA ARTISTS EXHIBITION PROGRAM
The Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program (MAEP) is a curatorial department of the Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA) dedicated to exhibiting and supporting artists living and working in the state of Minnesota. Generous support for MAEP is provided by The McKnight Foundation and Jerome Foundation.

ABOUT THE MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ARTS
The Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA), home to one of the finest encyclopedic art collections in the country, houses more than 80,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history. Highlights of the permanent collection include European masterworks by Rembrandt, Poussin, and van Gogh; modern and contemporary painting and sculpture by Picasso, Matisse, Mondrian, Stella, and Close; as well as internationally significant collections of prints and drawings, decorative arts, Modernist design, photographs, textiles, and Asian, African, and Native American art. General admission is always free.
Some special exhibitions have a nominal admission fee. Museum hours: Sunday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.; Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m.–9 p.m.; Monday closed. For more information, call (612) 870-3000 or visit artsmia.org.