October Art Exhibit in Bigfork Shows A Different View

A unique collection of paintings will be on display at The Edge Center Gallery in Bigfork this October. The colors outside may be fading, but they certainly are bright in the very colorful collection by Minnesota artist Mary Lingen. Tour the seasons of our wonderful Northern Minnesota environment in art that challenges the eye as well as lifting the spirit. On October 5, there is an Opening Reception where you can see the wonderful paintings, talk to the artist and enjoy complementary refreshments. The work can be seen from October 4 through October 27 at the Edge Center Gallery next to the Bigfork School. The Gallery is open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10:00-4:00.

Mary Lingen was born in North Dakota in 1959. Her family moved to Minnesota in 1965. Lingen studied art at Augsburg College, graduating summa cum laude in 1981. She continued to paint, while working various jobs. Mary and her husband built their home on ten acres of woodlands in Backus, Minnesota. This landscape changed the focus of her painting and helped to shape the style of her work. In 1995, she began to paint full time.

Lingen has exhibited her work across the country and received several awards in juried competitions. She has been listed in Art in America’s Guide to Museums, Galleries and Artists four times. Online, she was featured in www.local-artist-interviews.com and www.sharkreef.org , and has two web-sites featuring her work: www.marylingen.wordpress.com and www.mnartists.org/mary_lingen . Her art is represented by Douglas Flanders Art in Minnesota, and galleries in Pennsylvania and Oregon. Her work can be found in many public and private collections.

From the artist, “I always work on five paintings at once, mainly because I work in oil and this allows time for the paint to dry between workings. I like this slowing down because it forces me to study the work, think about it while it’s sitting there drying. This stepping back helps me see potentials that I might have missed or corrected if I dove in too quickly. The five paintings are not a series or related to each other in any way other than they are landscapes and I painted them. The past is not something to escape from but something to build on. My development has been slow and steady, change is gradual but I wouldn’t say it’s progress---today’s work is different from earlier work.” More of her thoughts on her work can be found at: http://www.local-artist-interviews.com/2011/02/mary-lingen-painter.html

As usual we had a wonderful group of volunteers joined by Mary setting up the exhibit. With so much color and variety it was an extra challenge to decide which goes where, but in the end it brightens up the gallery in a beautiful display. A special thanks goes to the volunteers for their hard work. Pictured above are Karen Kerlaak, Karen Haberle, Sandra Petersen, Mary Lingen and Kathy Champoux.

It’s always a treat to see the way the gallery changes from lots of people and work to the finished product. Hope to see you all at the exhibit opening October 5th.

You may find yourself agreeing with Mary, “I’ve found calm in walking in the woods and seeing the world around me, observing its changes, looking forward to the way the light looks at certain times. This is what I paint. It is a place that I know well and yet it often seems a strange land to me, as if I’ve never been there before. [The paintings] remind some of stained glass, mosaic, quilts, maps of city streets, or digital technology.”