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 in downtown Saint Paul might appear small compared to other Twin Cities art museums, but that doesn't keep it from showing big, bold work.

Its latest exhibition features the work of three artists who all excel in large, site specific installations, and packs them into the same room.

Christina Chang, MMAA's Curator of Engagement says Andrea Stanislav, Randy Walker and Liz Miller seemed like a good grouping for a show, especially one that was going to be open for Northern Spark.

Andrea Stanislav's "Broken Obelisks" dominates the center of the room, its psychedelic exterior accompanied by a rock guitar soundtrack that ebbs and flows.  Stanislav is meditating on fallen empires, and humanity's inability to create a real utopia for itself.  Chang says many visitors have said the work reminds them of Superman's '

Randy Walker uses thousands of feet of nylon parachute cord to transform spaces. With "aurora" he takes a hard angled corner of a white room and turns it into the opposite - a penetrable soft curve radiating waves of yellow, orange and blues. The cord vibrates and catches the light, inviting viewers to gaze deeply.

In Liz Miller's "Sublime Retaliation Scheme" felt and wire is transformed into a sculpture that draws people in, literally. While the colors at first seem cheerful, upon inspection the installation feels menacing, with pattern pieces that evoke bones  and other anatomical parts. In her artist statement Miller says the sculpture "allows viewers to become immersed in a situation that alludes to both beauty and violence. The work calls into question the precarious nature of perception, and how easily it can be tampered with, allowing benign forms to take on more sinister implications."

Christina Chang notes that each of the artists are working with rather commonplace materials - felt, string, and reflective paper.

String/Felt/Theory runs through July 28 at the 

All images courtesy of the Minnesota Museum of American Art.

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Marianne Combs

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MMAA’s new Project Space in downtown Saint Paul might appear small compared to other Twin Cities art museums, but that doesn’t keep it from showing big, bold work. Its latest exhibition features the work of three artists who all excel in large, site specific installations, and packs them into the same room. Christina Chang, MMAA’s…

Three artists with big ideas – and big art – share show at MMAA

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