Home for the Holidays

Coming home for the holidays can be hard. There's that inevitable moment when the joy and excitement over being together with family takes a terrible turn toward frustration and misunderstanding. For me, it's usually when my mother, out of honest kindness, attempts to do my laundry for me and shrinks or discolors a favorite item. I seethe and I mope and I lose sight of the reason I came home in the first place. Fortunately, for those who are coming home to Minneapolis, you can seek refuge in the Soo Visual Arts Center's "Home for the Holidays" exhibit to cool those hot family-induced tempers. Among the highlights are Andrea Carlson's paintings in which anime meets Picasso in a Native American legend. A mythical beast vomits rays of light. Slightly demonic bunnies stare out at the viewer as if they've been caught in headlights. Devilish bears scratch at tree stumps with breast-like protrusions. Jaron Childs's photo-journalism-like paintings capture people in moments of anguish and pain, reminding us that there are a lot worse things than being home for the holidays.
Nov. 14-Dec. 31, 2007