Minnesota museum finds a winning painting at the State Fair

Set to reopen Dec. 2 in downtown St. Paul, the Minnesota Museum of American Art announced last week it had acquired Minneapolis painter Leslie Barlow's "Stephen, Jeffrey and Twins" (2017) from the Minnesota State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition. "It's a very nice painting," said artist and museum trustee Jim Denomie, who made the decision with curator Christopher Atkins and former curatorial fellow Johnnay Leenay. "She experiments and explores and she's a good ol' traditional painter." Barlow's painting is the eighth Minnesota work the museum has purchased at the fair, a tradition dating to 2011. Barlow received $4,000 for the painting, well within the museum's $5,000 budget for its annual fair purchase. In addition to the fair, the painting was also featured in Barlow's February 2017 "Loving" exhibition at Public Functionary gallery in Minneapolis. Barlow's show marked the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court's Loving v. Virginia decision, which stuck down state laws banning interracial marriage. The solo show featured 10 portraits of interracial couples, families and friends.

ALICIA ELER

Usually, it's the couple that pick the band and the venue for their wedding, but in the case of Friday's so-called Foreva Eva party at First Avenue it happened the other way around. A lucky couple named Katy and Kevin were picked by the club out of numerous entrants to get married on stage at the venue, where the last big public wedding was Lucinda Williams' in 2009. After the ceremony, they and 100 of their guests — plus hundreds more "wedding crashers" who pay a $10-$12 cover — will be treated to a free concert by a band of local all-stars including Al Church, Jeremy Ylvisaker (Suburbs), Sarah Perbix (Cloud Cult), Jeremy Hanson (Tapes N' Tapes) and singers such as Julius Collins and Mark Mallman. The whole idea came from Church, who has assembled similar band lineups to play friends' weddings over the years. "We are kind of the 'Stranger Things' of wedding bands," said Church, promising lots of '80s-era love songs and sexy jams by the likes of Prince and Tears for Fears.

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

Britney Spears will (unknowingly) help Red Eye Theater say goodbye to its current location and its co-founders. Creator/performer Neal Medlyn's "Her's a Queen," which collects Spears fact and fantasy into a piece about our fascination with celebrities and pop culture, will be the final production in Red Eye's current Loring Park home, scheduled to be razed in favor of apartment buildings. Opening the company's 35th season, "Her's a Queen" will also be the final show under the leadership of Steve Busa and Miriam Must, who founded Red Eye. Busa directed and co-adapted the script, along with his daughter Celeste, and Must will play Spears, Medlyn and herself. The experimental company is in the process of finding its next leaders and home. The plan is to perform in a variety of spaces until a new venue can be secured.

CHRIS HEWITT

Franconia Sculpture Park co-founder John Hock is no longer CEO of the 43-acre arts haven near Taylors Falls, Minn. Board chair Dorothy Goldie confirmed that Hock had exited his post. "At this time the Board is not able to comment on the circumstances of his departure," Goldie wrote in an e-mail. Hock's exit comes at a pivotal moment in the park's history, with Franconia completing a new welcome center and learning space. Goldie said the board is currently overseeing park operations, in close coordination with onsite staff. Founded more than 20 years ago, Franconia is free and open to the public from sunrise to sunset, 365 days a year, featuring more than 120 sculptures in a peaceful rural setting. "As one of three co-founders and Franconia's longtime CEO," Goldie wrote, "Mr. Hock has had a significant impact on the park's artistic vision and operations."

Not only did filmmaker Spike Lee snag an unreleased solo piano version of Prince doing the spiritual "Mary Don't You Weep" for his new must-see movie, "BlacKkKlansman." Lee also made a video of the song that can be found on YouTube. Well, it's billed as video. Frankly, it's more like a lengthy trailer, with both quick scenes and still photos from the movie. Still, it's great to have access to this one-of-a-kind Prince recording. (The song is played during the closing credits.) Oh, there's a surprise at the very end of the video: a photo of Prince and Lee together. The photo was apparently taken at the 2015 NBA All-Star Game, but you remember that Prince and Lee had a working relationship, don't you? Prince provided the 13-song soundtrack for Lee's 1996 movie "Girl 6."

JON BREAM

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