Upcoming
Ryan Quirt. 1982 - Forever. He Was Hip. He Liked to Dance.
A retrospective of the Minneapolis artist, Ryan Quirt, will be presented at XYandZ beginning August 29th, which marks the first time Ryan's work will be displayed for the public. Ryan passed away unexpectedly in May 2006 at the age of 24 leaving a legacy of over 4,200 pieces of art.
Ryan was born to create. This undeniable attribute reveals itself through the immensely vibrant body of work the artist has left behind. Effortless in his execution and relentless in his production, Ryan created artwork with every ounce of his being, as if it were a necessity.
Because Ryan was an avid expressionist, the full spectrum of his work could be described as bold, imaginative, playful, spontaneous, and free. The fluidity and grace of his curvilinear line work became the antithesis of the drama and rhythm of a variety of angular markings and geometric forms. Oftentimes a figure or figures will emerge, camouflaged within the abstract composition but rendered as if the picture were but a snapshot of some larger, raucous choreography.
The ingenuity and assertiveness in Ryan's artwork parallel the way he lived his life. Ryan's creative repertoire filled countless sketchbooks and sprawled its way across any markable surface the artist could find. Operating under the alias THNX, Ryan used graffiti art not only as a means of creative expression, but also as a way to build a community of artists from Minneapolis.
Reception: August 29, 7pm.
18 Months
XYandZ is pleased to present 18 months, a preview show that features original pieces of work from artists scheduled to show at XYandZ through early 2011. The artists that will be participating in 18 months are:
Totem2 & Viper, Broken Crow, Keegan Wenkman, Drew Peterson, Dane Johnson, Eric Inkala, Ryan Quirt, & Tonja Torgerson
If you are interested in purchasing or have questions about pieces email info@thexyandz.com
Sick by Tonja Torgerson
XYandZ Presents Sick by Tonja Torgerson
Opening reception Jan. 22nd 2010 7-11p
XYandZ is proud to present Sick, an exhibition of new works by Minneapolis based artist Tonja Torgerson. Torgerson's work uses self portraits to deal with the reality of illness while balancing a thin line between expression and discretion. Please join us to celebrate the opening of Sick on January 22nd, 2010 at XYandZ.
Notions of privacy and disclosure are at the core of Torgerson's work. Torgerson's paintings analyze the altering identity of a young woman learning to live with a permanent illness. Torgerson's use of self portraits in Sick present the personal side of what is becoming an ever-increasingly political issue through a girlish lens of soft aesthetic and sad whimsy.
Sick includes five life-sized self-portraits on paper. These paintings focus on the revision of self that accompanies illness. In addition, the exhibition consists of several smaller screen prints and works of mixed media. These smaller works concentrate on the anxieties of sickness, while the larger paintings portray its more intangible effects. Torgerson's Sick creates an engaging fusion of feminism, craft, printmaking and street-art.
photos by Ted Salzman
From the Mountain by Drew Peterson
Opening reception Friday March 19th 7p-11p
XYandZ is pleased to present From the Mountain, an exhibition of new works by Drew Peterson inspired by his artist residency at The Anderson Ranch in Snow Mass Colorado. Join us to celebrate the opening of From the Mountain on Friday March 19th, 2010 at XYandZ.
The works included in From the Mountain are a continuation of Peterson's exploration into abstraction, through a process of layering and fragmenting pre-existing images. Peterson carries this out through the disciplines of printmaking, painting and mixed media installation. Peterson's work utilizes a variety of reoccurring symbols and imagery, often arranged in colliding, overlapping, or quaking formations.
From the Mountain consists of prints, paintings and installation. XYandZ's space will accommodate a larger installation based painting as well as a large scale canvas. The paintings are acrylic on canvas and the installation incorporates acrylic and goauche on paper as well as being applied directly to the wall. Peterson's prints are a combination of intaglio, screen printing and digital printing methods.
The opening reception for Drew Peterson's From the Mountain will be held at XYandZ on Friday March 19th, 2010 from 7p-11p. From the Mountain will be on display at XYandZ through April 24th, 2010.
