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Twin Cities' 5 must-see art shows this weekend

It's that late-summer-art-time again.

By Alicia Eler

August 10, 2018 at 11:23PM

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

(Eler, Alicia/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

OPENING Kate Casanova: "Underbelly"

Public Functionary (1400 12^th Ave. NE, Mpls)

Opening reception: Fri., Aug 10, 7 p.m. – 12 a.m.

Gallery hours: Tues. & Thurs. 12-6 p.m., Fri. 3-7 p.m., Sat. 12-5 p.m.

Kate Casanova is interested in the ways bodies are changing and morphing – not just on a cellular level. Her exhibition uses a variety of sculptural objects to explore this hybridity of humanness and non-humanness/cyborg, using materials ranging from LCD screens and carpet padding to fabric and silicone. Exhibition ends August 26.

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Above: Lindsy Halleckson, "Pony Tail"

ONGOING

Summer Salon II

CIRCA Gallery (210 N First St., Mpls)

Gallery hours: Tues. – Fri. 1-6 p.m., Sat. 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. or by appt.

If you haven't been to CIRCA Gallery, this is literally your last chance. The gallery is closing its current location on August 18, when this group exhibition goes down. Soon it will find a new location – its fourth space in its nearly 30 year history.

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Above: From Matthew Brandt's series, "Gold Medal" ONGOING

Matthew Brandt: Gold Medal

Weinstein Hammons Gallery (908 W 46^th St., Mpls)

Gallery hours: Tues.-Sat. 12-5 p.m. and by appt.

Artist Matthew Brandt is into photography, reimagines traditional photographic methods to create something new. For this project, he photographed the Mississippi River and the urban areas surrounding it, and then returned to Los Angeles to make photos. He used water from the Mississippi River and flour from Gold Medal Flour in the printing process itself, which created psychedelic, other-worldly results. Exhibition ends Sept. 8.

(Eler, Alicia/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

ONGOING

A Monster Anthology: New work by Christopher E. Harrison

SOOVAC Gallery (2909 Bryant Ave. S, Suite 101, Mpls)

Gallery hours: Wed. 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Thurs. & Fri. 11 a.m. – 7 p.m., Sat. & Sun. 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Harrison's newest exhibition is made up of paintings, sculptures and prints that imagine the evolution of a monster-like species. The artist creates his own world, inspired by sci-fi fantasy, abstraction and indigenous aesthetics. Exhibition ends Sept. 8.

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Above: "Baba's Gift" by Daniel Polnau

ONGOING

Daniel Polnau: Iron Teeth, 13 Baba Yaga Huts

Modus Locus Gallery (3500 Bloomington Ave. S, Mpls)

Gallery hours: Saturdays 2-6 p.m. and by appt.

Daniel Polnau has been creating giant puppets for more than 30 years, some bigger than others. For this solo art exhibition, he focuses on sculptural renderings of the ancient crone-witch Baba Yaga, goddess of wisdom and death in Slavic folklore. The 13 puppet sculptures he creates all conjure different likenesses of the goddess; in one instance her toenails are painted gold and a tiny red mushroom with white dots on it lives inside her belly, inviting viewers to peek inside. But it's the downstairs portion of this exhibition, which is like a cross between a haunted house maze and an homage to the catacombs in Rome, that you want to definitely visit. It's either Baba Yaga's underbelly or Halloween in August. Exhibition ends Sept 1.