![\"(left)](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1753449920016.jpeg\")
(left) “Ally 112” by Harley Elliot of Salina, (right) “Kansas Prairie Fields” by Karen Matheis of Lawrence; courtesy of\u00a0Birger Sandz\u00e9n Memorial Gallery<\/p>\n(left) “Ally 112” by Harley Elliot of Salina, (right) “Kansas Prairie Fields” by Karen Matheis of Lawrence; courtesy of\u00a0Birger Sandz\u00e9n Memorial Gallery<\/p>\n
Birger Sandz\u00e9n Memorial Gallery<\/p>\n
LINDSBORG – Five new exhibitions open at the Birger Sandz\u00e9n Memorial Gallery on Sunday, August 3, and continue through October 19, 2025. They feature\u00a0Practical In Her Art: Women Artists of the 1930s; paintings by Karen Matheis of Lawrence, prints by Juana Estrada Hernandez of Providence, Rhode Island; mixed media works by Harley Elliott of Salina; and Swedish art from the Gallery\u2019s permanent collection. <\/p>\n
A reception for the exhibitions will be on Sunday, August 3<\/b>, from 2 to 4 p.m.<\/b>, with exhibition talks beginning at 2:30<\/b>.<\/p>\n
Despite the challenges of the Great Depression, the decade of the 1930s was a dynamic time for art making in Kansas. Right along with the men, women artists worked tirelessly to keep the visual arts alive during those challenging times \u2013 teaching, traveling for professional development, and blazing trails for new endeavors including art therapy programs and artists\u2019 unions.\u00a0
Karen Matheis\u2019 exhibition,\u00a0Constructive Landscape, explores the reinterpretation of the Midwest landscape with a focus of human interaction with nature. Responding to and building upon past landscape painting, the show will acknowledge the presence of human interaction and bring consciousness to a pressing need to imagine the future in which humans have a sustainable co-existence with our environment.<\/p>\n
![\""Kansas](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1753449729544.jpeg\")
“Kansas Prairie Fields” by Karen Matheis of Lawrence; Birger Sandz\u00e9n Memorial Gallery<\/p>\n
Previously a student and printmaking professor at Fort Hays State University, Juana Estrada Hernandez currently teaches at the Rhode Island School of Design. For her exhibition,\u00a0Nuestras Historias\u00a0(Our Stories),\u00a0she utilizes her experiences growing up in the US to create prints that addresses social and political problems surrounding migrant communities. Her creative practice stems from a love of drawing, Mexican folklore, culture, and her family\u2019s intergenerational migration stories.<\/p>\n
Harley Elliott will be exhibiting mixed media pieces from his\u00a0Ally\u00a0series. He began creating the series after a serious health crisis in 2014 and writes, “It\u2019s a matter of recognizing allies more so than wanting allies. Creating some is also good because art is a process of discovery. I might discover an ally within myself that I didn\u2019t know I had.” Elliott uses basic materials for creating each work: a 16 by 20 inch illustration board, acrylic paint, Conte crayon, inks, colored pencils, and occasionally a non-traditional medium.<\/p>\n
![\""Ally](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1753449643943.jpeg\")
“Ally 112” by Harley Elliott of Salina; Photo courtesy of Birger Sandz\u00e9n Memorial Gallery<\/p>\n
The final exhibition honors Lindsborg\u2019s biennial Hyllningsfest celebration, happening this year on October 17 & 18, by having an exhibition of Swedish and Sweden American art from the Gallery\u2019s permanent collection.<\/p>\n
The Sandz\u00e9n Gallery is located at 401 North First Street in Lindsborg. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free, with donations appreciated. Docent tours for groups are available by two-week advance appointment. <\/p>\n