Weekend Showcase: State Fair Art
Browse through award-winning art in the Fine Arts Building at the Minnesota State Fair. Golden Valley’s John Niemi and Maple Grove’s Kristine Fretheim shine.
Largest art show in the state
Roughly a quarter of a million people visit the State Fair Fine Arts Building every year making it the largest attended art show in the state.
“There’s a little bit of everything. What I love most about the show is that it includes so many different mediums,” said watercolor artist, Kristine Fretheim.
The northwest metro is well represented. One of the artists having made the grade again this year is Fretheim from Maple Grove. She is a master watercolor artist and her entry this year is called “Sedum Rocks.”
“I tend to go in close up on things, so there a lot of little red flowers and a lot of snaky stems in this particular composition,” said Fretheim.
Golden Valley photographer and digital artist John Niemi, who’s also very active in the Robbin Gallery, made the cut with his image called “Tapestry #3.
Detective fun at Fine Arts Building
Besides looking for artists from our Northwest metro area, the fine arts people have another super sleuth activity that’s fun to try.
“We have our fine arts detective quiz,” says Jim Clark, superintendent of the Fine Arts Building. “You pick one of those up at the front desk. There’s two levels of difficulty. There’s hard and super duper extra hard. You bring it up to the front desk and you earn a badge.”
In all I counted over twenty artists with entries from our northwest metro area, providing an eclectic mix to enjoy.
“It’s really fun and interesting to see sculpture and drawing and fabric arts and photography and all mediums of painting,” said Fretheim.
The fine arts building opens at 9 a.m. every morning at the State Fair through Labor Day.
