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Works of art

Above: Caitlin Lang and Sam Matter relax after hanging the “Intentionally Accidental” exhibit in the Grand’s 4 Pillar Gallery.

NEW ULM — “Intentionally Accidental,” a mixed media art exhibit, is coming to The Grand Center of Arts and Culture on Friday.

A virtual opening for the gallery will be held at 5 p.m. Friday, March 5 on The Grand’s Facebook page.

The art exhibit features the works of Caitlin Lang of Springfield and Sam Matter of New Ulm. This will be Matter’s second show at the Grand. Lang’s works have been featured in the Artscape Show.

The two were brought together by Grand founder Anne Makepeace, who believed the two artists’ work went well together.

Lang and Matter said it was relatively easy to set up the gallery, as their pieces complement one another. It is easy to identify which artist created a specific work.

Artist Sam Matter frequently uses cutouts in his art. He’ll draw the background then add cutout drawings to the background to give a three-dimensional look to his works.

Lang’s pieces all contain music references. Many of the pieces feature famous musicians or musical instruments.

“As a kid I always had earbuds,” Land said. “I listen to music all the time and I love music history.”

Her pieces simply reflect what she loves. The works included in this exhibit mostly represent classic rock, ranging from The Beatles and David Bowie to Slash and Prince.

Matter’s work also reflects his interests. He described his art as therapeutic. Several of his works are self-portraits with a surrealist twist. Matter was hesitant to give a specific meaning to his art.

“Ask me what it means later and I tell you something different. It changes every time,” he said.

Artist Caitlin Lang’s pieces represent mixed media and music. This piece features David Bowie painted on an LP.

Matter said he does have an affinity for “fluffiness.”

Several of his works include animals including rabbits, cats and polar bears but with a surrealist take on the animals. His rabbit is surrounded by lightning in space, the cat is a reincarnation of Norse god Odin and his polar bear wears armor.

“Art is an inquiry into yourself,” Matter said. “It is not always decoration.”

Matter and Lang want audiences viewing the gallery to be free to interpret the art for themselves. For this reason, neither wanted to place a central theme of the show. Lang and Matter explained the overarching reason for creating these works of art is simple: they did it because they wanted to.

The virtual grand opening of the exhibit is 5 p.m. Friday, March 5. The exhibit will be open to the public in the 4 Pillars Gallery from Saturday, March 6 through Saturday, April 3.

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