T.L. Solien | Toward the Setting Sun

JUNE 5 – SEPT 4

T.L Solien, born in Fargo North Dakota in 1949, received a BA degree in Art from Moorhead State University, Moorhead MN in 1973, and an MFA in Painting and Sculpture from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1977.

Solien has been invited to participate in numerous exhibitions of National and International magnitude including, the 1983 Whitney Biennial, the 39th Biennial of American Painting at the Corcoran Museum, Washington, D.C.; Avant-Grade in the 80”s, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; The American Artist as Printmaker, Brooklyn Museum NY; Images and Impressions, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN and Contemporary Drawings, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA.

Solien’s work has been visible in more than 35 solo exhibitions in the last 25 years, and was the subject of a 25-year retrospective titled, “T.L. Solien: Myths and Monsters” organized by the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, Madison WI. In 20013, The Plains Museum, in Fargo North Dakota organized the traveling exhibition,“Toward the Setting Sun”.  “Toward the Setting Sun” emanated from Solien’s interest in Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick, and Sena Jeter Naslund’s, “Ahab’s Wife: Or The Star-Gazer.  From these two literary sources, Solien created over 100 works which, collectively, reimagine the whaling life of Ahab,  and that of his widow, as she navigates a life which takes her from the privileged life of a ship captain’s wife, and into the unfolding adventures as a participant of the great American westward expansion. “Toward the Setting Sun” traveled to the Billings Museum of Contemporary Art in Montana, and The Sheldon Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska. 

 T.L. Solien has been the recipient of numerous honors, including multiple Bush Foundation and Jerome Foundation fellowships, University of Wisconsin Graduate School Research Grants, and has been named “Outstanding Alumni” at both the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Moorhead State University, MN.  In 2008 Solien was awarded a fellowship from the Joan Mitchell Foundation, and in 2010 received a Wisconsin State Arts Board fellowship.

 Solien has held teaching positions at The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH; The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT; and has been a  tenured Prof. in the Art Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI for the last 23 years.

 Solien is represented in numerous corporate and public collections including, The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, The Walker Art Center, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Chase Manhattan Bank, Exxon Corporation, New York University, Indiana University Art Museum, University of Iowa Museum of Art, Plains Art Museum, Fargo, ND, and the Chazen Museum, Madison, WI, The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, Madison, WI, the Milwaukee Museum of Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, and the Tate Modern, in London.

 Solien lives in Madison, WI with his wife Deborah, and is represented by Tory Folliard Gallery , Milwaukee, WI,

Gallery Co-Owner Andrew Blanchard Comments on T.L.’s Work

I first became aware of T.L.’s work in the late 1990’s via the book, Printmaking in America. At the time I was researching multi-process prints, and I found his works on paper to be strong examples of combined techniques (Especially the prints created at Tandem Press). It wasn’t until three or four years ago did I rediscover his work again, on Instagram this time, as his canvasses really stood out amidst the oceans of visual content. Fun, yet fearlessly resolute, his work is and continues to be, in my opinion. Very happy to exhibit his work at Levee Contemporary!

Gallery Co-Owner Shane Foreman Comments on T.L.’s Work

T.L. and his captivating work is globally recognized – including at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Whitney Museum in New York, National Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C., Art Institute of Chicago, Milwaukee Art Museum, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art Minneapolis Institute of Art, Tate Gallery in London, National Gallery of Australia and Singapore Art Museum.

We are thrilled to offer our customers, friends, town and region the unique opportunity to view, appreciate and purchase T.L.’s work.  Collectors are going to flip to see this body of work available in one Gallery.