This catalogue has been published for the exhibition at Douglas Flanders & Associates Fine Arts Gallery, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Mary Lingen: Four Seasons, October 29 — December 10, 2022, 5025 France Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55410
© 2022 Douglas Flanders & Associates, LLC and Mary Lingen
All Images are Courtesy of Mary Lingen, wordpress.marylingen.com and Douglas Flanders & Asssociates, LLC, flandersart.com
Design Syril McNally, syrilmcnally.com
Printing S martpress, smartpress.com
Typefaces Merchant (© Rajesh Rajput ) and Grosa Trial (© 2022 Feliciano Typ e )
Somewhere between Chuck Close and Gustav Klimt is an artistry practiced by Minnesota artist Mary Lingen. From hundreds of small carefully painted shapes, she builds an image of flat paint without obvious brush strokes. Her paintings shine with her intimate commune with nature through structure, pattern and light.
A graduate of Augsburg College, Lingen has allowed her techniques to flourish over many decades, immersing herself daily in work that reflects the ecosystems that surround her home in Northern Minnesota.
Lingen takes her own photos, often near her home in Northern Minnesota, which she has on hand as she paints. The photograph helps Lingen capture the details of a landscape, whether that be the way the snow sparkles in January, or the way a path in the woods disappears into the shade of the trees. Working from photographs helps Lingen bring out “the small stuff that you maybe don’t see when you just glance,” she said. “It kind of fascinates me the way the light hits things and doesn’t have other things.”
Working on multiple canvases at a time, Lingen takes about six weeks to complete each painting. Her process involves layering oil paint in stages, and waiting for each layer to dry in between sessions.
As she works in stages, Lingen realizes the image as a pattern of geometric shapes, — or tessellations as she calls them. Each of the shapes bring into keen focus the way the light and shadow hit that particular spot.
The 32 x 48 in painting July Sunset displays a dynamic mirrored effect between the sunset and its reflection on the water. The colors on the lake are more saturated, and her filled rectangle shapes are larger than the muted, smaller shapes of the sky. Together, the two sides are awe-inspiring, guiding the viewer into an experience of wonder that’s similar to seeing a real stunner of a sunset.
The paint Lingen uses is fairly opaque, but there is an illusion of transparency and sense of layers. Close up, the viewer encounters vibrant patterns of squares, rectangles and triangles. In more recent work, hatch marks become a tool for creating texture. Step back from the painting, and Lingen’s nuanced work with color results in paintings so real they could be photographs.
Earlier in her career, Lingen’s work was more abstract than it is now. She enjoyed creating systems and rules for her practice. These days, she’s let her structured approach go in favor of spontaneity. “Nature became more important to me,” she said. “I might do a little pattern over here and then drag it, or change the colors, but it’s less structured. I’m more comfortable with chaos than I used to be.”
A number of the pieces do away with the horizon, instead capturing the view of the sky. Overhead 16 is a 72 x 86 in piece that gazes up at the glorious orange, red, and yellow colors of the fall. Interspersed between the color cells are the dark sweeping branches. They look a bit like veins, interconnected in an intricate system. The blue of the sky pokes through in its own geometric patterns of rectangles.
“It kind of reminds me of stained glass windows,” Lingen said over her sky-watching paintings.
Lingen’s love of nature flows out of her paintings with abundance. Capturing the beauty of Minnesota’s rich landscape at all seasons of the year, Lingen’s oil paintings, surrounded by wood frames of aspen, cherry walnut, or other woods made by her carpenter husband, offer a view of the outside world through a refined focus on pattern and precise composition.
