LUMstudio celebrates the opening of Tara Austin's solo exhibition, Boreal Ornament VI, with a reception from 4:00-6:00pm on Friday, December 19th. Join us for refreshments, conversation, and light as we approach the longest night of the year.

Featuring new work completed in the last five years, Boreal Ornament VI is Austin’s first solo exhibition in Duluth since returning from Grand Marais, where she was Resident Artisan at the North House Folk School. Austin’s work evinces her Northern Minnesota upbringing, showcasing a keen awareness of shape and pattern in the natural world as well as an eye for the depth and reflectivity characteristic of northern light at play on water. That said, her work is far from representational or figurative. Trained in the traditional Norwegian folk art of rosemaling, Austin draws on that and other decorative techniques including faux finishing and reverse painting on glass to craft works of startling geometric and textural complexity. Rendered with exceedingly fastidious craftsmanship, the pieces on show in Boreal Ornament VI both confront and invite contemplation. The exhibition features several of Austin’s "Octdala" series—large-scale octagonal works with kaleidoscopic impact—as well as a number of ornamented acrylic side tables that gesture towards the decorative roots of Austin’s practice.

Now on view, Boreal Ornament VI can be seen from 8:00am-5:00pm, Tuesday-Saturday, at LUMstudio.

Tara Austin - taraaustinstudio.com
LUMstudio - lumstudio.us