First Biennial Beck Invitational
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On View In Our Charles Beck Gallery
July 7 - August 15, 2026
Opening Reception
Opening reception: Thursday, July 16, 5:00-7:00pm
July 7 - August 15, 2026
Opening Reception
Opening reception: Thursday, July 16, 5:00-7:00pm
Exhibition Statement
Kaddatz Galleries invited emerging and established artists from our local and regional community to apply for the 1st Biennial Beck Invitational, a group exhibition honoring the artistic legacy of Charles Beck. The inaugural exhibition will be on view in the Kaddatz Galleries’ Charles Beck Gallery, July 7-August 15, 2026.
Throughout his long and prolific career, Beck drew continual inspiration from the landscape and rhythms of the place he called home. Whether depicting flocks of geese in flight, expansive hayfields, or the glowing sunsets of rural Minnesota, his work celebrated the beauty and character of everyday life in the Fergus Falls region.
Inspired by this legacy, this exhibition invites artists to reflect on how place shapes their creative practice. We seek submissions in all mediums that explore the landscapes, communities, environments, and personal connections that define “home.” Works may celebrate the natural beauty of the region, reflect on cultural or personal ties to place, or consider how living in a particular environment influences artistic perspective.
Through this exhibition, Kaddatz Galleries aims to highlight the rich creative voices of artists while honoring Beck’s enduring connection to the land and community that inspired his work.
Throughout his long and prolific career, Beck drew continual inspiration from the landscape and rhythms of the place he called home. Whether depicting flocks of geese in flight, expansive hayfields, or the glowing sunsets of rural Minnesota, his work celebrated the beauty and character of everyday life in the Fergus Falls region.
Inspired by this legacy, this exhibition invites artists to reflect on how place shapes their creative practice. We seek submissions in all mediums that explore the landscapes, communities, environments, and personal connections that define “home.” Works may celebrate the natural beauty of the region, reflect on cultural or personal ties to place, or consider how living in a particular environment influences artistic perspective.
Through this exhibition, Kaddatz Galleries aims to highlight the rich creative voices of artists while honoring Beck’s enduring connection to the land and community that inspired his work.
About Guest Juror Amy Sharpe
Amy Sharpe calls herself a weaver who writes, or a writer who weaves, depending on her current project. (She also works in fiber, paper and mixed media, and leads art exploration workshops.) A freelance writer and former newspaper editor, for 16 years she published “Homespun,” a magazine “celebrating the art of creative living.” She operates Ripple River Gallery at her home near Bay Lake, which she and her late husband, wood artist Bob Carls, established In 2000, specializing in “original work by exceptional regional artisans.” She worked with Charles Beck to "tell his story," and in 2017 produced and published “Charles Beck: The Nature of an Artist.” She dreams in color.
Mary Guttormson Erickson
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On View In Our Studio K Gallery
July 7 - August 15, 2026
Opening Reception
5-7PM Thursday, July 16, 2026
July 7 - August 15, 2026
Opening Reception
5-7PM Thursday, July 16, 2026
Exhibition statement
Let the woods have their slow way with you
Patient pines that hold their green through all the frozen seasons
Lichen-covered rocks that live indifferent to time’s passage
These will teach you how to bring your life to ground
The fractal chaos of the forest floor
It’s white anemones, spiked grasses and dead leaves
the fallen trunks and branches
splayed out like pick-up sticks
These will teach you to live freely with abandon
And feed the roots of new growth
when your time has come.
- Parker Palmer
Parker Palmer shared this after twenty years of returning to the BWCA (Boundary
Waters Canoe Area) for healing and renewal. I can completely understand what he is
sharing.This collection of illustrations are my response to the lessons of the lakes and
woodlands of Minnesota.
Empathy, attentiveness, imagination and intuition are all materials for creating art. They
are part of the artist’s toolbox. Each of my illustrations represents gratitude for a
micro-joy experienced on a 40 acre Finnish farmstead. I took a picture to remind myself
of the moment when the sun spotlighted something beautiful. I drank it in and sensed
my own belonging in the web of life.
Pastels are the main material used to create these images. Charcoal, prisma-color
pencils and gold leaf also appear in this collection. I used a variety of surfaces and
practiced with diverse tools: pastel pencils, pastel sticks and pan pastels, make-up
sponges, Q-tips, and soft watercolor brushes, gummy erasers and fixatives.
Galleries are the spaces that grow creativity, imagination, and joy. They heal sorrow
and loss. Galleries provide space for learning empathy. They feature the wisdom of
elder artists and present the dreams of young artists. They evolve with the changing
needs of their communities. The Kaddatz is that kind of place and it is an honor to have
a turn at sharing my work here.
