Gallery Artist Reception: Midwestern Palimpsests by Joe Maurer

The Oxbow Hotel is thrilled to feature local artist Joe Maurer in The Gallery through 2020. Join us for a Gallery Artist Reception where Joe’s new collection of paintings, MIDWESTERN PALIMPSESTS, will be on full display. A special performance by Squirrel Talk will take place during the reception. FREE to attend. Dinner and cash bar available onsite at The Lakely.

MIDWESTERN PALIMPSESTS
New Painting by Joe Maurer

Palimpsests l noun – a manuscript or piece of writing on which original writing has been effaced to make room for later writing but of which traces remain.

“The image making process started by looking backward. Working on midwestern newspapers from the 1940’s, a technique was used to preserve the papers in wax. I have a curiosity about our inherited animal stories, including farm animals, whose lives typically do not make headlines. This is true especially in times of war. The images are meditations on time and place. Some are success stories. Some are about new beginnings. Some are about loss. Fast forward to present day, will these be the stories of resilience in a time of friction in our world? The stories are unfinished and are a call to action to get the facts and protect everyday wonders in nature and the values of the small farmer.”
– Joe Maurer

PICTURED:

“Mussulini Slain! Forest St. Burr Oak, Short Eared Owl”
1944-2020, Collage, Oil and Wax on board

What time is this place? The tree is index of place, that at one time, short eared owls may have called Eau Claire home. Short Eared Owls are often associated with savanna landscapes in which burr oaks are found. Eau Claire has such a tree in the Forest Street Community Gardens in Eau Claire. Image copyright Joseph Maurer 2020

SQUIRREL TALK BIO:

Squirrel Talk is a duo that creates songs on the land also known as “Music of Tiny Places”. The process involves visiting sites and translating the experiences into song. The duo is anchored by the vocals of Deirdre Jenkins. Joe Maurer plays Mandola, Guitar and Mandolin sometimes acoustically. Their sound is a cross between Joni Mitchell, a bumble bee wing and prairie smoke. They will create a special meandering performance in the gallery for the evening.
Squirrel Talk Video “The Vultures Arrive”
Squirrel Talk Performance Art piece “The Vultures Arrive”