Chris Allen: Art Lives Here

March 6 - April 28, 2024

Images from left to right: May Ling Kopecky Self Portrait - Multiple Sclerosis and My Body, 2022 colored pencil, ink, and graphite on Dura-Lar and graph paper; 71" x 30" ︎︎︎Image description: The portrait of a woman with brown hair is made of drawings of various parts of her body created using various techniques. Next to each drawing is a description of the portaied symptoms. Benjamin Merrit Care is, 2020 etching, aquatint, drypoint, sugarlift, spitbite; image 18 x 24”, full sheet 22 x 30” ︎︎︎Image description: One black and white print, consisting of “care is” written in white on the top half, and a white rectangle on the bottom half. The text is sitting on a dark field of texture and gestural marks, the blank rectangle consists of faint texture. Kym McDaniel Screenshot from Exit Strategy #1, Exit Strategies Series, 2017-2021 video series; 40:23 min ︎︎︎Image description: Silver spoons arranged on a table

Chris Allen: Art Lives Here

On View Wednesday, March 6 - Sunday, April 28, 2024

Beading Workshop | Sunday, April 7, 12:00 - 3:00 PM Register Here!

Art Lives Here is a presentation of ephemeral installations. A Creative Support for Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board facilitated free beading workshops for the Rochester, Minnesota community at large in 2023. People gathered each week to learn how to bead around a small rock. Each stone is composed of seed beads stitched together with thread, one by one, to create a skin enveloping the stone. They are a combination of compacted earth and the care we ought to understand about our home. They are a metaphor for even ourselves. How not caring for our planet, each other or ourselves will ultimately be disastrous. Beaded stones were returned to their makers after the installations were documented. The slowness of this work while building community is inspiring for me. These site specific installations discuss the nature of nature, environmental concerns, the beauty of land, listening carefully, spiritual queries and celebrating life.

Chris Allen was born in Kingston, New York in 1959. Allen earned a BFA at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis in Printmaking and a Master of Fine Art in Fiber from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. A pivotal workshop from Joyce Scott ignited a passion for beadwork. Allen has exhibited for the past 30 years nationally. She currently lives in Rochester, Minnesota.

Chris Allen is a fiscal year 2023 recipient of a Creative Support for Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.