Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Catherine Solberg.
Mary Catherine, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
The story begins here, my studio in Minneapolis, where I give form to my thoughts, dreams, fantasies, and frustrations. I am a contemporary figurative painter using traditional methods as well as mixed media techniques I have discovered, studied and also developed myself. In my studio, I can follow my bliss, but of course, it wasn’t always that easy. My Catholic upbringing continues to inform my current work. Honoring the positive while sorting out the disturbing and contradictory history remains a challenge and an inspiration. I am a middle child from a large family with a strong work ethic. With five brothers and two sisters, I was required to share my room, my stuff, my time, and my personal space. Being the oldest daughter I was, unlike the boys, expected to cook, clean, babysit and generally assist my beleaguered mom. Very early on, I craved my private world of creating. Using whatever art tools available, I painted, embellished, constructed, and altered environments for my dolls, stuffed animals, and occasional siblings. The creativity allowed me to escape the chaos, for a brief time and I savored it.
La Crosse, WI, the mid-sized town where I was raised, is in a much larger geological region known as the “Driftless Zone”. This mysterious area covers 24,000 square miles and is geologically and biologically unique in the world for having escaped the flattening effects of the glaciers during the last ice age. The result is a rich biology, deeply carved river valleys, bluffs, springs, deep caves with underground waterfalls and craggy formations. Images of the Driftless Zone often occur in my work and is an appropriate name for this remarkable land and the memories of my childhood spent there.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Moving out at 18, I attended the local university and worked for my dad’s land surveying business learning skills as a drafter and field crew. The Liberal Arts education along with my family’s values, imbued me with a strong sense of social responsibility and the ability to think critically. Eventually, I moved to California, where I met a community of working artists. A few saw my artistic potential and offered to mentor me. Opportunities began to arise when a cruel twist was presented. My father was diagnosed with Cancer, so I returned to Wisconsin to help with the Land Surveying Company while he recovered. Sadly, he never improved and passed only months after the diagnosis. There were still kids at home, the decision was made, and my brother Steve and I took over the survey company. Back to the Driftless Zone. While operating the business, I decided to also go back to college for a degree in Fine Art and graduated Suma Cum Laude with a focus on Art History and the Renaissance. Additionally, I decided to purchase and renovate the historic three-story building on Main Street we had been leasing. Odin J. Oyen built the 1912 Prairie School style building for his interior design firm which was famous for their murals. Since the third floor was his art studio, I decided to open it as a gallery which I aptly named The Odin Gallery. There I displayed an assortment of my student friends, many regional and even international artists. The community embraced our Opening Receptions, featured speakers, poets, theater, animals, aliens, and general artistic shenanigans.
In 1998 I sold the survey business, expanded the Odin Gallery and co-founded a new company based on technology developed and patented by myself and my brother Steve. The technology converted paper-based mathematical data such as land surveys and architectural drawings, into digital vectors. This pursuit involved enticing lenders, angel investors, more mentors, geeks and ultimately the University of WI-Madison Engineering Department and the UW-M Business Development Center. Both my brother and I nurtured this enterprise in the hope that it would ultimately free us to pursue a more philanthropic and creative life.
The new company was attracting all the right people and investors and the stock value was on the rise when the dot com crash occurred. Even though our company was based on solid (albeit time-sensitive) technology, investors ran scared and called in their notes. Long story short, we crashed and burned, losing almost everything. I found that I finally had time on my hands and precious little else, so I immersed myself in my art. Creating again helped me through this difficult time.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My work is influenced by the Renaissance and religious iconography. My art incorporates classical realism, with elements of contemporary culture to create large-scale portraits I refer to as “Everyday Icons.” These Icon portraits focus on a single character to capture fleeting moments of triumph, transition, struggle, and enlightenment. Swimmers dive deep into a new reality, dogs leap for balls, squirrels clutch their prize candy corn, and children grapple with the consequences of authoritarian decisions. Traditional portraiture takes on an ethereal interpretation with the incorporation of assorted media including plaster, collage, oil, acrylics, spray paint, beeswax, gold leaf, gems, and glitter.
How do you think about luck?
I have always had the good fortune to have wonderful supportive friends in my life and around this time I also met my future husband Patrick. I sold the building and my home and together we purchased a sprawling farmhouse with room for a large studio. I focused on my art and eventually opened the home to the public for an art tour and the work began to sell. I met more regional artists and patrons. Ultimately, when Patrick’s work needed him to relocate to the Twin Cities, I embraced the opportunity to be part of a larger art community and market. Currently a member of NEMAA, my studio is in the Casket Arts Building, a part of the award-winning Northeast Minneapolis Arts District. Dozens of Solo Shows have featured my work including The Pablo Center at the Confluence, the Minnesota Marine Art Museum, Le Meridien Chambers Hotel in Downtown Minneapolis, and The Center for Visual Arts in Wausau, WI. I have also been selected several times in the MN State Fair Fine Art Competition and in the Annual National Juried Exhibition at the Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art.
I am represented by a number of galleries listed on my website and am in private collections throughout the country and as far as Dubai. I am proud to have commissioned pieces in the permanent collection of the Redleaf Center for Family Healing located in the Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis and the Minnesota Marine Art Museum in Winona, MN. In retrospect, I wouldn’t change a thing because this winding path brought me here to my studio, where I am grateful to pursue a fulfilling creative life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.marysolberg.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/driftlessicons/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marycatherinesolberg
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-oscY5Mh7I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCt48xoSoKU&t=12s