Written by Sheila Regan, October 2022
Resume
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2021 C onfluence Gallery, Nature Walk, Bloomington, MN
2017 D ouglas Flanders & Associates, Tessallations , Minneapolis, MN
Wild Hare Bistro, Bemidji, MN
2014 D ouglas Flanders & Associates, Division of Time
2013 Virginia Piper Cancer Institute & Penny George Institute, Fridley, MN
M yles Reif Center Gallery, Grand Rapids, MN
Great River Arts, Little Falls, MN
Wild Hare Bistro, Bemidgji, MN
2012 S pirit of Life Gallery, St. Cloud, MN
The Edge Center Gallery, Four Seasons , Bigfork, MN
Lynnhurst UCC Gallery, Connected by Nature , Minneapolis, MN
Penny George Institute, Minneapolis, MN
World’s Smallest Gallery, Urban Stampede , Grand Forks, ND
2011 Great RIver Gallery, Anoka-Ramsey Community College, Coon Rapids, MN
2010 First National Bank of th e Lakes, Minneapolis, MN
The Marsh, Facets of Time and Place , Minnetonka, MN
Wild Hare Bistro, Bemidji, MN
Selected Featured Artist Exhibitions
2020 Rochester International Airport, Arts Elevated, Rochester, MN
2019-20 M SP International Airport, The Four Seasons , Minneapolis / St. Paul, MN
2006 The Space: A Centre for Creativity, Visual Logic , New Richmond, WI
C ornucopia Art Center, Lanesboro, MN
2002 Lizzard’s Art Gallery & Framing, Duluth, MN
Selected Group Exhibitions
2021 D ouglas Flanders & Associates, April Showers Bring May Flowers
2020 D ouglas Flanders & Associates, Painting Minnesota
2019 Minnetonka Center for the Arts, Art of the Garden, Wayzata, MN
2018 D ouglas Flanders & Associates, Snow Show
2017 Augsburg College, Alumni Exhibit, Minneapolis, MN
D ouglas Flanders & Associates, Recent Acquisitions
2016 The Third Bird, Art at the Bird, Minneapolis, MN
2015 B anfill-Locke Center for the Arts, with Linda Deg Lee, Fridley, MN Augsburg College, Alumni Exhibit, Minneapolis, MN, People’s Choice Award
2013 Paradise Center for the Arts, with Willis, Faribault, MN
2012 D ouglas Flanders & Associates, with George J Farrah
B urnsville Arts Center, with Mornes & Yermakoff, Burnsville, MN
2010 L arson Art Gallery, U of M, Crystal Nature, 3 Artist, 2002, St. Paul, MN
Minnetonka Center for the Arts, Biennial, Minnetonka, MN
World’s Smallest Gallery, with Kottke & Bederman, Grand Forks, ND Minneapolis Institute of Art, Foot in the Door, Minneapolis, MN
Selected Juried Exhibitions
2019 Edge Center, 2019 Art on the Edge , Award of Excellence, Bigfork, MN
2019 Walter Piehl gallery, Northwest Arts Center, Minot State University, A mericas 2019: All Media, Minot, ND
2017 D evos Art Museum, Northern Michigan University, N orth of the 45 , Marquette, MI
2015 Minnetonka Center for the Arts, Art of the Garden, Wayzata, MN
2014 B lack Earth Gallery, My Landscape , Cedar Rapids, IA Arts & Culture Alliance, Then & Now, Knoxville, TN
2013 D uluth Art Institute, Waterworks , Duluth, MN
D evos Art Museum, North of the 45th Parallel, Marquette, MN
Minnetonka Center for the Arts, Art of the Garden, Wayzata, MN
2012 Minnetonka Center for the Arts, Art of the Garden, Wayzata, MN
2011 Minnetonka Center for the Arts, Sense of Place , Wayzata, MN
2010 B urnsville Arts Center, Cultural Perspectives , Burnsville, MN
Artist Mercantile, VIsual Jazz, St. Paul, MN
Chico Art Center, Contemporary Women, Chico, CA
Awards
2015 Augsburg College, People’s Choice Award, Alumni Exhibit, Minneapolis, MN
2005 Wayne Art Center, Juror’s Choice Award, National Spring Open, Wayne, PA
2002 M oss-Thorns Gallery of Art, Curator’s Choice Award, Hays, KS
2001 M acRostie Art Center, Merit Award, Grand Rapids, MN
Yeiser Art Center, 4th Place Award, Paducah, KY
Randall L. Jones Theater, Merit Award, 60th National Exhibit, Cedar City, UT
2000 B emidji Community Art Center, 2nd Place, MN Invitational, Bemidji, MN
Green Tara Gallery, Collector’s Choice Award, Design & Spirit, Carrboro, NC
1998 Highland Cultural Center, Merit Award, Highland, NY
Hunger Artists Gallery, 5th Place Award, Harvest of Colors , Albuquerque, NM
Collections
Augsburg College, Minneapolis, MN
B oston Scientific, Maple Grove, MN
Children’s Hospital, Minneapolis, MN
Children’s Hospital, St. Paul, MN
Factory Motor Parts ( MOPAR ), Eagan, MN
D ouglas Flanders, Minneapolis, MN
