Staff photo by Clay Schuldt Several of the artists featured in The Grand’s Installation Artwork exhibition attended the opening reception Friday night. The student artists hung out among their pieces and explained their works for viewers. From the left are Nelly Jasinski-Emst, Emily Rhoda, Abby Lundebrek, Liz Miller, Tabitha Bergstrom and Eli Schimming.

NEW ULM– The 4 Pillars Gallery at The Grand Center for Arts and Culture held a gallery opening Friday for the Six Art Installation exhibit.

The exhibit was created by six MSU-Mankato students. Liz Miller, MSU professor of installation and drawing, said this was an annual tradition with The Grand, one she hoped would continue for years to come. Miller also thanked the students for their dedication to creating installation work during a pandemic. She said it took extra commitment.

Several of the installation artists were able to attend the opening reception and explain their work.

•”Strawberry Jelly” by Tabitha Bergstrom is a freeform piece made of chicken wire, yarn, ribbon, tissue paper and LED lights. The idea was to use simple materials to create a complex form and leave the rest to the viewer’s imagination.

Bergstrom said the title was a play on words. The piece was made to resemble jellyfish. She said in designing the piece she wanted to depict either jellyfish or mushrooms, but after applying the chicken wire the jellyfish was appropriate.

•Eli Schimming’s “Should I Sit?” is a series of chairs and household items connected by yarn. The yarn creates interesting shapes out of lines, but it also blocks off the chairs. This turns a normally inviting space into a prohibited space. Last year, Schimming brought a different installation work to The Grand that featured a free-standing arch. This year he wanted to create an installation that was tied to the space. He did this literally by tying strings to a pillar in the gallery.

•”Spills” by Emily Rhoda is a series of paint spills suspended by yarn from the ceiling. Rhoda described the work as impulsive. Each spill is attached to a string to connect one messy thought to another messy thought. Rhoda said the greatest challenge with the piece was creating a hanging apparatus for it, but also making sure viewers could walk through it without tripping. Her favorite part of the piece was the spill on the floor because it centered the work.

•”Epsilon” by Abby Lundebrek is a meditation on the relationship between molecules and cells using canvas, paint, yarn and wood.

Lundebrek wanted to recreate the effect of cells fighting off bad cells in the body. The greatest challenge was creating a shadow effect with her canvas that matched the wood blocks on the wall. She said it took hours to get the pieces in the right place.

•Nelly Jasinski-Emste’s untiled artwork features trellise, assorted textiles and paper to create construction from deconstructed materials. The piece is intended to remind viewers of the transformation seen in deconstructing things around us. Jasinski-Emste said she enjoyed the work, but it was time-consuming to deconstruct and reassemble the piece. Each piece needed to be individually glued in place. Fortunately, her piece was easy to transport. Most of the trellise was arranged before moving it into the 4 Pillars space.

•”Indoor Camping on a Rainy Night” by Cece Newbauer replicates the childhood activity of making an indoor fort out of household items. A TV tray and other mixed media items are turned over to resemble a campsite. Newbauer was unable to attend the gallery opening on Friday.

The installation exhibit will be open through Friday, April 29.

The 4 Pillars Gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.