Minneapolis Institute of Art announces artists for its first juried crop art exhibition

Crop art is having a moment ― and there’s nothing seedy about it.

On Sept. 6, Minneapolis Institute of Art opens “Cream of the Crop,” the museum’s first juried exhibition of crop art from the State Fair.

Mia director and president Katie Luber, associate curator of European art Galina Olmsted and associate curator of global and contemporary art Leslie Ureña made the selections in two categories: best interpretation of an artwork at Mia and best interpretation of a Minnesota landmark, story or figure.

The winners and eight honorable mentions will be on view in the museum’s rotunda Sept. 6-28.

“Crop art engages with this really rich tradition of mosaic and beadwork and embroidery that exists in all cultures in perpetuity,” Olmsted said. “It derives from this really rich artistic tradition, but then it’s this hyperlocal Minnesota form.”

That intersection fascinated her.

Amy and Steve Saupe’s “The Treachery of a Pronto Pup” won best interpretation of an artwork at Mia. The father-daughter team has been making seed art since 2017.

She noted that the composition was fairly straightforward, but “the way the artist built up the background… you can tell was this real attention to detail and to craftsmanship and artistry.”

The Minnesota Star Tribune recognized this work, too.

Honorable mentions include “Vincent Van Grow Olive Trees” by Jill Osiecki, “All the Eternal Love I Have for the Crop Art” by Jill Moe (a reference to Yayoi Kusama), “Under the Wave off Kanagawa” by Amanda Cashman (Star Tribune recognized this one, too) and “Crop Art study of Alice Neel’s ‘Christy White, 1958′” by Ursula Murray Husted.

”Reimagining van Gogh’s Olive Trees through the textures and natural colors of seeds has been such a joy and to see that creation displayed in one of the nation’s finest museums is truly a dream come true," artist Osiecki of Eagan said of her entry that earned an honorable mention.

The curators felt these works were outstanding interpretations of fine artworks in seed art but didn’t add an additional twist.

“It’s my love letter to the Twin Cities,” said Morales of Longfellow. “All the places I chose are places of community gathering points.”

Marc Chagall is her favorite artist. She first saw his work in Paris, and she appreciated his whimsical paintings and the way figures in his paintings often float above their towns.

“We just thought that was a really creative take and required a deep dive into art history but was also really carefully and beautifully done and impressive,” Olmsted said.

Honorable mentions include “Goat” by Annmarie Geniusz, “Broken Pinky, Unbroken Justice” by Juventino Meza, “Star Gazing” by Nancy Rzeszutek and “Old Dutch and Top the Tater” by Kaela Reinardy.

Meza, who curated the exhibition “Seeds of Justice” in April, used crop art to honor former Minnesota State Supreme Court justice Alan Page. Meza was a recipient of a Page Education Foundation Scholarship as an undocumented high school student and it helped him pay for college.