Alone & Together: Teo Nguyen paintings

Ongoing: In the bleak winter landscapes of his adopted state, Minneapolis-based painter Teo Nguyen finds a serenity that Minnesota natives may overlook. His canvasses, up to 4 feet square, capture the brooding gray skies of February arcing over bare snow-lashed fields and the crumpled stubble left by corn and soybeans. Low-lying sheds and rude barns crouch on the horizon, silent sentinels in an empty world. For Nguyen, who arrived in the United States from war-torn Vietnam at 16, these vast fields are mysterious places "both tender and peaceful." Remove the toy-sized buildings and the scenes dissolve into abstractions. That's not surprising since he is equally skilled at abstraction, as seen in several beautiful pieces long displayed at the Hair District Salon in Uptown, where he works as a stylist. As an immigrant artist, Nguyen says he is "always a stranger to what I see; always slightly outside." Perhaps. But he has found true north in his eloquent paintings. (11 a.m.-7 p.m. Mon.-Thu.; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Fri.-Sun. Ends Sept. 1. Free. Burnet Gallery at Le Meridien Chambers, 901 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls. 612-767-6824 or www.burnetgallery.com.)

On Fertile Ground: Native Artists in the Upper Midwest

Opening Friday: The first installation of a three-year exhibition program, "On Fertile Ground" will showcase 15 artists from Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota and South Dakota. Fifteen more will be featured in each of the following two years, providing an overview of the work of Midwestern American Indians. This year's show features Judith Allen, Wendy Boivin, Alexandra Buffalohead, Julie Buffalohead, Nelson Chasing Hawk, Jim Denomie, John Hitchcock, Wanesia Misquadace, Karen Savage, Nelda Schrupp, James Star Comes Out, Jodi Webster, Dennis White, Jennifer White and Monte Yellow Bird. Free events include an opening night artists' talk (6:30 p.m.), a gallery talk by James Star Comes Out (6 p.m. Oct. 17), and a demonstration of Ojibwe finger weaving by Dennis White (tba). (Reception 5-8 p.m. Fri. Free. All My Relations Gallery, 1414 E. Franklin Av., Mpls. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri.; 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sat. Ends Nov. 15. 612-235-4970 or www.allmyrelationsarts.com.)

Mary Abbe