Artist talk and reception November 1

Upper Iowa University will host an artist talk and closing reception Friday, November 1, with Minneapolis, Minnesota, artist Leslie Barlow. “A Familiar Portrait of Labor and Love” is currently on exhibit at Bing-Davis Memorial Gallery at UIU’s Fayette Campus through November 1. Coming from the desire to connect intergenerational intersections of race and gender, and speak to the complexities of a family’s multiracial relationships, Barlow’s grandmothers are the centerpiece of the oil painting series.

Barlow teaches courses at the University of Minnesota, Metro State University, and Juxtaposition Arts. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Stout and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Minneapolis College of Art and Design. In 2019, she was awarded both the McKnight Visual Artist Fellowship and the 20/20 Springboard Fellowship by her home state of Minnesota.

Barlow’s studio is located in the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District. Her work can be viewed at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, where in 2016 she was commissioned by the Minnesota Vikings football team to create six portrait paintings of iconic Vikings players. Maintaining a vigorous studio practice, Barlow has also participated in artist residencies at The Soap Factory in Minneapolis, and as the artist-in-residence at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington, and at the Marcy Open School in Minneapolis.

Barlow will lead the November 1 artist talk at noon, followed by the gallery closing reception. The 2019-20 Bing-Davis Memorial Gallery schedule resumes Monday, November 11, with the featured works of Council Bluffs artist Russ Nordman.  Bing-Davis Memorial Gallery is located in Edgar Fine Arts Hall at Upper Iowa University’s Fayette Campus. The gallery is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.