Tammy and I spent the afternoon at the Uptown Art Fair. This is by far our favorite art fair in the Minneapolis area. We have made a tradition of going to it every year and finding something for our anniversary gift since we were married just before the art fair. Our visit today was great. The sun was out and the temperatures were in the high 80’s with not a chance of rain and a slight breeze.

I hate to start with a negative or concern, but we were both struck that there seemed to be a marked increase in vendors and food this year. There is still plenty of art, but a big Avon tent, a Court TV spectacle and several other vendor areas seemed to give more focus to the fair part than the art part. I considered for a moment the horrible turn for the worse that the Taste of Minnesota has taken in recent years, and I truly hope the Uptown Art Fair doesn’t follow in it’s foot steps.

There were artists from around the country showing. Here are some notes on what drew our attention (in no particular order):

  • Andrew Carson was there showing his wind sculptures. He’s added color to them now which neither of us cared for. I thought it made the sculpture look cheap and wrong. The piece of his that we have in our backyard has remained unmolested, but the other stuff I didn’t like as much.

  • We were awestruck by the work of Kristin DeSantis. From a distance it looked like it may be stained glass. As you approach it you realize it’s actually metal work. She cuts out amazing works in aluminum and then applies oils to it. Great stuff. Definitely a contender for a purchase this year, but it’s also very expensive.

  • Keith Grace had some very interesting mixed media work. His process is interesting and produces some very intriguing pieces. His work is definitely a strong contender to grace our walls shortly. It would be hard to pick which one though.

  • I found the interesting juxtaposition of elegant art and geometric patterns in Suzy Scarborough’s work very intersting. Tammy didn’t care for her work so it’s not something we look further at. But, I though it was really interesting. Particularly the bigger items.

  • Tammy drew us over to the work of Bruce Dunlap, which really surprised me. I asked her why since it’s not her type of art and she said she’s trying to expand her horizons, in small steps. I liked it, definitely worth a gander.

  • We really like the work of Daniel Ng. Our neighbors actually have a painting of his in their house. The colors are nice and vibrant, very good.

  • I’m always drawn to the kinetic sculpture of Jeffrey Zachmann, who also happens to be the only Minnesota artist that I’m highlighting. He does these great motion pieces. I don’t think I would get one, but I can sit and look at them for a long, long time.

We’ll be back to the art fair tomorrow morning to find one of these that we really fall for.