‘Human/Nature’ exhibit at Heider to highlight natural forms.

Coulee News
By Michael Martin  

Since they work in the same space, the two young artists for this month’s Visual Arts Series at the Marie W. Heider Center for the Arts — entitled Human/Nature — know each other well. Still, Jenn Bushman and Matt

Duckett had never put on a show together before.

Both have been deeply involved with the Green Bay Street Studio in La Crosse (which is in the process of moving to downtown La Crosse and changing its name to Vitamin Studio), but they are no strangers to the Heider Center either.

“When we were asked if we wanted to exhibit this year, we couldn’t pass it up,” Duckett said. “I think the Heider Center is a surprising institution — there’s nothing like it in La Crosse. For a small community, it’s such an amazing facility.”

Bushman’s first experience with the Heider Center came two years ago, when she was invited to see a show there.

“I hadn’t heard much about it, but once I arrived, I was amazed,” she said. “It is so exciting to see such a wonderful establishment available for the community and for the students.

“I am so honored to have an exhibition there. I hope everyone will enjoy it and that students will be inspired by two young local artists.”

Along with Duckett — who is also an arts administrator at the Pump House Regional Art Center in La Crosse — Bushman teaches figurative drawing.

“Since the mid-2000’s, my work has involved the human form and the exploration of lines and contours,” Bushman said.

Recently, she’s been branching out into exploring the lines, contours and textures in nature. “My explorations have evolved into monochromatic images of the leaves of cabbage and other plants,” she said.

Duckett’s current work is more figurative. “It’s people-centered, on the verge of portraiture,” he said. “Although our portfolios might seem divergent, they are more alike than they seem at first.”

“As we prepared for the show, we realized we both had works in figures and in flora,” Bushman said. “By including both themes, we hope the viewer will be able to see how the strength of the lines and contours of my drawings transcend into my paintings and how the attention to shapes and details in Matt’s figure drawing transcend into his paintings of portraits and landscapes.”