- Mary Guttormson Erickson
Patient pines that hold their green through all the frozen seasons
Lichen-covered rocks that live indifferent to time’s passage
These will teach you how to bring your life to ground
The fractal chaos of the forest floor
It’s white anemones, spiked grasses and dead leaves
the fallen trunks and branches
splayed out like pick-up sticks
These will teach you to live freely with abandon
And feed the roots of new growth
when your time has come.
- Parker Palmer
Parker Palmer shared this after twenty years of returning to the BWCA (Boundary
Waters Canoe Area) for healing and renewal. I can completely understand what he is
sharing.This collection of illustrations are my response to the lessons of the lakes and
woodlands of Minnesota.
Empathy, attentiveness, imagination and intuition are all materials for creating art. They
are part of the artist’s toolbox. Each of my illustrations represents gratitude for a
micro-joy experienced on a 40 acre Finnish farmstead. I took a picture to remind myself
of the moment when the sun spotlighted something beautiful. I drank it in and sensed
my own belonging in the web of life.
Pastels are the main material used to create these images. Charcoal, prisma-color
pencils and gold leaf also appear in this collection. I used a variety of surfaces and
practiced with diverse tools: pastel pencils, pastel sticks and pan pastels, make-up
sponges, Q-tips, and soft watercolor brushes, gummy erasers and fixatives.
Galleries are the spaces that grow creativity, imagination, and joy. They heal sorrow
and loss. Galleries provide space for learning empathy. They feature the wisdom of
elder artists and present the dreams of young artists. They evolve with the changing
needs of their communities. The Kaddatz is that kind of place and it is an honor to have
a turn at sharing my work here.
- Mary Guttormson Erickson
Artist Bio: Mary Guttormson Erickson
Mary Guttormson Erickson (she/her) was born and raised in Fergus Falls, MN. Her
mother, Sylvia, a teacher and librarian, exposed her to music and the yearly Caldecott
Award for children’s book illustration. Leroy, her father, made sure she could shoot a
gun, land a fish, start a fire, canoe and portage, backpack in mountains and ski.
At the junior college in Fergus Falls, Mary studied art under Charles Beck, from whom
she learned to see art in land and nature. This led to her enrolling at the Minneapolis
School of Art and Design from which she received her BFA.
After Mary married Brian Erickson, they lived in Mexico and started a family. The
explosion of color in Mexican art and living with children and with neighborhoods,
expanded Mary’s use of color and ideas of what art is about.
Mary became a Montessori teacher. She taught in an arts integrated school in
Arlington, Virginia where, in conjunction with the Kennedy Center for the Arts, she
experienced art as collaboration.
Early opportunities included The North Country Museum in Park Rapids, MN offering
Mary a residency to paint an entry mural. She painted a mural for the NDSU Lutheran
Center and an altarpiece for St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Fargo.
Today Mary has established studios in Las Cruces, NM and on the Blueberry River
Farm, Menahga, MN. Her work was included in the 2024 Beck and His Students
Exhibit (An Alumni Art Exhibit) and in 2025, the LRAC Guest Juror Exhibition. The focus
of her work is about celebrating all our connections to land, nature and each other.
mother, Sylvia, a teacher and librarian, exposed her to music and the yearly Caldecott
Award for children’s book illustration. Leroy, her father, made sure she could shoot a
gun, land a fish, start a fire, canoe and portage, backpack in mountains and ski.
At the junior college in Fergus Falls, Mary studied art under Charles Beck, from whom
she learned to see art in land and nature. This led to her enrolling at the Minneapolis
School of Art and Design from which she received her BFA.
After Mary married Brian Erickson, they lived in Mexico and started a family. The
explosion of color in Mexican art and living with children and with neighborhoods,
expanded Mary’s use of color and ideas of what art is about.
Mary became a Montessori teacher. She taught in an arts integrated school in
Arlington, Virginia where, in conjunction with the Kennedy Center for the Arts, she
experienced art as collaboration.
Early opportunities included The North Country Museum in Park Rapids, MN offering
Mary a residency to paint an entry mural. She painted a mural for the NDSU Lutheran
Center and an altarpiece for St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Fargo.
Today Mary has established studios in Las Cruces, NM and on the Blueberry River
Farm, Menahga, MN. Her work was included in the 2024 Beck and His Students
Exhibit (An Alumni Art Exhibit) and in 2025, the LRAC Guest Juror Exhibition. The focus
of her work is about celebrating all our connections to land, nature and each other.