Driftless

December 2, 2017 – January 13, 2018

Opening Reception: Saturday, December 2, 2-5 p.m.

As Joshua Cunningham explains, “The work in this show comes from the Driftless Area of southeastern Minnesota, southwestern Wisconsin and a bit of northeastern Iowa. This is an older world, as it was before the glaciers ground down and filled in the landscape. It is driftless, in every sense of the definition. It is without the soil and stone pushed along by the glaciers.  It is a Midwestern time capsule. These paintings are not unlike the fossils I find along a creek bed. They are a record.”

He continues, “As I wander the landscape, around every curve, around the next bend, or over a hill, there might be a painting waiting.  Most days, I don’t know where I am going, but I do know I will get there, and once there, it feels right where I am supposed to be. When I wind through a valley and have my breath taken away by the view from a bluff top, it is an experience that takes me out my busy life and holds all of my attention. I set up the easel, put out the paint, select a canvas, close my eyes to see what I remember, breath deep, open them, and set to work.”

A Minnesota native from rural Isanti, Cunningham currently lives in St. Paul. He began his studies at St. Cloud State University and continued at St. John’s University. He also apprenticed with Mark Balma and worked with the Hurinenko & Paquet Studio in St. Paul. His paintings can be found in private collections throughout the US. His work has garnered national recognition with inclusion in Oil Painters of America’s National Juried Show and a feature in Plein Air Magazine.

Cunningham works primarily en plein air, the practice of painting outdoors. Using quick brushstrokes, his skillful impressionist landscapes capture scenes around the Twin Cities and beyond, from old industrial structures, city streets and small towns, to open fields and country roads.

The artist will be present at the opening reception Saturday, December 2nd from 2-5 pm. The opening reception and exhibition runs concurrently with From the Bog by Meg Ojala. Both shows continue through January 13, 2018.