Minneapolis, MN

New London artist Lisa Bergh the first to be highlighted at Minneapolis Institute of Art

Published

2 years ago

January 3, 2024

Press Room

MINNEAPOLIS

— In a 2,500-square-foot exhibit space within the halls of the

Minneapolis Institute of Art

, where masterpieces of human creation from throughout history come together, visitors will be able to enjoy the emotion, feel and color of Greater Minnesota. This is thanks to New London-based artist

Lisa Bergh

and the Minnesota Artist Exhibition Program from the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

“The (Minnesota Artist Exhibition Program) exhibition opportunity was a profoundly important experience for my ongoing artistic growth,” Bergh said in an email to the West Central Tribune. “I was given the resources and space to increase the scale and scope of my recent investigations into materiality, structure, light and shadow.”

Bergh’s exhibit, titled “Topography,” is on display in the U.S. Bank Gallery through Feb. 25, 2024.

Lisa Bergh, right and pictured with her husband Andrew Nordin in 2021, calls New London home. Her Minneapolis Institute of Art exhibit represents the shapes, colors and light of the landscape in rural Minnesota.

Erica Dischino / West Central Tribune file photo

“The exhibit explores sense memory and the ephemeral experience of place,” Bergh said. “It is an ode to my sensual, aesthetic relationship to rural Minnesota.”

Bergh moved to New London from Milwaukee in 2005

with her husband, Andrew Nordin, and their young son. In 2009, the couple welcomed a daughter. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in photography and printmaking from the University of Arizona and a Master of Fine Arts in spatial arts from San Jose State University. She has worked continuously as an artist in addition to being an arts administrator, curator and educator.

“I will never stop refining and building on my ideas and skills,” Bergh said.

Bergh showcases that relationship with her home through abstract paintings and sculptures created from a unique medium. The paintings are created using pieces of brightly colored plastic sheeting that is cut, stitched and stretched together, while her sculptures use forms of plastic and vinyl.

"Lisa Bergh: Topography" on view at Mia. — Pieces from “Topography,” an art exhibit by Lisa Bergh of New London, are on display at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. The exhibit runs until Feb. 25, 2024. The sculpture in the corner represents the light of sun dogs and frozen fields in winter.

“I use the language of abstraction in my work. Some of the pieces start with a more literal idea of place, while the two-dimensional works and tapestries are less specific,” Bergh said. “I am always working to find the right balance of play between form, concept, intuition, intention, experience, surprise.”

The pieces attempt to capture the feel of the rural landscape with color and light. The oranges, pinks, blues and grays used in the pieces hearken back to the colors found in the environment from the blaze orange of a hunter’s vest to the grays of grain silos. The sculptural work in the exhibit tells the same story, but in a more three-dimensional way.

“It really calls forth these elements that we take for granted when you live in rural Minnesota,” said Nicole Soukup, assistant curator of contemporary art at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. “Rural Minnesota is as vibrant a place, as constructed a place, as the Twin Cities. Instead of skyscrapers, there are corn silos; instead of parking lots, it’s soybeans.”

Bergh was chosen by a jury of her peers to exhibit at the Minneapolis Institute of Art through the Minnesota Artist program. The Minnesota Artist Exhibition Program, which will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2025, is open to all emerging and mid-career artists who live and work in Minnesota. The program provides each artist $13,500 to put on their show and can help them step up in their career.

“I am profoundly grateful to Mia for awarding me with an MAEP exhibition,” Bergh said.

It can be a big deal for young artists and art lovers across the state to see and experience art created by their neighbors and community members. Soukup herself remembers the first time she saw such an exhibit as a college student.

Nicole Soukup, Mia assistant curator.jpg — Nicole Soukup, assistant curator of contemporary art at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

“It was a revelatory experience,” Soukup said. “To see artists that look like me who had similar backgrounds. It is an important thing to do and see.”

The Minnesota Artist Exhibition Program also helps Mia showcase the vast array and diversity of the art that Minnesota has to offer, art that can stand shoulder to shoulder with the great masters of the past.

“There is also something about the caliber of art that has always existed, what we now call artwork, that always existed here from before colonization,” Soukup said.

As part of her exhibit, Bergh will be holding an artist’s talk at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 25 in the Pillsbury Auditorium at the museum. The event is free, though reservations are needed so the museum knows how many people to expect, Soukup said. The museum will also be open following the talk, so visitors can go view the artwork.

“It is bright, colorful,” Soukup said. “Exactly what you want in the dead of winter.”

For those who can’t attend the talk in person, it will be recorded and posted on the Minneapolis Institute of Art website.

Soukup urges people to come out and see Bergh’s exhibit, even if they do not have a background in art or color theory. Mia welcomes everyone to its galleries free of charge, and wants to spread the good that can come from viewing and experiencing art.

“You don’t need to understand deep art to enjoy Lisa’s show. You can simply enjoy the colors — and that is what it is about, painting with light,” Soukup said. “You don’t have to know anything about art to get something from an art museum. It is okay to just feel something in the moment and that is valid.”

