410 Project hosts Fluidity showcase downtown
The current exhibit at The 410 Project — an art gallery in downtown Mankato — is called “Fluidity,” which includes works from four artists: Abby Lundebrek, Syd Heid, Hanne Tebben and Zoe Jensen.
Lundebrek organized this exhibit after getting the opportunity back in May after getting nominated for Best in Show at a Carnegie Art Center show. run by Twin Rivers Art Center.
“I went there and gave a 15-minute presentation of my art, and people got to vote on some of the winners. I got to talk about my art, about why I love to do what I do, how important it is,” said Lundebrek. “I was talking to Dana Sikkila, the director of the 410, and she offered me the show, seeing as I had just come into my first year as a grad student, and that’d be a good opportunity to help build my portfolio for these larger grad programs.”
The group of four wanted to do a show like this earlier in the year, but it just happened now.
When Lundebrek needed artists for the show, she knew who to ask. The work in the show is all different but fits into the theme of fluidity.
“We picked fluidity because we could kind of do whatever we wanted, and none of our styles like super duper line up. We all have a lot of figures or animal references. We all like really bright colors and a lot of fun movement,” said Heid.
One of the pieces in the show is portrait walls done by everyone in the group. The group chose to do this because of how different everyone’s style is.
It challenged them all to paint each other in their different styles.
Even though Jensen was worried about how Lundebrek would react to the portrait of her, she said it’s her favorite artwork in the show.
“It was fear that the person you were painting the portrait for would hate it or just hate the way that they looked in a painting. I wanted to do them justice in my painting style because I am a painting major. I graduated with my concentration in painting, so I didn’t want to make a fool of myself or her,” said Jensen.
“I think it just showcases how different we are but how similar we can be together and do the show when we have such different pieces.”
One of Lundebrek’s favorite pieces in the show is her painting called “Duality.” It is a painting of androgynous bodies that have bird heads. She said it was the hardest one for her to do because of how vulnerable it was.
“It’s set up in a tiered setting, starting from the bottom to the top of my journey through self-reflection and the struggles that come with regaining body confidence,” said Lundebrek.
“A lot of times I fall back into this middle figure, and that’s all about duality, loving the bad and the good and finding that inner peace, that central point that I can be OK with going forward.”
Students can stop by the 410 Project in downtown Mankato until Sept. 9 to see these artworks.
Write to Lauren Viska at lauren.viska@mnsu.edu
Header Photo: The 410 Project features the exhibit titled, ‘Fluidity,’ featuring the work of Abby Lundebrek, Syd Heid, Hanne Tebben and Zoe Jensen. ‘Fluidity,’ represents unique styles of art that include bright colors, animals, and figures. (Dominic Bothe/The Reporter)