“This is Fine” by Russ White
The Fine Arts Exhibit is always a popular attraction during the Minnesota State Fair. With many more submissions than gallery space, competition is tough. Congratulations to each of the artists who were selected to be a part of the show. This year, 2,834 entries were received and only 337 were accepted into the show. The show featured more than 30 artists with ties to the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District; eight of them won awards. Three out of the eight judges also have affiliations: sculpture category Dennis Kalow, drawing/pastel category Jo Ann Hendricks and printmaking category Ingrid Restemayer.
In the Oil/Acrylic/Mixed Media category, “This is Fine” by Russ White won 3rd place and “Socialite” by Mat Ollig won an honorable mention. Other artists in this category include: Nelson Anderson, Leslie Barlow, Shelly Beaumont, Megan Bell, Suzann Beck, Jeffery Gauss, Brendan Kramp, Ava Lambert, Kendall Laurent, Cara O’Connell, Dyan Padgett, Mark Peterson, R!sha, Seangarrison and Surelle Strike.
Sculpture category artists include S. Catrin Magnusson and Jodi Reeb.
Suzanne Shaff won 3rd place for “Root Vegetables,” while Donald Aggerbeck won honorable mention in the Watercolor/Gouache/Casein/Tempera category.
Cory Favre won 2nd place for “Time to Pretend” in the Drawing/Pastel category. Joyce Lyon was also included in this category.
Selected printmaking artists include: Amy Rice, Melissa Sisk and Brian Wagner.
Judith Yourman was awarded honorable mention for “Les Demoiselles” in the Ceramics/Glass category.
Studio: HERE artists with ties to the District include: Sanjukta Mitra on August 23 and
Jeffery Gauss on August 26. Studio: HERE is a special exhibition which provides a window into the practice of 12 Minnesota artists. Each selected artist spent 12 hours in the Fine Arts Building creating art, giving the public a glimpse into their artistic process.
Congratulations to all artists who were a part of this incredible show. Visit https://bit.ly/StateFairArtists2025 to view all the art in this year’s exhibition.
Editor’s note: Mark Peterson contributes both writing and photography to the Northeaster.