La Línea

22 Years of Grupo Soap del Corazón

February 28, 2022 - August 13, 2022

William and Anna Jane Schlossman Gallery

With a roster of over 95 established visual artists, poets, writers, musicians, activists and visionaries, Grupo Soap del Corazón, led by Dougie Padilla and Xavier Tavera, is one of the longest-running Latinx artist groups in the country. As a dynamic collaboration, they have infused culture, passion, and spirit into the northern plains and the USA’s art scene for more than 20 years. With work that sometimes confronts sociopolitical issues, or celebrates the joy of Día de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead), or provides much-needed human connection, Grupo Soap del Corazόn has generated both publicity and critical acclaim by electrifying the Latinx artistic voice. In 2009, the group created spectacle, wonder and celebration through the creation of steamroller prints at Plains Art Museum – an event that resulted in works in the Museum’s permanent collection.

La Línea: 22 Years of Grupo Soap del Corazón will be on display from February 24th – August 13th, 2022, to commemorate the diversity of expression and longevity of a group that has already brought forth exhibitions such as El Otro Americano, Frontera Lake Street, El Milagro, Gráfica Politica, Ni Una Mas (spotlight on the 370 plus disappeared and murdered women of Juarez, Mexico), and Espiritus. Exhibited works in the La Línea (The Line) includes new work by Camilo Eduardo Aguirre, Ricardo Bennett-Guzmán, Jim Denomie, Luis Fitch, Eric Garcia, Ruthann Godollei, Martin Esteban Gonzalez, Bobby Marines, Lela Pierce, Dougie Padilla, Marcela Rodriguez Aguilar (“Amaru”), Susana Andrea Villalobos Sakr, María Cristina Tavera, and Xavier Tavera. Plains Art Museum in Fargo, North Dakota is the first event scheduled for La Línea: 22 Years of Grupo Soap del Corazón, followed by exhibitions at the MMAA in St. Paul, MN, and the Anderson Center for the Arts in Red Wing, MN.

Dougie Padilla Poetry Reading
Saturday, July 9, 1-3 PM

Spend Saturday afternoon with internationally known artist Dougie Padilla as he reads through a series of poems. During the reading, the artist will give us insight to his creative process. The first 10 people to attend will receive a signed and editioned letterpress broadside from the artist.

Grupo Soap del Corazón Dinner
Saturday, July 9, 7 pm

Plains Art Museum invites you to the Grupo Soap del Corazón Dinner. This 5-course dinner is prepared by Chef Gonzalo Guzman of Nopalito in San Francisco rated one of the top Mexican restaurants in the country. Special guest Ivan Sierra Medel, Head Consulate of Mexico in St. Paul, and select artists from the Grupo Soap del Corazón exhibition will attend.

View the menu and purchase tickets here.

Maria Cristina Tavera: Artist In Residence
July 12-15

Stop by Hannaher’s, Inc. Print Studio to meet Minneapolis-based artist Maria Cristina (Tina) Tavera. During the week of the artist’s residency, Tavera will create fine art editions through a variety of printmaking processes. Check Plains Art Museum’s social media to learn about daily activity and stay tuned for information on a community workshop.

Exhibition photographs by Xavier Tavera

Ongoing Exhibitions

No Time For Despair

Ongoing
No Time For Despair

To say that right now is the ideal time to make art that speaks directly to the people about social justice is an understatement. Because the very nature of art is to undertake or assume the role of a healer by shading light on the human condition.

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Bee in Flight

Ongoing
Bee in Flight

Community artist and school art teacher MeLissa Kossick, who guides youth classes at the Museum on art, gardens, and pollinators, has created an enchanting mosaic design in the Creativity Pathway in the Serkland Gallery called Bee in Flight.

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S.P.A.C.E.

Ongoing
S.P.A.C.E.
Kaleidoscope

The S.P.A.C.E. (Sculpture Pad Art Collaborative Experiment) project is a public art initiative undertaken collaboratively between Plains Art Museum, and the college art departments at North Dakota State University, Minnesota State University Moorhead, and Concordia College.

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The North Dakota Mural

Ongoing
The North Dakota Mural

Drawing on his childhood memories of the Great Plains, he created a work that speaks to the wide open spaces, huge vistas, and ocean-like skies of the region.

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Fragile Preservation

Ongoing
Fragile Preservation
A Tallgrass Community

While the Tallgrass Prairie is a community made up of a great diversity of species, Fragile Preservation represents a selection of them.

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