Artists present nature-inspired exhibition at Confluence Gallery
The Bloomington City Council heard a presentation Wednesday from two artists showcasing their collaborative exhibition at the Confluence Gallery, which explores childhood memories and appreciation for Minnesota's natural landscapes.
Billy, a Hmong American children's illustrator, and Jay Lent, a digital illustrator, presented their upcoming exhibition "Perspective Memories" to the council as an informational presentation. The show will be hosted at the Confluence Gallery in partnership with the Wildlife Refuge.
Both artists drew inspiration from their personal connections to nature and Minnesota's outdoors. Billy explained that growing up in Cage Grove shaped his artistic vision. "I enjoy nature cuz you know I was raised in Cage Grove so in Cage Grove now I'm always going hiking going for walks and there's a lot of beautiful sceneries of just nature itself," he said, noting that the peaceful landscapes inspired his work.
Jay Lent's focus centers on wildlife and the natural world. "I mainly draw things from the natural world, animals, wildlife," he said, adding that his post-college work exploring nature led him to pursue conservation interests. The artists emphasized that their complementary styles tell interconnected stories about outdoor appreciation and childhood experiences.
The pair worked collaboratively to curate the exhibition, ensuring their work aligned with the missions of both the Confluence Gallery and the Wildlife Refuge. "Billy and I worked really hard curating what we wanted in this exhibition and how it would kind of show our childhood memories and our appreciation for the outdoors while meshing the themes and mission for the Confluence Gallery and the Wildlife Refuge," Lent explained.
The presentation was informational in nature, with no formal vote required. The exhibition represents a partnership between local artists and community institutions focused on celebrating Minnesota's natural heritage and personal connections to the outdoors.
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Confluence Gallery Art Exhibition Presentation
Artists Billy and Jay Lent presented their collaborative art exhibition focusing on nature, childhood memories, and appreciation for the outdoors. They detailed their individual inspirations, the complementary themes of their work, and the curatorial process for the exhibition hosted at the Confluence Gallery in partnership with the Wildlife Refuge.
I enjoy nature cuz you know I was raised in cage Grove so in cage Grove now I'm always going hiking going for walks and there's a lot of you know beautiful sceneries of just nature itself and I enjoy it and so I just created these landscape pictures because they were so peaceful to me...
I mainly draw things from the natural World animals Wildlife so a lot of my art coming out of college had to do with nature and the natural world and that's kind of where I found my inspiration for a lot of the themes in my art and how I knew I wanted to kind of work in conservation of some sort...
Billy and I worked really hard curating what we wanted in this exhibition and how it would kind of show our childhood memories and our appreciation for the outdoors while mashing the themes and mission for the Confluence Gallery and the Wildlife Refuge...
Source document
[0:02] my name is Billy to I am a Mong American
[0:06] Artist now today I'd like to consider
[0:08] myself more of a children's
[0:11] illustrator my name is Jay lent I'm an
[0:13] illustrative artist I mainly work in
[0:16] digital illustrations but a lot of my
[0:19] work primarily kind of looks like print
[0:21] making I enjoy nature cuz you know I was
[0:24] raised in cage Grove so in cage Grove
[0:26] now I'm always going hiking going for
[0:29] walks and there's a lot of you know
[0:30] beautiful sceneries of just nature
[0:32] itself and I enjoy it and so I just
[0:35] created these landscape pictures because
[0:37] they were so peaceful to me you know and
[0:39] I enjoy watching the change of the
[0:41] seasons The Awakening of the sun and the
[0:44] tiredness of the Sun and all these
[0:46] inspired me and all these took place in
[0:48] Minnesota and so I just capture it
[0:51] within that moment within the moment of
[0:54] what it is to make me human I mainly
[0:58] draw things from the natural World
[1:00] animals Wildlife so a lot of my art
[1:03] coming out of college had to do with
[1:06] nature and the natural world and that's
[1:10] kind of where I found my inspiration for
[1:12] a lot of the themes in my art and how I
[1:15] knew I wanted to kind of work in
[1:17] conservation of some sort just cuz I
[1:20] have like a greater appreciation now of
[1:22] like the countryside and the nature that
[1:24] surrounded me when I was a kid and I
[1:26] think Minnesota just P that beauty of
[1:29] nature and Landscapes that makes me feel
[1:32] alive and makes me want to keep paying
[1:34] attention to the beauty of it and so
[1:37] that is what I want to share with the
[1:40] Confluence Gallery with my
[1:42] work it's a big honor to just have my
[1:45] stuff exhibited there I think the themes
[1:48] of Billy's work as well as my work
[1:51] compliment each other pretty great we
[1:53] both kind of tell stories of our
[1:56] childhood in different ways of kind of
[1:59] that appreciation for nature please do
[2:01] come by and just have an experience of
[2:04] seeing nature Through The Eyes of the
[2:07] artist within Minnesota so please
[2:09] welcome to stop by anytime Billy and I
[2:13] worked really hard curating what we
[2:15] wanted in this exhibition and how it
[2:17] would kind of show our childhood
[2:20] memories and our appreciation for the
[2:22] outdoors while mashing the themes and
[2:25] mission for the Confluence Gallery and
[2:28] the Wildlife Refuge so if you're free
[2:31] and you like art come and see it we'd
[2:34] love to have you there
[2:37] [Music]
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