Carl Clark
Practicing at Interact since 2016

Known for beautifully stark landscapes, almost all of Carl Clark’s paintings feature a bold, wide-open sky. Working from reference images, Clark approaches his paintings like a patchwork of flat color. He applies pigment in columns and rows, filling expansive spaces with meticulous, measured strokes. When asked what he would like people to know about his work, Clark says, "I wanted to pass time." Clark has presented work in galleries and institutions throughout the Twin Cities, including the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, The White Page, and HGA Architects & Engineers. His work is in private collections in both the United States and Canada. In 2021, Clark presented work in WILD GOOSE, a two-person exhibition at Interact Gallery with New York- based artist Jack Arthur Wood, Jr. In 2024, he presented work alongside Mike Harris, Jr. in Armadillo at Interact Gallery.

Janice Essick
Practicing at Interact since 2005

Janice Essick’s paintings are boundless and expressive, intimate and compelling. Drawn from personal history as well as invention, her paintings of women, men, horses, cityscapes, and abstractions compose an extensive iconography that spans her 19-year career at Interact. She is an ardent recorder of people, both in groups and alone, showing dramatic faces and personal style. Working intuitively and incessantly, Essick adds layers of medium until a piece looks right. In the studio, she surrounds herself with reference books, markers, and paints, a spread of images and media to choose from. “Janice doesn’t wait for inspiration to strike; she comes into the studio ready to work,” writes Essick’s studio advocate, Rachel Quast. “The first half hour of the day is spent compiling her materials. Janice primarily works in acrylic paint, with the occasional dip into markers. She’s intently focused on her work and will occasionally use music to help ease out the edges of a rough day – Madonna's “Who’s That Girl” track is her go to jam.” Essick presented her first solo exhibition, This is a Picture that Janice Made, at Interact Gallery in 2022. She has presented work in two-person and group exhibitions in venues throughout Minnesota, including Midway Contemporary Art, The White Page, and HGA Architects & Engineers. In 2024, her work was selected for inclusion in The Art of Disability Justice Now at the Mill City Museum. In 2021, Essick collaborated with New York-based accessories label KARA on promotional artwork for their Spring 2021 capsule collection. Her work is in private collections in the United States and abroad.

Lucy Picasso
Practicing at Interact since 2008

Lucy Picasso’s pop culture portraits reimagine famous works of art, celebrities, and historical figures. Referencing found images from books, friends, and the internet, Picasso’s work engages with long-held traditions in portraiture. She uses graphite linework to establish a composition, then overlays it with loose, gestural strokes of paint. Translucent fields of color and thick brush strokes compose striking details - bold eyelashes, a checkered blouse, sly eyes. Picasso, who was born as “Louann Johnson,” changed her name to “Lucy” after one of her favorite comedians, Lucille Ball, and her last name to “Picasso” after the famous artist. “I just like his work,” she says. “All the different shapes and the colors, too.” Picasso uses her phone to find reference images, often painting from the screen or a small printout. She likes to ask for feedback from colleagues in the studio, consulting passersby on color choice and style. This relational approach to painting has informed her work for years. Audience engagement is important to her, and her enthusiasm for her work is contagious. Picasso has presented work in venues throughout Minnesota, including the Institute for Community Integration at the University of Minnesota, Gamut Gallery, The White Page, and Interact Gallery. Her work has also appeared in group exhibitions at Art Enables (Washington, D.C.).

Scott Sorensen
Practicing at Interact since 2018

Scott Sorensen uses elemental marks in clay – balls, coils, and extrusion – to create deeply expressive masks. He works without hesitation, sometimes finishing three forms in one day. "Clay is difficult,” he writes, “I feel worried about my art. After getting my hands and mind tired, I enjoy the relief of worry in my hands, arms, and thoughts. After my work, I can begin to see and feel the art of emotion. I try to show it with my masks. Sometimes I wish I could wear my masks when I am being Scott." “Scott enters the ceramics studio with enthusiasm and focus,” writes Interact ceramics instructor Jeremy Jones. “He works directly and spontaneously in clay, allowing each character to emerge naturally through the creative process. While Scott’s approach is primarily instinctive, he occasionally draws inspiration from outside sources, like Jim Henson’s Muppet characters, blending spontaneous creation with intentional detail to give each mask a unique personality.” Sorensen has presented work in exhibitions at Interact Gallery, including Glaze Haze (2023), the annual Great Big Holiday Sale (2018-2024), and Uniquinox: Tarot Alive (2022). In 2024, he presented work in a three-person exhibition at Modern Times Cafe in South Minneapolis.

Matt Zimdars
Practicing at Interact since 1999

Matt Zimdars uses his art practice to catalog his visual interests, from severe weather to future dream homes to nostrils. Zimdars’s WCCO series explores weather systems in the Midwest and the station whose reports he followed diligently for years. With a special interest in severe weather, Zimdars’s patchwork pastel drawings combine text from the weather channel with drawings of satellite images. “Matt always knows when the storms are coming,” writes his advocate, Presley Martin. “His best friend and studio mate keep each other updated about the forecast every day. During a recent dry spell, he was sad, almost despondent, that we had gone several weeks without any storms. His colorful work depicting radar images and weather maps are packed with emotion. They have a large dose of the kind of excitement present in children when a major storm has given them the day off school. Matt has been able to preserve and cultivate this excitement throughout his entire life.” Zimdars has presented work throughout Minnesota at Interact Gallery, the Thorpe Building, and Franconia Sculpture Park. He has presented work nationally in exhibitions at Lyndon House Arts Center, Western Wisconsin State College, Make Studio, and Art Enables. In 2024, he was an artist in residence at Interact Gallery.