SALES GALLERY

Matthew Krousey

Matthew Krousey received his BFA in ceramics from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. He is a current host of the St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour. In 2018, he received both a Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant and an Essential Artist Award through the East Central Regional Arts Council. Krousey also recently participated in a panel discussion with Craft in America at the Library of Congress as part of the Veterans History Project. Krousey says his aim is to create a historical record of the vanishing natural world around him. “I use imagery of Minnesota’s native flora and fauna on ceramics to bring awareness to the viewer of the environment I know and love.”

Bernadette Torres

The daughter of a florist, Bernadette Torres received her BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute (MO) and her MFA from the University of Miami (FL). She is both a 2008 Charlotte Street Foundation and 2009 Creative Capital Inspiration Grant recipient. Since 2003, Torres has been teaching ceramics, drawing, and sculpture at the Penn Valley Metropolitan Community College in her home base of Kansas City. Torres refers to herself as a visual storyteller. Through her sculptural and figurative ceramic work, she transforms personal experiences and histories into new narratives and beings of empowerment. Flowers, birds and the female figure are important forms, imagery, and symbols in Torres’ worldbuilding.