From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art. Their recommendations are lightly edited from the audio heard in the player above. 

Want to be an Art Hound? Submit here.

‘Of the Earth’ joins the Detroit Lakes trolls

Former arts administrator Taylor Barnes of Jamestown, North Dakota, has a cabin in Detroit Lakes, and she admires the work of Project 412 in engaging the community to create public artworks.

Last year, they welcomed Danish artist Thomas Dambo to create a series of large trolls, which remain on view in and around Detroit Lakes. Now, the trolls have company: artist-in-residence Olga Ziemska has created four large sculptures of natural materials, entitled “Of the Earth.”

Three of the site-specific sculptures are temporary, but the fourth — a butterfly, currently in the works —will remain at the Ortenstone Gardens & Sculpture Park in Detroit Lakes.

Taylor says: I think they had probably 300 volunteers that worked for over 100 hours with her creating the pieces [three of which portray women built at large scale].

One woman is emerging from the earth. Another head is lying on its side, kind of listening. The third one is the woman's head and torso. I particularly like this one, because she's just got this hair that looks as though it's being blown back by a hurricane that's all made out of twigs and branches and sustainable materials.

— Taylor Barnes

A one-woman musical, for those who wait

Lux Mortenson of Brooklyn Park is excited for people to see the one-woman musical “Penelope” at the Elision Playhouse in Crystal. It runs June 20–28.

Lux says: I’m so thrilled that “Penelope” at Theatre Elision is coming back this month! I was fortunate enough to see it last year, and it was all I could talk about for weeks.

Christine Wade is a marvel, a true multi-hyphenate who guides the audience on a tight and beautiful one-act journey through the eyes of Penelope, Odysseus' devoted, incredibly patient wife, as she waits for her husband to return home.

Everything comes together to leave the audience spellbound. This is absolutely one NOT to miss this summer.

— Lux Mortenson

Nature in natural materials at the Arboretum

Art enthusiast Doris Rubenstein of Richfield recommends visiting the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska to check out the new exhibit in the Reedy Gallery in the visitor center.

It’s called “Wax, Wire, Wood, and Clay,” and four artists use natural materials to create scenes from nature. It runs through July 28. It's recommended that visitors to the Arboretum book a ticket online in advance; children 15 and under are free with an adult.

Doris says: Lynn Sarnoff-Christensen is the driving force behind the exhibition. Lynn is an encaustic artist; she explained it to me as the process of painting with molten beeswax.

For this show, she's taken photos of birds’ nests, incorporating them into the picture, along with other media like oils and pastels. Lynn invited three of her friends to join in the challenge of recreating nature with natural materials.

Jodi Reeb sculptures weird seed pods and boulders from wire. Jim Gallop makes sculptures and bowls from knobby tree burls, and Cindy Syme carves tree portraits into clay tiles.

So what better place could art lovers look for a show about the beauty of nature than the Arboretum, especially at this glorious time of year in Minnesota?

— Doris Rubenstein

Correction (June 12, 2025): An earlier version of this story incorrectly spelled Lux Mortenson's name. The story has been updated.