Call and Response: Recent Works by Ta-Coumba Aiken

From the Minneapolis Central Library to St. Paul's Robert Street municipal ramp, Ta-coumba Aiken's murals and mosaics are everywhere, a facet of Twin Cities life so vibrant that, despite their ubiquitousness, they're impossible to ignore. Still, there's more to the local institution than large-scale public works and Absolut ads (he did one a few years ago). Hence "Call and Response." The show highlights aspects of the artist's output we don't see every day, including collaborations with Minneapolis jazz great Carei Thomas and a slew of Aiken's smaller acrylic-on-canvas works, densely populated worlds in themselves informed by everything from traditional Yoruba masks to surrealism. What better way to catch up with a dude whose efforts brighten our lives so regularly?
Nov. 16-Jan. 13, 2007