A World to Discover Part 1

Recently, on a road trip, I made some discoveries I would like to share. These are little gems hidden in places I had not heard of before I did a little research. Well, that isn't quite true as the first place I want to talk about was at Bethany Lutheran College and I had heard of this museum before...Bethany Lutheran College is where Birger Sandzen taught. If you don't know who Birger Sandzen is, he was a Swedish immigrant who taught art at the college in the small Swedish town called Lindsborg. I wanted to see the campus and the museum there in his name. I was fortunate to have seen the collection of Birger Sandzen held by the college a few years back when it was sent to Colorado Springs Fine Art Center while the museum in Kansas underwent renovation. Or I might have been very disappointed. The front room was Birger's work, and some of the side hallways held his etchings and drawings. But that was the extent of his work on display. Prime examples to be sure. And the room did him and his work justice. It was to be left wanting more.

It was visually delightful. He handles color and thick paint with such ease. The textures he portrays makes you want to reach out and touch. The disappointment could have come from it not being ALL about Birger Sandzen as it was in Colorado Springs...however...in the second gallery was a Kansas artist. His name is Aaron Morgan Brown. I was quite intrigued by his work. The first one that caught my eye was the kid in the museum with all these huge ancient sculptures. In this painting there is a tea cup on the  half wall as if the horses head were going after it. On the floor at the base of the wall is a hammer. And the kid looking into the next gallery holding an apple. It just gets you thinking in a very different way. So I went back and started over and really started to delve into each painting a bit deeper. Every painting drew you in a very different way. Photo realism yet with a decided twist that all is not what it appears. On his website he calls it "constructed dreaming." I have included a few for you to see but please go to his website for a visual journey. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.