MPLSART Sketchbook Exhibition Artist Talk
Saturday, April 9th, 2022
FEATURING MPLSART Sketchbook Project Exhibition Artists: Samuel Fleming, Danielle Pebbles, Melissa Lee Sisk, Piotr Szyhalski, and Jaida Gray Eagle.
This is not your typical artist talk. This talk will be a Q& Question & Answer Chain — a method where the curator begins by selecting a piece that intrigues them and asks the artist a couple of questions. From there, each chosen artist picks the next one, opening up the dialogue and inviting the artists to respond to each other. There will be seven artists, each having the opportunity to speak about their piece for approximately 5-10 minutes, and will conclude with closing remarks from the curator, Blaine Garrett, and Gamut’s director, Cassie Garner.
MPLSART Sketchbook Project – MPLSART and Gamut Gallery present the MPLSART Sketchbook Project Exhibition. The exhibition has no defined theme, only a set of guidelines – works had to be new originals and available for under $500. Many artists drew inspiration from their sketchbook pages. In addition to featuring 35 original works, the exhibition will also be an opportunity to see the five original sketchbooks first-hand before going to auction at St. Paul-based Revere Auctions.
Learn More About the MPLSART Sketchbook Project Exhibition.
ARTIST TALK – Q & A Chain
Saturday April 9th, 2021 10AM
Moderated by Blaine Garrett
• $7 pre-sales available online
• $5 for Gamut Members online & at door
• $10 General Admission
• Masks Required, limited tickets available
• We also livestream the talk on our Instagram: @gamutgallerympls
Artist Bios:
Jaida Grey Eagle is an Oglala Lakota artist, currently located in St. Paul, MN. Jaida is a photojournalist, producer, beadwork artist, and writer. She is a Report for America Fellow with the Sahan Journal covering communities of color in the Twin Cities. She is also researching Indigenous photography at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts as an ongoing former Curatorial Fellow.
Melissa Sisk is a Minnesota-based visual artist and educator. As a multidisciplinary artist, she works in a range of mediums and illustrates a wide variety of subjects, aiming to highlight the beauty and wonder of our everyday world. Her background in biomedical visualization grounds her creations in well-researched details and accuracy. As a designer, she elevates her artwork by using bold lines and striking compositions.
Danielle Pebbles is a southern California transplant that now calls the Twin Cities home. She received her BFA in Drawing from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, after exploring possible futures in Illustration and Fine Arts Studio and spending time studying the field (and learning Portuguese!) in Brazil. She chose her focus in Drawing, as she believes it holds the foundation for a wide variety of mediums, allowing her to transfer her skills to any discipline she may choose to pursue. Danielle’s biggest drive as an artist is to motivate her peers to create artwork and offer them a place to display their talents. She believes that there is an inspiring force of artists of all mediums in the Twin Cities, showcased in the spirit of community and collaboration.
Piotr Szyhalski is a Polish-born and trained multimedia artist working in the United States since 1990. The Minneapolis-based artist’s wide-ranging practice encompasses an array of media and genres, including poster designs, drawings, mail art, photographs, painted murals, prints, web-based digital art, sound art, large-scale installations, and public performances. In 1998, he established his ongoing project Labor Camp. Szyhalski’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and is in the collections of KADIST (Paris/San Francisco), Minneapolis Institute of Art, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Walker Art Center, and Weisman Art Museum, among others. Recent monographs include COVID-19 Labor Camp Report (2021) and Piotr Szyhalski: We Are Working All the Time (2020, Weisman Art Museum), which accompanies his upcoming survey in 2022. The recipient of multiple commissions and awards, Szyhalski is the 2021–22 contributing artist to the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, New York, and a professor of media arts at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. @laborcamp, laborcamp.org
Samuel Fleming was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN, Sam Fleming has spent his entire life drawing. At the age of 14, he decided he wanted to become a professional artist after being inspired by other artists on a trip to Times Square. From that moment onward, Fleming aimed to expand and improve his skills however he could, branching out to other media, and experimenting with various styles and subject matter. Upon reaching age 18, Fleming began to sell work in art fairs and festivals and even became a cartoonist for a local newspaper. During this time, Fleming began to include screen-printed clothing in his inventory and sold them alongside his artwork at pop-up shops and those same fairs. Herberger’s even carried his brand for a time before their closing. In August of 2021, Fleming released a book he wrote and illustrated centered around mixed-race Black people titled Encyclopedia Mulattica. It is available as a hard copy for purchase and free as an ebook. Today, Fleming continues to draw passionately with a heavy interest in pen & ink. He is currently working towards a master’s degree in architecture. Despite the interference of COVID-19, he sells his work primarily online. Fleming is also working on other projects on a scale similar to that of his book release.