Best Road Trip Ever!

Best Road Trip Ever! celebrates the friendship of two local Minneapolis artists, JIM HILLEGASS and SUSAN WAGNER, who approach their respective disciplines differently, yet share a focus on landscape as a continuous inspiration. Although Jim Hillegass is keen to say there are no rules for interpreting his paintings, he often returns to his love of color while utilizing horizontal stripes to create what many view as horizons. "I like to explore color in the context of landscapes. As a young man and a carpenter, I learned about level lines. And as a sailor and pilot, I saw them from a different perspective." 

Susan Wagner decodes the title of the exhibition: “The very nature of a road trip invites the possibility of serendipity, change, or seeing something new—with or without a destination in mind. Considering this idea, the concept of a road trip can take on a wider meaning to include almost anything. It can mean the best trip ever into your own internal emotional, and intuitive landscape.”

Together, as seen in their new bodies of work created specifically for this exhibition, Hillegass and Wagner display their mutual love of landscape, abstraction and color exploration.

Gallery Hours
Opening reception: Saturday, September 7th from 4-7pm - free and open to the public. Artists will be present.

Beginning Sept. 12th: Thursdays and Fridays from 12-3:30 + Saturdays 12-4, and by appointment (email: gallery@veroniquewantz.com to set up a time outside of open hours). 

The final day to view Best Road Trip Ever! is Saturday, October 12th from 6pm-9pm, and coincides with the North Loop Artist Walk occurring the same night.

Images: Jim Hillegass, "Untitled," 2024, oil on canvas, 33-1/2" x 38" and Susan Wagner, "Waterfalls," 2024, oil and Venetian plaster, 30" x 30"