Artists bring a range of work to county exhibition
Mady Boisen is among the artists whose work will be on display during the 72nd Annual Steele County Art Exhibition, open May 4-25 at the Owatonna Arts Center. An Owatonna High alum, Boisen’s work is “primarily expressionist portraiture.” Submitted photo
Lonna Lysne and Mady Boisen have exhibited art works at the Owatonna Arts Center (OAC) over the years, but with very different experiences.
Both have submitted their work to the 72nd Annual Steele County Art Exhibition, open May 4-25. Typically open to OAC members and Steele County residents 18 and older, this year’s event also invites artists who have been part of the arts scene in the past to participate.
Boisen, who sold their first artwork to a classmate in sixth grade, exhibited quite a bit while in school. The 2015 Owatonna High alum said showing art there “is always something I’ve loved.”
Participating in the May show, Boisen said, “really satisfies that child artist in me.”
Now employed by show sponsor Federated Insurance, Boisen’s work is “primarily expressionist portraiture.” The Steele County exhibition piece, a mixed media work with India ink on top of acrylic, depicts faces as fruit on a tree.
In addition to themes of memory and “the head separated from the body,” Boisen said identity is a big part of their work.
“I’m non-binary, I use they-them pronouns. A lot of my art is exploring my identity,” Boisen said.
Along with hanging work in galleries, Boisen is a social media artist, sharing videos on TikTok and YouTube. Links to the social accounts and more can be found at madyboisenart.com.
“I post videos of me painting,” Boisen said. “I invite people into my process.”
Lysne also paints with an audience, but one that’s in person. Her acrylic painting of a gnome riding a toboggan down a hill was completed during an art class.
“I like winter. When the kids were young, we always went skiing and sledding,” she said. “The gnome is the happy piece of it.”
While most of her work has been done in oils, “I challenged myself with acrylics,” she said. All of the students started with the same teacher, the same master plan and canvas, “but all of them turn out so different.”
“There are a lot of great artists in Steele County,” Lysne said, adding that part of the annual exhibition for her is coming back to see what other artists are doing. “It’s really fun.”