Minnesota artists submitted works of art that have images of jazz singers, musicians, instruments, etc. One example is a painted chair by artist Kris Nelson. Kris loves creating art based on themes and for this show she created a piece called Strange Fruit (photo available). Strange Fruit is one of Billy Holidays famous songs about the lynchings that took place in the south. This colorful chair shows an expressive portrait of Billy Holiday singing along side a crow and flowering branches. Kris paints the entire chair leaves no space untouched. This one of a kind chair sells for $350.00.
Each original piece in the Visual Jazz show has been hand selected by a three piece jury. Sculptor Frank J Brown is included in this jury. You may have seen some of Franks work in the permanent collection at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Frank will be providing the Artist Mercantile his musician sculptures series. This series will be up and for sale for the duration of the show. The other two jurors are Jazz connoisseur Davis Wilson of the Artist Quarter along with Jennifer Bisch, Proprietor of the Artist Mercantile.
The Artist Mercantile carries hand crafted art & gifts created by over sixty Midwest Artists. The store is located in the heart of downtown St. Paul and strives to support artists while providing a service to the public. Event information can found at artistmerc.com. Information on the Twin Cities Jazz Festival can be found at hotsummerjazz.com.
