Minneapolis-based artist Frank Gaard is here this week installing Frank Gaard: Poison & Candy, his first Walker solo show since 1980’s Viewpoints. Opening Thursday night, the exhibition spans more than four decades and features Gaard’s unique perspective on the world as illustrated through paintings, zines and drawings. His content veers from wry commentary on the art world to renderings of placid ponies, references to revered philosophers and artists to overtly sexual themes–all presented in Gaard’s trademark DayGlo paint. Here’s a sneak peek of the exhibition as it’s being installed.
Crew member Emily Lyman ponders a wall installation in progress.
Gaard considers the placement of a work that bears a quote by Friedrich Nietzsche: “We have need of lies in order to conquer this reality, this ‘truth,’ that is in order to live. That lies are necessary in order to live is itself part of the terrifying and questionable character of existence.”
Assistant Registrar Jessica Rolland catalogs work beneath a wall of Gaard’s portraits.
A detail of Gaard’s Untitled (Bottlecaps).
Art world references frequently make their way into Gaard’s work. One portrait of Christi Atkinson, former head of Walker Teen Programs and program director at the Soap Factory, features panties emblazoned with the names of those art organizations.
Gaard’s 1999 piece The Time Painting awaits hanging in the galleries.