And Join Us

at a MAC Talk

Monday, April 10 @ 6pm

Molokai Arts Center

The MAC would like to welcome our first Artist in Residence (AIR) of 2023, ceramicist Brad Menninga of St. Paul, Minnesota. www.bradmenninga.com Molokai provides a perfect backdrop to create, explore, and experience a unique culture. The purpose of the MAC Artist in Residence program is to provide guest artists with a respite from daily responsibilities to enable them to create and concentrate on their work. This is a non-paid, volunteer position.

Menninga began his ceramics career in Portland, Oregon, dividing his time between studio pottery and making giant puppets for street theater. Eventually wishing to focus more intently on art-making and the ideas motivating his work, he received an MFA from California College of the Arts (San Francisco) in 2010 and incorporated a daily practice of study into his routine.

In his work, he often creates layers of complex narrative surfaces. Menninga writes: “The narrative elements included in my work are often meant to question the stories and myths we tell ourselves about family, community, and nation by making visible the cracks, omissions, and distortions that make up our worldview. I also reflect this critique back onto my own constructions by including imagery meant to sabotage overly simplistic interpretation. The goal is not to encourage nihilism or relativism but rather to acknowledge the complexity of living with the trouble of stories that are in many ways fictional, but hold power over our lives with real consequences. In order to hold onto a moral center, we must be willing to re-evaluate these shifting fictions through which we interpret the world.”

While he finds the expressive possibilities in working with clay nearly endless, Menninga often incorporates wood, metal, and urushi lacquer in his work. He has published articles in Pottery Making Illustrated, Ceramic Arts Daily and Studio Potter Magazine. Menninga has created solo installations at the Mall of America in Minnesota and at the 2019 NCECA Conference (St. Paul, Minnesota). He is the recipient of a 2020 Minnesota Artist Initiative Grant and 2020 McKnight Artist Fellowship for Ceramic Artists.

The artist’s willingness to share his inspiration with others is a central tenet of the MAC’s Artist in Residence program. Menninga will be hosting Dan Bennett’s classes on Wednesday 3/28 and Saturday 4/1. He will be teaching interested Affiliates his techniques using sprig molds and hand carved texture stamps to create complex, narrative surfaces. A pit fire is also tentatively planned.

Please join us at a

MAC Talk with Brad Menninga

Monday, April 10 | 6pm | Molokai Arts Center

Menninga’s latest work on Molokai March 2023

 

Covid Year Reflections (2021)

“This is the catalogue photo, to represent the installation.

It about sums up my year.”