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New works by Wendell Arneson to be featured in exhibit at Steensland

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January 8, 2001

NORTHFIELD, Minn. ? New works by St. Olaf College art faculty member Wendell Arneson will be featured in "Reflections" showing at Steensland Art Museum starting Friday, Jan. 12, and continuing until Sunday, Feb. 18.

The free, public exhibit opens Friday with a public reception for the artist from 5-7 p.m. in Steensland. Arneson also will be the focus of a Jan. 12 interview on Minnesota Public Radio?s "Word of Mouth" program, and will discuss his works during a public talk Monday, Feb. 12, at 4 p.m. in Steensland.

"Reflections" is a compilation of work that Arneson created recently while on sabbatical leave from St. Olaf. His creations mix paint and charcoal to record his reactions to time, place and relationships around him.

"This body of work pays homage to a genre of objects and symbols set in land or interiors that also include figures," Arneson explains. "This combination of images provides for a deeper exploration of both the space and its inhabitants; it allows one to invest people and things with a meaning that goes beyond literal representation.

"Each composition is an assemblage or narrative that is more than a sum of its parts. Each work purports to capture a fleeting moment of life while being an accumulation of sensations and emotions that extend to the universal."

Arneson earned a bachelor?s degree from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa; an art education certification from the University of Wisconsin; and a master of fine arts degree from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. His work has been displayed in galleries throughout the Midwest, and is featured in collections of major businesses, including the Ford Motor Co., 3M and First Bank Corp.

Arneson has received numerous honors and awards, including several prestigious national painting and drawing awards and grants for research, travel and development. He has been a member of the St. Olaf College art faculty since 1978, teaching painting, drawing and color design.

Steensland Art Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday; and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For more information about the museum, please call (507) 646-3556. The museum will be closed between Jan. 31 and Feb. 6.

St. Olaf College prepares students to become responsible citizens of the world, fostering development of mind, body and spirit. A four-year, coeducational liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), St. Olaf has a student enrollment of 2,950 and a full-time faculty of approximately 250. It is one of Money Guide?s top 100 "elite values in college education today," and it leads the nation?s colleges in percentage of students who study abroad.

Contact Michael Cooper at 507-786-3315 or cooperm@stolaf.edu.