Transfigure by Michal Sagar,
Graphite, charcoal, conte and oil on paper,
22 x 30
Minneapolis visual artist Michal Sagar will open the exhibition season in Schaefer Gallery on the Gustavus Adolphus College campus with The Beginning of the Third Dream, October 1 – 30. The exhibition is underwritten by the Gustavus Artist Series and will open on October 1 with an artist lecture at 4:00 p.m. in the Fine Arts Lecture Hall in the Department of Art & Art History. An opening reception in the Gallery will run from 3:30 – 6:00 p.m. Admission to Schaefer Gallery is free and the Gallery is open daily between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
Michal Sagar is the Visual Department Head at Breck School in Minneapolis. She earned her BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and her MFA from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Her drawings, paintings and encaustic works have been exhibited nationally and internationally. In addition to this exhibition at Gustavus, Michal has had solo shows at the Tychman Shapiro Gallery in Minneapolis and the Acanthe Gallery, La Ferté-Loupière, France.
For this exhibition, Sagar has focused on the interplay between what is culture and what is wild — and how these forces live within an individual. In her description, she writes, “The Beginning of the Third Dream highlights aspects of my art spanning twenty years. If the first begins at birth, and the second involves coming to terms with early life, the third dream is of one’s own making. The artwork exhibited in the two lower galleries deals with themes of identity and heritage; while my most recent series on the top floor stem from a desire to tap into vital, living images.”
Some of the works began as drawings directly from the fragments of ancient European sculptures. As Sagar worked on the initial drawings, a surprising element – that of a wild African dog – emerged. She viewed the images of the Classical European male and the dog as “two potentially antagonistic forces …… in a struggle seeking a new balance.” Beginning the Third Dream is the result of that struggle; the artist’s work –– to respond to the nature in each figure and to imbue both with a sentient quality.
This exhibition of works by Michal Sagar includes a one-day residency for students in the Department of Art & Art History on methods the artist uses in her work. Funding for that workshop is provided by the Johnson Endowment for the Arts.
Michal Sagar’s The Beginning of the Third Dream opens October 1 in Schaefer Gallery with an artist lecture at 4:00 p.m. and a reception from 3:30 – 6:00 p.m. This exhibition will be on display for the entire month of October in Schaefer Gallery, located in the Department of Art & Art History in Schaefer Fine Arts Center. The Galley is open daily between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Admission is free.