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Minneapolis, MN

Truck driver dead after crash sends Metro Transit bus into home in south Minneapolis

Published

7 hours ago

May 11, 2026

Press Room

Truck driver dead after crash sends Metro Transit bus into home in south Minneapolis

It happened early Monday morning in Minneapolis.

One person is dead and another is hospitalized after an early-morning crash in south Minneapolis on Monday that sent a Metro Transit bus into a home.

It happened at around 4 a.m. at 10th Avenue South and East 38th Street, just a few blocks east of George Floyd Square.

A spokesperson for Metro Transit police tells 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that a truck was speeding down 10th Avenue when it hit the back of the bus, ripping a tire off the bus and sending it into the front of a home.

The driver of that truck died, according to Metro Transit police, while the driver of the bus was taken to a hospital but is expected to be OK.

Officials say nobody besides the driver was on the bus at the time, and the home the bus hit was also empty at the time.

Investigators are still at the scene, working to clean up all of the debris and determine exactly what led up to the crash.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS is at the scene and working to learn more. Download the KSTP app and follow 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS on social media for the latest updates.

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Minneapolis, MN

Atlanta Dream survive thriller in Minneapolis, edge Lynx 91-90 to open 2026 WNBA season

Published

19 hours ago

May 10, 2026

Press Room

Atlanta Dream survive thriller in Minneapolis, edge Lynx 91-90 to open 2026 WNBA season

The Atlanta Dream trailed by double digits, fought back twice and still needed Angel Reese’s game-saving block in the final seconds to survive.

Atlanta opened the 2026 WNBA season with a 91-90 victory over the Minnesota Lynx on Saturday night, powered by Allisha Gray’s 24 points, Te-Hina Paopao’s pull-up jumper with 12 seconds remaining, and a performance that left little doubt about what this team intends to do this season.

Reese’s block on Emese Hof’s layup attempt in the closing seconds sealed one of the most dramatic opening-night wins before 10,821 fans at Target Center.

When Minnesota pushed its advantage to 13 points in the second quarter and the Dream looked like they were in serious trouble, Allisha Gray took over. The veteran guard finished with a game-high 24 points on 7-of-18 shooting, going a near-perfect 9-of-11 from the free throw line to go along with eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Gray’s ability to get to the line and convert kept Atlanta within striking distance throughout a game that could have spiraled out of control multiple times. She scored 11 points in the third quarter alone as the Dream chipped away at Minnesota’s lead.

Rhyne Howard was equally important on both ends, finishing with 15 points, five assists and three steals. Jordin Canada ran the offense efficiently with 12 points and six assists, and Paopao added six points and four assists in a composed performance off the bench.

With Atlanta trailing 85-87 and the clock winding down, Naz Hillmon stepped back and drained a 22-foot three-pointer with 2:44 left to tie the game and silence the fans in the Target Center. It was the shot of the night, and arguably the play that won Atlanta the game.

Hillmon finished with 15 points on an efficient 6-of-10 from the field, adding seven rebounds in 33 minutes. She was the Dream’s most reliable scorer off the bench and delivered her best basketball when Atlanta needed it most.

Rookie Madina Okot also impressed in her WNBA debut, scoring eight points on 3-of-6 shooting with four rebounds in just 10 minutes, showing the poise and physicality that earned her a roster spot out of training camp.

Angel Reese’s first game in a Dream uniform was complicated. She shot 4-of-11 from the field, committed five turnovers and picked up a first-quarter technical foul that gifted Minnesota a free point. At one point in the first half, she missed three consecutive shots on the same possession.

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – MAY 09: Angel Reese #5 of the Atlanta Dream blocks a shot attempt by Emese Hof #25 of the Minnesota Lynx during the fourth quarter at Target Center on May 09, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement.

Ellen Schmidt / Getty Images

But Reese also grabbed 14 rebounds, nine on the offensive glass, blocked three shots, came up with two steals, and made the most important play of the game when it mattered most. Her block on Hof’s layup in the final seconds was the kind of athletic, instinctive play that changes games and defines seasons.

That is the player Atlanta acquired this offseason. On opening night, in the most pressure-packed moment of the game, she showed exactly why.

Minnesota had every opportunity to win this game and couldn’t finish it. Olivia Miles finished with 21 points on 6-of-14 shooting and eight assists to go along with eight free throws made. Kayla McBride scored 20 points and hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 1:11 left that looked like it might be the dagger.

Courtney Williams added 14 points and six assists, and the Lynx shot 50 percent from the field, a number that should have been good enough to win.

But 15 turnovers and an inability to execute in the game’s final minute proved too costly. Minnesota had chances to put Atlanta away in the fourth quarter and couldn’t. The Dream made them pay every time.

Atlanta continues its opening road trip Tuesday against the Dallas Wings before returning home for the May 17 opener against the defending champion Las Vegas Aces at State Farm Arena. Minnesota hosts Atlanta again on May 27.

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