Join us for a special opening celebration of two new exhibitions.  The Art of Leon Hushcha: The Way will open in the Mezzanine Gallery with new works by renowned Minnesota artist Leon Hushcha. Nature’s Saints: Icons by Olga Volchkova will be on display in the Fireside Gallery. Executed in the traditional style of Eastern Orthodox icon painting, these works portray the wonders of the plant world as divine beings.

The evening will include open viewing of all galleries, live music by Daniel the Violinist, and remarks from the artists as well as the Curator and Executive Director. Sweet festive treats will be available for your enjoyment. Beverages will be available for purchase. TMORA Shop will be decked out in its full holiday spendor. Please join us. Free for TMORA Members!

Saturday, December 2 | 7:00 – 9:00 PM

Remarks will take place in the Main Gallery at 7:45 PM

TMORA Members FREE | Adult $14 | Senior (65+) $12 | Student and Active Military $5 | Children under 14 FREE

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You’ll enjoy live music in the galleries by Daniel the Violinist.

The Art of Leon Hushcha: The Way

Leon Hushcha
Blue Sky over Golden Wheat Fields
Acrylic on canvas, 40 in x 52 in
Courtesy of the artist

This exhibition brings together the most recent works by the prominent Minneapolis-based artist whose art has earned recognition nationally and internationally. Showcasing Hushcha’s newest paintings, this exhibition presents an opportunity to follow the artist on his way through the cosmos of creativity.

In his creative endeavors, Leon Hushcha explores themes of displacement and disruption, revealing his connection to his ancestral land, Ukraine. His most recent paintings are a statement of protest against Russia’s brutal intrusion into Ukraine’s sovereign territory. The artist says, ”When words fail me I paint.” Born in a displaced persons camp in post-WWII Austria, Hushcha was raised in a Ukrainian-speaking family in St. Paul, Minnesota. He began drawing and painting at the age of five and has not stopped since. He received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Minnesota after completing his undergraduate studies at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

The Art of Leon Hushcha: The Way will be on view in the Mezzanine Gallery December 2, 2023 – March 3, 2024.

Nature’s Saints: Icons by Olga Volchkova

Olga Volchkova
St. Sorrel, 2023
Acrylic on wood, 24″ x 20″
Courtesy of the artist

The exhibition presents works by Olga Volchkova. Painted in the traditional style of Eastern Orthodox icon-painting, these works are far from being traditional. Volchkova’s icons present familiar vegetables, fruit, herbs, and other plants as divine beings, paying long-overdue tribute to the spiritual dimension as well as the fundamental role plants provide to safeguard life on earth.

Born in the ancient Russian town of Tver, Olga Volchkova was trained to paint and conserve religious icons in her homeland. Moving to Eugene, OR, in 2000, Olga created her own genre of icons to deify plant species. Her techniques are also all her own- innovative and plant-based. She makes her own gesso to prime the boards on which she paints, and in her words, uses “gelatin, chalk, garlic juice, and honey.”

Nature’s Saints: Icons by Olga Volchkova will be on view in the Fireside Gallery December 2, 2023 – March 24, 2024.