MMAM Atrium Refresh

Stolen Moment (2018) by Mary Solberg (American, b. 1956) mixed media, MMAM collection. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

During the extended closure of the Museum due to the Coronavirus pandemic, I took this opportunity to change out works of art in our atrium with items from the permanent collection. When the Museum reopens, you will see works by 10 regional, national, and international contemporary artists including Nathan Benn, Craig Blacklock, Seth Casteel, Annie Hejny, Stuart Klipper, Leo and Marilyn Smith, Mary Solberg, Maria Svarbova, and Nick Wroblewski. Works by Benn, Blacklock, Castell, Klipper, Svarbova, and Wroblewski are generous donations directly from the artists following recent exhibitions of their work. Mary Solberg’s mixed-media painting Stolen Moment (2018) was commissioned specifically for her exhibition and donated to our collection through a grant from the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council (SEMAC), and made possible by the voters of Minnesota through grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts & cultural heritage fund. The sculpture by Leo and Marilyn Smith was purchased from the artists when the Museum was initially being built in 2006, along with 421 other works of their art. Annie Hejny’s Lake Pepin Disposition (2018) was purchased and donated by MMAM volunteer docent Barbara M. Rockwell. Barb was so taken by Annie and her work, she made this generous gift to the Museum and commissioned a new piece for her personal collection.  Thank you Barb!

Lake Pepin Disposition (2018) by Annie Hejny (American, b. 1988), acrylic paint, collected Lake Pepin water and sediment on canvas. MMAM collection, donated by Barbara M. Rockwell.

I would like to highlight Annie’ Hejny’s painting Lake Pepin Disposition (2018), for it has not been displayed since we acquired it. Annie Hejny is a young Twin Cities artist who was the subject of MMAM’s popular exhibition  “Annie Hejny: Waterlines” in the fall of 2018. Hejny uses honorable harvested water and sediment from regional, lakes, streams and rivers. She mixes these materials with her paints, creating a textural surface on her canvases and a direct connection to her subjects. She explains, “In Lake Pepin Disposition, I intentionally incorporated a substantial amount of sediment, collected near Lake City, MN. The heavy texture at the base of the painting emulates the settling of sediment at the bottom of the lake. There are growing concerns about the long-term impacts on the health of the water and its ecosystem due to the increasing sedimentation from upstream sources. This painting is balanced through layers of sediment, paint, and poured water, addressing the need for a balanced symbiosis between the river and the local community.”  

The Minnesota Marine Art Museum (MMAM) exhibits art from its permanent collection and from long and short-term loans from private collectors, other museums, commercial galleries, traveling exhibition services, and living artists. Since opening in 2006, the Museum has slowly and steadily added works of art to its permanent collection through donations and grants. At this time, as a young museum,  we do not have an acquisition fund and thus, do not buy art for the collection and must rely solely on donations and grants to acquire art.  Currently there are 673 works of art and marine artifacts in the permanent collection.  Many of these works are on display in the American and European galleries, while others are in storage.  The Museum’s Collections Committee, comprised of MMAM staff, Board of Directors members, and community members, reviews all donation offers several times a year, carefully selecting items that find a permanent home in our collection. We receive dozens of donation offers from all over the United States and I work with potential donors to screen items to consider for the collection. Works must be of high quality, be inspired by water, and/or have a connection to others works in the collection.  Accepting a work of art requires us to be responsible for all aspects of its condition, insurance, proper storage, display and interpretation. Only a small percentage of items offered to us are accepted into the collection.

The Museum continues to grow its collection of great art inspired by water and we will display works from the collection in future exhibitions, our atrium and the Oberton Education Room, and loan works to other museums. I hope you enjoy this insight into the Museum’s collections and invite you to see these works of art in the atrium when we reopen.

Jon Swanson

Curator of Collections & Exhibitions