Groveland Gallery is pleased to present Hidden Place, an exhibition of new paintings by St. Paul artist, Justin Terlecki, opening September 6 at Groveland Gallery. Originally from Youngstown, Ohio, Terlecki has exhibited his work regularly in the Twin Cities since moving to Minnesota in 1998. In 2009, Terlecki received a Jerome Fellowship for Emerging Printmakers through Highpoint Center for Printmaking. Terlecki’s work is included in the permanent collection of Minnesota Museum of American Art, Securian, McDonough Museum of Art, as well as many local and national private collections.

Terlecki’s colorful depictions of everyday life offer an intimate exploration of the ordinary, transforming familiar moments into vivid narrative tableaux. Drawing from quiet observation, public spectacle, and the complexities of human relationships, Terlecki’s work captures everything from social gatherings and family dynamics to fleeting urban encounters. In this exhibition, his gaze is turned inward, directing attention to the more private, often unseen corners of life. His characters, immersed in curious and occasionally surreal scenes, become vessels for expressing the nuances of human experience. Each piece is a moment suspended in time — cinematic in feel, rich with ambiguity, and layered with emotion. Terlecki welcomes the viewer into stories already in motion, full of unanswered questions and lingering mystery. Of the work, he writes:

“I create autobiographical narrative paintings that portray recollections of daily life, from the mundane to the quietly extraordinary. Personal photos and sketchbook entries serve as references to recreate the mood of real places through texture, light, and shadow. Figures inspired by people from my life occupy these settings as they engage in search, observation, and introspection. Although these works appear still and serene, exaggerated perspectives and visual cues of tension evoke the dreamlike state between familiar and unreal – that foggy feeling of recollection.

“The idea of private worlds inherent both to human connection and to the individual mind are central to this body of work. The title, “Hidden Place,” refers to those private worlds, which are continuously built from physical environments as well as mental states and chance discoveries that seem to pause time.”