3441 Cedar Ave. S
Minneapolis, MN 55407
phone/fax 612 722-2324
susan@susanhenseldesign.com
www.susanhenseldesign.com
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SUSAN HENSEL GALLERY
a gallery of narrative art
Opened
September 10, 2004
DESIRE
January 7-February 24, 2006
by Susan Hensel
NOW OPEN
OPENING RECEPTION
Saturday, JANUARY 7, 2006, 5-9pm
Three years in the making, Desire, is the first Minneapolis show Susan Hensel. Desire is an installation. When you visit the gallery you will walk into a total environment devoted to the journey from adolescence to senescence, from sexual awakening to fecundity, relationship, sorrow, aging and beauty. It is a lushly beautiful space, replete with color, sound, lights all focused on allowing you to experience the theme. You will be invited to enter an inner sanctum that fractures the separation between public and private. Quiet, meditative, warm and inviting for the dark days of winter.
The piece began developing about three years ago, before Susan moved to Minnesota. She had just finished a mammoth installation, entitled Kristallnacht: the bystanders, about the concept of holocaust, about the ways in which we humans can kill and maim members of our own species, and how we good people could stand by and not act.
Susan has said that she was wounded and exhausted by the work that went into that piece. Years of living in the study and knowledge of death and destruction, of human evil had taken its toll. It took about six months for the usually ebullient Hensel to feel normal again. She asked herself, "What should I do next? What frontier did I have left to explore? What was the opposite of death and destruction? I determined to investigate sexuality and aging."
As the arc of the project proceeded, she found she was creating a quasi historical, many layered narrative of sexual awakening, fecundity, relationship , sorrow and aging. Using drawing, photography, printing, collage, assemblage, light and sound, Hensel creates a beautiful, problematic environment that ultimately engages the existential question of how we manage to live alone in the prison of our bodies. A catalog of the DESIRE show is avaiable for $15. To play this Youtube movie, you must have Flash installed.
7-9pm
HOT POETRY READING
in the spirit of Valentine's Day
curated by Lisa Calame Berg.
A celebration of Desire in poetry, food and drink!
Wander among the pictures, listen to the words, chat, enjoy a dessert.
. A convivial time was had by all.
Beverage service provided by Airforce Nutrisoda
Unconventional Gourmet Cheesecakes provided by For Goodness Cakes
6 part videos of the reading
Lisa Calame Berg is a writer and budding art historian who has desired (that is been married to) the same man for over twenty-five years. She believes that Valentine's Day is every day but is happy for a special day to celebrate sweethearts. By the way, did you know that in ancient Rome, February 14th was originally a holiday to honor Juno, Queen of the Gods? The Christian church took it for St. Valentine because, in the third century, Valentine performed secret wedding ceremonies after Emperor Claudius II (the Cruel) cancelled all new marriages to encourage men to join his army. When St. Valentine was caught, Claudius had him beaten to death and beheaded on February 14th.
Emily Wharton is a poet living and working in Minneapolis. She has an MFA, a propensity for existential crises, and a weakness for the cheesy love songs of the '80s and '90s. While she generally detests dichotomies, her working theory is that love consists of two main aspects -- lust and laundry.
Nancy Nelson grew up in and around the Twin Cities. She now lives with an old hound dog and a black cat in a tiny cabin in the St Croix River bluffs of Wisconsin. She splits her time between the woods and her office in downtown Minneapolis.
Howard Lieberman has done just about everything on stage except sing, which he would love to do if he could carry a tune. Howard grew up on the North Side of Chicago with his professional tap dancer father and math teacher mother, which partially explains his wild mood swings. As a young adult Howard left the wholesome Midwest to find fame and fortune as a corporate attorney in New York City. 20 years and one child later, Howard moved to bucolic and staunchly Republican Stillwater, Minnesota with a New York accent and a jaded sense of humor. Although Howard currently makes his living as a headhunter for attorneys, his unique blend of performance art and storytelling has made him a fixture in the Twin Cities performance world. He can be seen the first Monday of every month in Stillwater City Hall where he plays the roles of Good Cop and Bad Cop as the Chair of the Stillwater Heritage Preservation Commission, and on most Saturday and Sunday mornings at the Daily Grind Coffee Shop where he offers his opinions on everything while simultaneously doing New York Times crossword puzzles with his bald and balding cronies.
Jan Pettit has been writing in her head since she was a child but only started putting it on paper in recent years. She has been published here and there-yes, that would be twice. She's married to jazz guitarist, Paul Renz and has two fledgling sons. Jan spends her days working for the dark side, writing ads; and her nights working toward the light, writing poetry.
Anne Piper loves and works in St. Paul. She has just finished her last class in Hamline's MFA program and will soon...or eventually...launch into thesis
.Barbara Jones is a poet and legal journalist who lives in St. Paul. She is the associate editor of Minnesota Lawyer newspaper and is licensed to practice law but refuses to buy malpractice insurance so she can't give legal advice. She has been published locally and is now working on a new manuscript tentatively called "Mosaic." A manuscript called "The Perfect Clarity of Love" is looking forlornly for a publisher. Single, she is committed to bring Valentine's Day, love, and desire out of Hallmark stores and into everyone's lives.
A catalog of the DESIRE show is avaiable for $15.
