Sharon Louden pointed me to “Works on Paper/7 Artists” the current show at the Burnet Gallery in Minneapolis. I had blogged about Sharon’s Merge installation at the University of Minnesota’s Weisman museum, which led to exchanges of emails, and meeting in person when she was recently in town! (Sharon has a new permanent Merge installation at the University of Connecticut.)

In our conversation, Sharon told me I had to go see “Works on Paper,” especially to see Elizabeth Simonson‘s work, as she knew that I’d love it. I did! Simonson also works with beads, albeit in a different fashion than I do – I’m more textile artist, she’s a modern artist. See her sculptures and Vacare.

Excerpted from Simonson’s artist statement, “My work is structured through repetitive activity and is governed by one organizing principle: the system behind the work is what dictates the visual outcome. What better example of this principle than what can be found in the building blocks of life… Accordingly my recent work uses beads as a cell-like unit that simultaneously determines the structure of the piece as well as the “genetic code” of the organism through the use of color.”

Using ink and pencil on paper, here are some of Simonson’s works; they are all “Untitled,” created in 2011 or 2012. They are about 7×7″ or 9×12″.

Aren’t they beautiful? They’re intimate and beguiling to my eye. Very appealing.

Another artist in this show whom I enjoyed is John Fleischer. He uses marker, crayon, and graphite on paper. This collection is “Which of Us We Are,” and each is 7×11″.

I was clearly appreciating color when I visited — it’s been a long, unpleasant winter in Minnesota, and these two artists especially were a lovely antidote. To see more (better) images from the show, see Burnet’s exhibition page for “Works on Paper/7 Artists.” Visit before April 28th, if you can!