2019 Exhibitions in Review
Anna Metcalfe, A Living Topography: Stories from Lake Superior.
My name is Dave Casey, and I am the Assistant Curator of Education & Exhibitions at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum. It is my job to work with both our curatorial and educational teams to bring exciting new exhibitions and engaging programs to MMAM.
It is part of the mission of MMAM to engage visitors in meaningful visual art experiences through exhibitions that explore the ongoing and historic human relationship with water. In short, we hope to present 8-10 temporary exhibitions of “great art inspired by water” each year, in new and meaningful ways, alongside our world-class collection of historic European and American artwork.
When selecting what exhibitions and artists to show at MMAM we consider a number of factors. First and foremost, does it incorporate our water theme? Does it meet our high standards of artistic quality? Are we presenting a variety of mediums? Is there historic value or does it represent the best in contemporary art? These are just a few of the things we had to consider when we created the exhibitions that we presented you in 2019.
Maarten Platje, Dutch, USS Constitution vs HMS Java (29 December 1812), 2018. Oil on linen.
The year kicked off with the work of two established female artists, Twin Cities-based ceramicist Anna Metcalfe and Slovakian photographer Maria Svarbova. Metcalfe’s Upstream, featured four, large-scale installation pieces that focused on her decade-long investigation of the waters of the Upper Midwest. These community-engaged projects reflected the artist’s abiding connection with water. Svarbova’s Swimming Pool enchanted viewers with dreamlike, colorful photographs of swimmers in Soviet era swimming pools.
Three exhibitions in 2019 allowed us to take a look into the past. This is New York featured views of the iconic city spanning 150 years, while Maarten Platje: The Early History of the U. S. Navy, gave us glimpses of early American sea battles by one of the world’s most renowned contemporary marine painters. Oh, Canada! features scenes of Canadian waters by past and present artists (Oh, Canada! is open until February 27, 2020).
H2Oh! Art Quilts,
Minnesota photographer Alec Soth has been on MMAM’s radar since the museum opened in 2006, and we were happy to finally land him this year. Soth is one of the most celebrated, awarded, and acclaimed photographers working today. His award-winning book and photography series, Sleeping by the Mississippi, explores the landscape of the Mississippi River and people living along its banks.
Seth Casteel: Underwater Dogs
2019 closed with two unique and popular exhibitions. H2Oh! Art Quilts features water-themed quilts from over 30 artists from around the world in the first ever art quilt exhibition at MMAM. H2Oh! is open until January 19, 2020 and has had great reviews. The best word to describe Seth Casteel: Underwater Dogs is FUN! Underwater Dogs is just that, dogs underwater. Photographer Seth Casteel’s viral photographs led to New York Times bestselling books and this, his first museum exhibition. Underwater Dogs is open until January 5, 2020 and shows the joy of dogs swimming, diving and fetching underwater.
Planning and staging an exhibition takes hard work and money. All of the fantastic exhibitions of 2019 would not have been possible without donations, sponsorship, and support from our community. This support is essential to pay artists, for materials, and to pay for the hundreds of hours of staff time that goes into creating these exhibitions. Please consider making a donation to the Minnesota Marine Art Museum Anchor Campaign to help us continue to bring you engaging and inspiring exhibitions, and to be a supporting partner in your art museum.
Thank you,
Dave Casey
