Val Frank—a longtime friend, artist, and fellow MCAD graduate (’85)—is exhibiting a body of oil paintings on canvas and panel. Val spent more than 20 years teaching painting at the University of Minnesota Art School, passing on her deep knowledge and commitment to the medium to generations of students.
Val’s work is deeply rooted in the forms of nature. Often described as sensuous, her paintings also incorporate elements of humor, darkness, and the grotesque. She draws inspiration from botanical forms, natural systems, and repeating patterns found in the natural world. The Stump is a striking example of how Val transforms a weather-worn tree stump through expressive color and line. As the artist explains, “This particular stump, across the river from my sister’s cabin in Idaho, became a character—Ol’ Stump—after many drawings.”
When looking closely at the works in this exhibition, one might sense a kind of “trickster” presence—but it is the artist herself who fulfills that role. Val observes what is often overlooked in nature and gathers forms that might seem ordinary or obscure: a hollowed tree, a twisted root, an unexpected configuration of natural elements. Through the transformative power of painting, she reveals these forms in ways we could never have imagined on our own.
Val Frank—a longtime friend, artist, and fellow MCAD graduate (’85)—is exhibiting a body of oil paintings on canvas and panel. Val spent more than 20 years teaching painting at the University of Minnesota Art School, passing on her deep knowledge and commitment to the medium to generations of students.
Val’s work is deeply rooted in the forms of nature. Often described as sensuous, her paintings also incorporate elements of humor, darkness, and the grotesque. She draws inspiration from botanical forms, natural systems, and repeating patterns found in the natural world. The Stump is a striking example of how Val transforms a weather-worn tree stump through expressive color and line. As the artist explains, “This particular stump, across the river from my sister’s cabin in Idaho, became a character—Ol’ Stump—after many drawings.”
When looking closely at the works in this exhibition, one might sense a kind of “trickster” presence—but it is the artist herself who fulfills that role. Val observes what is often overlooked in nature and gathers forms that might seem ordinary or obscure: a hollowed tree, a twisted root, an unexpected configuration of natural elements. Through the transformative power of painting, she reveals these forms in ways we could never have imagined on our own.
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