Keegan Wenkman My life as a number
XYandZ is pleased to present My life as a number, an exhibition of new illustrations by Keegan Wenkman co-curated by XYandZ and Joseph Belk. Join us for the opening of My life as a number on May 7th, 2010 at XYandZ.
Keegan Wenkman is a 26 year-old self-taught illustrator, currently living in Portland, Ore via Minneapolis, MN. Keegan is the co-owner/operator of KeeganMeegan Press & Bindery and Onefootinfront illustration studio.
Wenkman's salacious, enigmatic and overtly personal illustrations are created using pen and ink on paper. The illustrations created for My life as a number, depict the symbolism of numbers in Wenkman’s personal life, and explores the emotional and spiritual perspective derived from each illustrated instance and/or context. My life as a number will be accompanied by the release of Codex Viginti Sex, a letterpress printed, hand bound, self-published book by Wenkman. The works included in Codex Viginti Sex are a document of the repetition of the number 26 in popular culture. Codex Viginti Sex is the first of a collection of 26 books that Wenkman will be self-publishing once a year, starting at 26 and working backwards to 0. The successive books will be a record of Wenkman's artistic and technical progress as an artist, printer and binder.
In addition to Wenkman's illustrations and Codex Viginti Sex, 6 silkscreen prints published by Burlesque of North America and printed by Ben Lafond will be available.
The opening reception for Keegan Wenkman's My life as a number will be held at XYandZ on Friday May 7th, 2010 from 7p-11p. My life as a number will be on display at XYandZ through June 11th, 2010.
I hope we go together by Carrie Thompson
XYandZ is pleased to present "I hope we go together", an exhibition of photographs by Carrie Thompson. "I hope we go together" marks the first time Thompson, a recipient of a McKnight fellowship, has shown the work as a complete series. Join us for the opening reception on Friday June 25th from 7-11p at XYandZ.
For the past 3 years Thompson has been working on a project about her grandparents and the deterioration of the railroad town they live in. As Thompson's grandparents are are getting old and weakening so is the town they have lived in for 80+ years. In the 1940's and 1950's, Nanty Glo, Pennsylvania was a fairly thriving community. Over the years, the loss of the railroad and the depletion of the mountains through mining have left the town in a struggling position. Thompson recalls, "As a child I would visit my grandparents and notice their lives were unlike the life I had in the city. These people and their way of life, a slower, poorer lifestyle, still fascinate me." Through her work in "I hope we go together" Thompson captures the ordinary in an extraordinary manner that is sure to fascinate audiences as well.
Carrie Thompson (b. 1980) is a photographer born in Saint Paul and based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Thompson’s photographs have been featured in numerous exhibitions in California and throughout the Midwest. Her work is represented in private collections, including The Weinstein Gallery.
Discard new work by Dane Johnson
Opening reception Friday August 13th 7p-11p
XYandZ is pleased to present Discard, an exhibition of paintings by Los Angeles based Artist Dane Johnson. Johnson's paintings of discarded scratch-off lottery tickets celebrate the inherent hope of potential riches found in the ubiquitous discarded scraps that litter the streets of the Artist's Hollywood neighborhood.
When these numbers don’t reveal a prize the ticket is thrown away. In gathering and presenting the losers, Johnson seizes the opportunity to highlight, in larger than life scale, the hyperactive graphic design and text that adorn these tickets. Johnson in turn reveals the construction behind this game of chance. He strips each ticket of its glossy disguise. The irrational allure of the language in its descriptive force, mirrors the bravado of the imagery. Stacks of cash, pots of gold and swinging monkeys strategically boast possibilities that lie under the scratch off ink.
The paintings’ expressive scratches disrupt the hard-edged graphic design. In this dissonance, Johnson creates a perspective that is both celebratory and aware. What becomes apparent in the discarded tickets are hopeful portraits of a human ritual performed countless times each day. The artist as collector has been let in on these solitary moments and, like a puzzle, pieces them together to accrue the ever-elusive “jackpot.”
Dane Johnson received his BFA in painting from the San Francisco Art Institute. He has shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions at galleries throughout the United States including The Luggage Store in San Francisco and Sabina Lee Gallery in Los Angeles.