Crosby Farm Park: Autumn
In this new series of work, Joyce Lyon has created a visual record of Crosby Farm Regional Park, a stretch of public land along the Mississippi River south of Shepherd Road in St. Paul. The park’s name is derived from Thomas Crosby who first homesteaded the land in 1858. Today, Crosby Farm Regional Park is the largest natural park in Saint Paul’s system of parks. Composed mostly floodplain forest, Lyon’s paintings recount her walks through the park in October of 2018, when many of the trails were flooded.
As she recounts, “There were pools at the base of trees in areas usually dry in other seasons. The reflections were lively and complex. I wanted to bring the experience back to my studio. I began with a unifying color and as a challenge, chose a square format. The images came quickly. I felt I was still in the place.”
Born in New York, Lyon has resided in Minnesota for over 50 years. She was a founding member of the Women’s Art Registry of Minnesota (WARM) and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including: three Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowships, a Jerome MCBA Books Arts Grant, and a Fulbright-Hays Grant. Her work has been exhibited and collected throughout the United States for nearly 50 years.
The artist will be present at the opening reception Saturday, June 8 from 2-5 pm. The opening reception and exhibition runs concurrently with “Excerpts from My Mighty Journey and Other Ephemera” by Gaylord Schanilec. Both shows continue through July 20, 2019.