— A new exhibition has just opened at
the art gallery on North Washington Avenue in Detroit Lakes.
The exhibition, titled “Shared Visions,” opened on Thursday, July 10, and will remain on display at the gallery through Aug. 1. It contains the work of three area artists: Kent Estey of Naytahwaush, Jennie Ward of Lake Park, and Jennifer Paulsrud of Fargo. All three artists have exhibited at the gallery before, according to a press release that was sent out prior to Thursday’s opening reception.
“For the artists, this return to the gallery is an opportunity to share with the community how their work has developed,” said the gallery notes about ‘Shared Visions’ that were distributed at the opening. “For visitors, this show is an opportunity to notice the shared consideration of each artist for use of color, abstraction, and application of paint.”
Indeed, the exhibition is a color-filled one, containing bright shades of red, blue, orange, green, and every other hue on the color spectrum.
Vicki Gerdes / Detroit Lakes Tribune
“In renderings that range from delicate to bold to glowing, the visions shared are expressions both of things seen in the world and of things seen only, perhaps, in the artist’s mind,” the flier continued. “Though shared, some of these visions hold secrets, encoded in marks that are unreadable, yet carry emotion.
“In these works, paint application is the primary language of expression. The artists convey complex ideas in distinct styles. Their varied brushstrokes, visible or subtle, and their layers of paint build meaning, conveying the artists’ visions of heritage, beauty and relationships.”
Here is a little bit more information about the contributing artists:
- Kent Estey is a contemporary Anishinaabe multi-medium artist who finds inspiration in the natural world that surrounds him. His work was included in
Art Project 605’s inaugural show, “Wild,”
and has been exhibited in shows across Minnesota and North Dakota, most notably at the Watermark Art Center, Red Door Gallery and MacRostie Art Center. His work was also featured on one of the power boxes that were decorated with colorful art for the
Detroit Lakes Energy public art project,
which began in 2023 and has continued through the installation of the 12th utility box wrap earlier this month.
- Jennifer Paulsrud says she “grew up in the northern prairies,” which is where she developed an eye for watching nature and farm life. She first identified herself as an artist when she was in high school, after participating in a “Draw Me” advertisement in a magazine, which she won. She has been affiliated with the Plains School of Abstract Art, where she was introduced to printmaking, and the Tubac School of Art. More recently, her work has been featured in exhibitions “Hereabouts” at Art Project 605 and “Atmosphere of Abstract” at West Acres in Fargo.
- Jennie (Bowers) Ward, a 1994 graduate of Detroit Lakes High School,
made her debut at Art Project 605 just last summer,
with the exhibition “Love in the Chaos.” She says she began her journey as an artist by “copying (artwork from) wildlife books and encyclopedias,” and went on to study at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Her paintings have been shown in everything from the Minneapolis Skyway to the State Capitol in St. Paul as well as at the Ecce Gallery in Fargo; a large-scale painting she created, called “Coming Home,” can be found in the Center for Special Surgery in West Fargo.
Vicki Gerdes / Detroit Lakes Tribune
Art Project 605 was founded in 2021 by Ellen Moses and Lori O’Dea, with a stated mission “to promote regional contemporary art and offer a space for visitors to discover new representations of their surrounding environments and community.”
Its name is a reference to its location at 605 North Washington Ave. Longtime locals may remember it best as the former home of the Evans bakery (the old Evans Grocery Store used to be right up the road). The building was being used primarily for storage when Moses purchased it and renovated it into a combination art gallery and studio space.
The gallery is open to the public every Tuesday through Friday, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., as well as on Saturdays from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. There is no charge for viewing the exhibit, though many of the paintings are available for purchase. For more information, please visit the website at
