f r a n k l i n ||| F R E S H

Opening Friday, April 1: Miles Mendenhall, Conrad Ventur and Lisha Bai

Franklin Art Works is pleased to present solo exhibitions by Miles Mendenhall, Conrad Ventur and Lisha Bai, opening on Friday, April 1 with a reception from 6-8pm. 

Following the reception at 8:30p will be a special performance by local band Food Pyramid and guests, featuring projections by Conrad Ventur.

Admission is free. Exhibitions will remain on view until Saturday, May 26. 

In the Main Gallery: Miles Mendenhall / God Rocks and Soul Jokes

The Minneapolis-based artist will premier a series of large-scale carbon prints on paper, in which the artist manipulates black-and-white pixilated imagery into dimensional shapes evocative of human forms.

Carbon printing is a seldom-used, commercially popular process employed through the first half of the 20th century. The process involved applying pigment to paper in multiple layers, resulting in extraordinary depth of color, and achieving actual physical depth in the applied pigment.

Mendenhall’s works began as pixilated black-and-white photographs that were then digitally altered to create abstract, amorphous shapes that evoke the contours and tactility of organic forms.  The artist created his own printing facility to achieve these works, which measure as large as five feet square.

Miles Mendenhall received a BFA from the University of Minnesota and has exhibited at Half Gallery (New York), The Gallery at Fox Tax, the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, Highpoint Center for Printmaking and the Katherine E. Nash Gallery at the University of Minnesota. Mendenhall is the recipient of an artist fellowship from the Minnesota State Arts Board and an artist Residency from Highpoint Center for Printmaking.

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In the Screening Room: Conrad Ventur / Love Notes

The New York-based artist will present his video installation, If You Knew (Nina Simone) (2009). The video features a recording of the famed vocalist Nina Simone performing “If You Knew”, projected through a rotating pendant prism - which fractures and spins the imagery to new affect.

Commenting on loss, tragedy, memory and love, the Ventur’s work encapsulates Simone’s ability to make her private moments public, bringing the viewer closer to the collective sadness implicit in the lyrics.

Conrad Ventur received a BFA from the Rochester Institute of Technology and a MFA from Goldsmith College, University of London. He has exhibited internationally at venues including Greater New York at MoMA/PS1, The Andy Warhol Museum (Pittsburgh), Elizabeth Dee, Forever & Today, Momenta Art, P.P.O.W. Gallery, Alexandre Pollazzon (London), 1/9 Unosunove (Rome), the Center for Curatorial Studio, Bard College (Annandale-on-Hudson, NY), among other venues. The artist is represented by Rokeby, London.

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Also on view: Lisha Bai / re:vision

The New York-based artist will premier a floor installation composed of black and white linoleum tiles, cut to simulate dimension in the form of a wave pattern. Bai states that her checkered vinyl floor works “transform [everyday] visual happenings into experiential objects that explore the sensory and temporal aspects of architectural and abstract space.”

Lisha Bai received a BFA from Washington University and a MFA from Yale University. She has exhibited extensively at venues including Josée Bienvenu Gallery, Sartori, Supreme Trading, 33 Bond Gallery and Bravin Less Programs, Lumin House and Regina Rex (all New York), Tiger Strikes Asteroid (Philadelphia), the University of Vermont (Burlington) and Musée d’Art Américain Giverny (France).

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The exhibitions are curated by Franklin Art Works’ Director, Tim Peterson.

Gallery Hours are Tuesday - Saturday, 12 to 5pm, and by appointment.

School group visits and special tours - please contact Colleen Harriss at

colleen@franklinartworks.org