The Anderson Center presents Sustenance, a group exhibition featuring work by five Minnesota artists exploring food and the cultural identities behind what we eat. From traditional still-life paintings to conceptual art in two and three dimensions, these works honor the vital relationship that people have with food: growing it, serving it, sharing it, and using it as a metaphor or symbol. Featured artists are Katayoun Amjadi, Danielle Flicek, Michael Jensen, Seitu Jones, and Constance Misener.
“We talk a lot about Art & Culture, and when I think about those two ideas, they encompass just about every aspect of life,” says Anderson Center Director Stephanie Rogers. “Culture is embedded in everything: what we chose to wear and eat, how we interact with other people. The production, preparation, and sharing of food is one of the most accessible and welcoming ways to share our culture, values and time with others.”
“The artists in Sustenance are thinking about this in different ways. Jones and Flicek are involved in growing and serving food in a direct, hands-on way, and that comes through in the imagery they use in their artistic practices. Amjadi’s work from the Exileware series is both functional – you could actually use them to eat – and a highly conceptual examination of ‘transnational migration on individual and collective experiences of everyday life,’ as she describes it. Misener and Jensen’s works, while very different in style, honor humble produce. Through their paintings, they have elevated and extended perishable produce, asking audience members to look closely and appreciate the complexity and beauty in small and seemingly mundane things.”
Handicapped accessible and free to the public, the Main Gallery at the Anderson Center is open Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. This exhibit is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
