Paper cuts, spiderwebs and commentary - Sonja Peterson at the Burnet Gallery

The Artist Conversation series at the Burnet Gallery featured Minnesota native Sonja Peterson presenting her first major solo show, Second Nature on June 23. Her collection of layered paper cuts, laser etched glass and spiderweb wall installations looked fantastic, and having her there to give context made the experience even better.

Sonja Peterson's show runs through July 11, 2010 at the gallery inside the Chambers Hotel. The intricacy of her pieces deserves a personal visit, so that the underlying tension of the work is visible. Her monochromatic style belies the violence of of the forms and images that appear to the viewer upon closer inspection. Inspired by the book The Age of Wonder, Peterson is intrigued by the definition of what is wild and uncontrolled both in that time and now.

These pictures represent the tip of the iceberg as far as this exhibit is concerned. Plan a visit to the Burnet Gallery, which is free and open to the public, and allow extra time to see all the contemporary art displayed in the Chambers Hotel itself.

Keep an eye on Sonja Peterson's career, as this is just the beginning for the MCAD and University of Minnesota grad. There's a great 3 Minute Egg piece on this show and I wrote a small Examiners story announcing the Artists Conversation that has more details. Both 3 Minute Egg and the Artists Conversation series at the Burnet Gallery are great ways to stay involved with champagne art on a beer budget in Minneapolis.
(The pictured works - Money Never Sleeps - full and partial, The Day That Cracked - partial only, The World Is Too Much With Us, Reinvention)