Alison Aune + Kirsten Aune: Colors from the North
The exhibit at the American Swedish Institute runs through October 28, entrance included in museum admission.
The Aune sisters Alison and Kirsten, who reside in Duluth, come together for an exhibition creatively exploring the intersection of craft, art and heritage. With a combination of textiles, prints and paintings, they share an interest in patterns, nature and vibrant colors. Alison draws inspiration from traditional folk art patterns and Kirsten from more contemporary Scandinavian designs.
Each artist honors family, cultural roots and pays tribute to women's artistic and domestic contributions. Alison is an award-winning painter and professor of art education at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Her work is in the collections of the Tweed Museum of Art, Walker Art Center, and privately owned in the U.S.A, Norway, and Sweden. Kirsten hand paints and uses stencils and screen printing. Her work has been exhibited around the world and is owned by organizations including Children's Museum of Duluth and The Konstal in Vaxjo Sweden.
Artist bio/statements
Alison and Kirsten Aune are sisters. They grew up in Amherst Massachusetts. Their parents, originally from Minneapolis, regularly visited Minnesota to spend time with relatives, take a sauna at the lake, and partake in their grandmother’s Swedish Christmas smörgåsbord. They gained an appreciation for their parent’s cultural heritage and their collection of Scandinavian art and design.
Today, Alison and Kirsten live in Duluth, Minnesota. As artists they share an interest in patterns and vibrant color selections. Alison draws inspiration from traditional folk art and symbolic decorative designs that she integrates into her mixed media paintings. Kirsten creates hand-painted and silkscreened contemporary geometric and floral textiles. Each honors their cultural roots and pays tribute to women’s artistic and domestic contributions to material culture.
Alison Aune is a painter and professor of art education at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Her Nordic inspired paintings have been exhibited nationally and internationally. In Minnesota, her works have been exhibited at Norway House and the Groveland Gallery in Minneapolis, the Tweed Museum of Art, Lizzards Gallery, The Nordic Center the Joseph Nease Gallery, and Duluth Art Institute, and an upcoming solo exhibition at the MacRostie Gallery in Grand Rapids; the Scandinavian Cultural Center in Tacoma WA, the Vesterheim Museum, Decorah Iowa, and in several venues in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Italy, and Estonia. She was a Fulbright scholar to Sweden and American Scandinavian Foundation Doctoral Fellow; she has numerous awards including a Minnesota Initiative Grant, Art Educator of Minnesota awards, and a Jerome Foundation Travel Grant. Her work is in the collection of the Växjö City Hall, the Tweed Museum of Art, the Walker, and in private collections in the USA, Norway, and Sweden. See her website alisonaune.com (password aaune)
Kirsten Aune is an artist and designer specializing in textiles. She studied at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Her work has been featured in exhibitions in Minnesota, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Estonia. She is the recipient of several awards including the Jerome Foundation Travel, Arrowhead Regional Arts Council Fellowship and Finlandia Foundation Grant. Her work is in permanent collection at The Tweed Museum of Art, the Municipal Arts Collective, Växjö, Sweden, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation Duluth, The Duluth Children’s Museum and in numerous private collections in Washington D.C, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York City, North Carolina, Austria, Paris, Finland and Japan. See her website Kirstenaune.com
An artist reception was held on Wednesday, October 3, 6-7 p.m.
https://www.perfectduluthday.com/2017/04/07/selective-focus-kirsten-aune/