City of Fort Smith, Arkansas
H eritage Park, McCormack Baron Salazar, Minneapolis, MN
H ealthPartners Neuroscience Center, St. Paul, MN
L akewood Hospital, Staples, MN
Lynnhurst UCC, Minneapolis, MN
N orthland Community and Technical College, Thief River Falls, MN
O rgel Wealth Management, Eau Claire, WI
Perham Hospital and Home, Perham, MN
Ridgewater College, Hutchinson, MN
S pirit of Life Unitarian Church, St. Cloud, MN
St. Mary’s Hospital, Essentia Health, Detroit Lakes, MN
Target Corporation, Minneapolis, MN
U nited Health, Minneapolis, MN
Whittier Clinic, Minneapolis, MN
Miscellaneous
2017 C ommission for Hagfor’s Center, Augsburg College
2017 C over art for Spaces: Living Well in the Twin Cities
2012 w ww.sharkreef.org Literary Journal, Issue 19, Winter 2011 w ww.local-artist-interviews.com, February 22, 2011
Art in America’s Guide to Museums, Galleries and Artists: 2005, 2004, 2003, 1999
2004 Published in Reflections Volume 1, April
2001-04 N ational Association of Women Artists
2000 Grant from the Five Wings Art Council, funded by the McKnight Foundation
1981 B achelor of Arts, Fine/Studio Art, Augsburg College, Summa Cum Laude
Exhibition List All Works are Oil on Canvas
Amaryllis, 2021, 12 x 12 in
Anyon Trail 7, 2022, 40 x 60 in
Asters, 2021, 12 x 12 in Backyard 4, 2000, 31 x 43 in Backyard in Winter, 2003, 40 x 21 in Big Deep 7, 2022, 32 x 48 in Bjorkland Lake Trail, 2017, 48 x 24 in Blue Iris, 2021, 12 x 12 in
Button Snakeroot, 2020, 24 x 20 in
Calendula & Bug, 2016, 12 x 12 in
Calliopsis Plus, 2019, 24 x 30 in Chase Point Trail, 2022, 30 x 30 in Compass Flower, 2022, 30 x 30 in Corset Lake, 2002, 30 x 43 in
Corset Lake 6, 2020, 72 x 72 in Corset Lake 7, 2021, 36 x 42 in
Corset Lake 8, 2021, 30 x 48 in Deep Portage 9, 2022, 40 x 60 in Dirt Road in Fall, 2022, 60 x 40 in Dirt Road in Spring, 2022, 60 x 40 in Dirt Road in Summer, 2022, 60 x 40 in Dirt Road in Winter, 2022, 60 x 40 in Falling in Love, 2017, 12 x 12 in Flowering Crab, 2022, 48 x 24 in Footpath, 2022, 40 x 60 in Forsythia, 2016, 12 x 12 in Fountain Lake 11, 2021, 46 x 33 in Front Yard, 2020, 36 x 36 in Frosted, 2021, 30 x 30 in Fuchsia, 2021, 36 x 24 in Golden Marguerite, 2022, 12 x 12 in Hawkweed, 2021, 12 x 12 in Helenium, 2021, 12 x 12 in
July Sunset, 2022, 32 x 48 in Lake Hattie 19, 2020, 30 x 30 in Lake Superior, 1998, 46 x 44.5 in Little Hattie 18, 2022, 30 x 30 in Lund Lake 3, 2014, 96 x 72 in Marsh Lake 2, 2021, 30 x 30 in Milkweed 2, 2021, 12 x 12 in Nasturtium, 2018, 24 x 30 in Nine Bark, 2021, 12 x 12 in October 9, 2021, 36 x 24 in Overhead 16, 2016, 72 x 86 in Painted Lady, 2022, 24 x 24 in Pine Trees, 2022, 40 x 60 in Poppy & Flies, 2016, 12 x 12 in Portage Creek, 2000, 34.5 x 32 in Portage Creek 2, 2000, 35.5 x 41 in Preston, 2021, 30 x 30 in
Primula, 2020, 24 x 20 in River Walk, 2021, 30 x 30 in Ruffled Daylily, 2021, 12 x 12 in Sedum, 2021, 12 x 12 in September 6, 2020, 30 x 30 in Sunflowers 4, 2019, 20 x 20 in Sunset 8, 2019, 36 x 60 in Sweet Pea, 2021, 24 x 16 in Sweet William, 2020, 12 x 12 in Urban Spring, 2022, 30 x 30 in Waterfall, 2021, 36 x 28 in Whirligig, 2022, 30 x 30 in Winter Falls, 2021, 36 x 28 in Winter Lake, 2022, 32 x 48 in Winter Sunset 2, 2022, 30 x 30 in Winter Trail 4, 2020, 72 x 72 in Yellow Iris, 2022, 30 x 30 in
Mary Lingen
American
Lives and works in Backus, Minnesota
Mary Lingen produces unique oil paintings whose landscape subjects are the results of her calm, walking in the woods and seeing the world around her, observing its physical changes and the way the light looks at certain times. In her paintings representation and abstraction coexist in the same work.
Lingen’s paintings are executed with thin, flat paint. Brushwork and texture are absent, because she feels they interfere with a clear reading of the shapes, lines and colors. Her focus is on the complexity within the landscape, and on connecting the parts into a whole. Each painting is a universe onto itself, with a distinct visual logic. Lingen employs systems of segmentation and her own manual pixilation to accomplish them.
Mary Lingen’s paintings are represented in numerous private and corporate art collections.
marylingen.wordpress.com
