Paintings, photographs and prints were still being hung Wednesday as Jay Coogan, president of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, offered a tour of the college's mega art sale this weekend.
"I like these little landscapes a lot," Coogan said, pausing to look closer.
MCAD claims this sale, in its 19th year, is the biggest of its kind in the country. It features about 7,000 works from students and recent alumni. Coogan, who has led MCAD since 2009, buys something each year. Last fall, it was a striking, large-scale photograph by 2014 grad Bobby Rogers.
(A few of Rogers' pieces will be part of this year's sale, too.)
Walking through MCAD's halls, packed from ceiling to floor with canvases and prints, Coogan pointed out an illustration by Hanna Brown, a landscape by Lindsey Ries and a nude self-portrait by Erin Sandsmark.
He noted that for the second year, a handful of curators have made their own picks, which are labeled with hot pink ribbons. Check out those "hot picks" here. That process helps "spice things up for students," Coogan said, and makes the massive sale feel a bit less overwhelming for visitors.
Coogan has run out of wall space in his home and office, "so every time I buy something, I have to take something down," he said, chuckling. "I need to stop."
The sale kicks off with an opening night Thursday, which costs $150 a person. Tickets ($30 at the door) are required to get in Friday night. On Saturday, the sale is free and runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. See what's up for grabs: mcad.edu/artsale
