Daydreamland | Nate Woodard

Nate Woodard returns to Fresh Eye Gallery with his first solo exhibition, Daydreamland, opening May 4 and on view through June 18, 2022 at the intentionally inclusive community art space in South Minneapolis. The exhibition will feature roughly 25-30 works. 

Woodard shares his internal dreamland debuting Appletown, a miniature suburban landscape made of cardboard paper, toothpicks, glue, and acrylic paint demonstrating a deep attention to detail, imagination, and care from the artist. The little houses with shutters, patio furniture, streets, and backyards; some without roofs inviting viewers to peer inside and reflect on what utopia could be.

“I always was inspired from the suburbs in the state of Illinois and some of the houses here, too… The way the apartment buildings are set up. The bushes, the trees… I get inspired looking at that,” says Woodard. “Appletown is a place I created in my mind, a neighborhood full of peace, a place where I could go and feel safe.”

In addition to the miniature houses, Woodard contemplates the human existence through his portraits utilizing graphite and acrylics to capture the extensive human emotions he observes daily. Woodard’s characters ultimately represent the artists’ own hopes, dreams, and desires. “It helps me communicate better, I can communicate better when I do art, when I’m emotional about stuff,” notes Woodard. “It’s being authentic – with no boundaries. Appletown has no boundaries, no rules. A place where you are free. It’s just like heaven-no boundaries, just free will-you’re just free.”

This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

 

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Nate Woodard (b. 1980) is a multi-media artist based in the Twin Cities. Mostly self-taught, Woodard has been drawing and creating artwork all his life. His work reflects his experience as a person of color moving through this world. Many of his pieces have themes of spirituality, independence, and the struggles of everyday life. Recent exhibitions include Entrance at the Institute on Community Integration (U of M), Creature Comforts at Fresh Eye Gallery, So Free and Suburbia at Banfill Locke Center for the Arts, and Speculative Futures, Present Imaginations at the Catherine G. Murphy Gallery (online), and C4W:2021 Elemental at Gamut Gallery.

ABOUT THE GALLERY
Fresh Eye Gallery is a community art space in South Minneapolis dedicated to showcasing artwork by emerging and mid-career artists, of all backgrounds and abilities. The gallery is an intentionally inclusive space centering and amplifying the voices of artists with disabilities. Fresh Eye Gallery is located at 4238 Nicollet Avenue. Learn more at fresheyegallery.com.

Fresh Eye Gallery is a component of Fresh Eye Arts- a progressive art studio supporting artists with disabilities. Fresh Eye is owned and operated by MSS, a nonprofit organization supporting people with disabilities in the Twin Cities Metro Area since 1949.