Visit Lindsborg
LINDSBORG - Four new exhibitions open at the Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery on Aug. 21 and continue through Oct. 23.
They feature a national biennial exhibitionWatercolor NOW!; sculpture by Danielle Robinson of Hays; works on paper by Erin Wiersma of Manhattan; and drawings by Maurice R. Bebb (1891-1986) from the Gallery's permanent collection.
A reception for the exhibitions will be held on Aug. 21, from 2-4 p.m.
Watercolor NOW! is a biennial exhibition held in various locations throughout the United States. It is open to members of the Watercolor USA Honor Society and showcases the best in contemporary watermedia work. The Honor Society is a unique organization formed in 1985 from a broad-based assemblage of inventive artists whose paintings have won awards and/or been juried into three Watercolor U.S.A. national exhibitions, or who have served as jurors to the exhibition. The group endeavors to promote an interest in watermedia painting through the national exhibition held at the Springfield Art Museumin Missouri each year.
Danielle Robinson is a cast metal sculptor working in Hays and also an adjunct instructor at Fort Hays State University. She is a Southern California native who has shown in numerous group, invitational, and juried exhibitions across the country.
Robinson explained, "The influences of my surroundings inspire my artistic expression. My sculptures are abstractions of landscape terrains with a multitude of environments relevant to erosion, drought, and rising seas. My enjoyment of 'process' evolved into a passion for working in metals. My work is composed of cast iron, fabricated elements, and found objects. Creating a cast iron sculpture involves many steps and procedures that include meticulous craftsmanship and continuous brainstorming of new ideas and ingenuity. No cast is ever the same."
Manhattan artist Erin Wiersma's art focuses on the body’s capacity to absorb and respond to an environment. Her current series develops from interacting with the burnt grasses from controlled fires in the Konza Prairie. Wiersma is an associate professor of art at Kansas State University. She studied at the Institutio San Lovidico in Orvieto, Italy, as an undergraduate; received her B.A. from Messiah College; and completed her M.F.A. at the University of Connecticut. She is represented by Robischon Gallery in Denver and Galerie Wehlauin Munich, Germany.
Best known for his detailed etchings of birds, Maurice Robert Bebb, also drew extensively. The Sandzén Gallery was fortunate to receive a large collection of his drawings from the Bebb family and will exhibit a selection that are now a part of the gallery's permanent collection. The exhibition will be co-curated by Cori Sherman North and John Mallery.
Though largely self-taught and coming to art later in life, Bebb established a national reputation as an exceptional color etcher. He created more than 220 print designs over his career and provided three gift prints for print societies of which he was a member – the Print Makers Society of California (1953), the Chicago Society of Etchers (1954), and for the Prairie Print Makers (1960).
His drawings serve as a conduit to his prints, but also demonstrate his skill at capturing landscapes from his home around Muskogee, Okla., as well as favorite spots in Minnesota, Tennessee, and northern Europe.
The Sandzén Gallery is located at 401 N. First Street in Lindsborg. Hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 1-5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free, with donations appreciated. Docent tours for groups are available by two-week advance appointment. For more information about Birger Sandzén, the gallery, and these exhibitions visit www.sandzen.org or phone (785) 227-2220.