Press
Voyage Minnesota: The Change-Makers Stories that Inspire
Daily Inspiration: Meet Mary Catherine Solberg
Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Catherine Solberg.
Mary Catherine, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin? Read article
The World of Interiors June 2022
International Magazine Feature
For 40 years The World of Interiors has documented the rich diversity in ways in which we live, showcasing the stylish and unexpected, as well as applauding individuality. Mary Catherine Solberg has been featured in the June 2022 issue featuring “The Competition”.
Butterfly effect
Online Exhibition
Mary Catherine’s work consists of broad categories she continually cultivates combining classical methods of portraiture with mixed media techniques. The Animal Portraits are based on the extensive photography left by her late brother, James Solberg, a naturalist, writer and photographer. The Swim Girls use the metaphor of water to explore transformation and change, and the Icons celebrate and elevate everyday people. Her more recent works have been affected deeply by the events surrounding the murder of George Floyd as well as the concurrent isolation brought on by the Pandemic. This newer body of work builds on her experimentation with layers and new media.
Solberg has participated in numerous Juried Art Shows receiving many honors and has done over a dozen Solo Exhibitions.
She is a member of NEMAA (Northeast Minnesota Arts Association) and has a studio in the Casket Arts Building in the NE Arts District of Minneapolis, MN. Follow her on Instagram @driftlessicons.
Volume One December 30, 2021
Volume One, On the Cover
“Sarah Icon,” (2021) 60” x 48” Mixed Media Painting (acrylic, oil, plaster, gold leaf)
Solberg’s series of “Everyday Icons” are paintings of people or animals she wishes to venerate on a personal level. No less an Icon for their familiarity, her mixed media works celebrate the sacred in all of us. The painting “Sarah Icon” is a portrait of her friend Sarah B. Kamsin, a published author, (Vita, Babel, Cauliflower: 39 Poems about Metropolis and Earth), a poet, model, and human rights advocate. Beyond her surface beauty is a grace and depth that defies her age. In general, Solberg’s Icon portraits straddle the zone between reality and otherworldly. Focusing on a single character she captures fleeting moments of triumph, transition, struggle, and enlightenment. Her signature technique produces a highly textured masterful portrait with surprising depth and luminescence.
Edina Magazine, May 2021
Edina Magazine, Art Girls present Abraham with Hummingbird
The Art Girls Mpls. present an exclusive collaborative collection by renowned artist Mary Catherine Solberg and internationally acclaimed photographer Giovanna Aryafara.
Art Girls co-founder Kelly Netishen says, “Solberg’s ability to recreate the breathtaking images of the Omo Valley tribes by Giovanna in her artistic version [is] truly a treasure to the art world. The Omo Valley tribes reside in the southwestern corner of Ethiopia. They have long been heralded for their creative and artistic expression using elements of nature.” View the full digital issue
MPR News
Art Hounds recommend portraits that seem to be 'peering into your soul'
Mary Catherine Solberg creates portraits of people and animals in the style of religious icons or Renaissance painters. She uses metal leaf, beeswax, acrylic, plaster, and more unusual materials Read article
City Pages
Two exhibits at the CVA take you to very different places
Stolen Moment featured in the permanent collection
Minnesota Marine Art Museum
During the extended closure of the MN Museum Art Museum due to the Coronavirus pandemic, I took this opportunity to change out works of art in our atrium with items from the permanent collection. When the Museum reopens, you will see works by 10 regional, national, and international contemporary artists including Nathan Benn, Craig Blacklock, Seth Casteel, Annie Hejny, Stuart Klipper, Leo and Marilyn Smith, Mary Solberg, Maria Svarbova, and Nick Wroblewski. Works by Benn, Blacklock, Castell, Klipper, Svarbova, and Wroblewski are generous donations directly from the artists following recent exhibitions of their work. Mary Solberg’s mixed-media painting Stolen Moment (2018) was commissioned specifically for her exhibition and donated to our collection through a grant from the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council (SEMAC), and made possible by the voters of Minnesota through grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts & cultural heritage fund. Jon Swanson, Curator
Minneapolis Art
Le Méridien Chambers
Mary Catherine Solberg Exhibition + Q&A
An exhibition of work by Mary Catherine Solberg presented by Le Méridien Chambers and The Art Girls Minneapolis.
Le Méridien Chambers Unlock Art Series in partnership with The Art Girls Mpls presents a solo exhibition of work by artist Mary Catherine Solberg. Read article
