Here, at Tony’s 1st Avenue, we support arts of all kinds! In the newly renovated front gallery, Tony has invited regional and local artists to showcase their works to the ever steady flow of clients and community members.
The ever changing collection of artwork between artists on display, and work being framed in the frameshop, provides customers with ideas, inspiration, and motivation to make sure their work is well preserved… or even better… to support local artists in decorating their homes or offices!
On Exhibit
All artwork is for sale, unless otherwise noted. Prices told after INQUIRY.
Mary C. Bruno, Saint Joseph, Minnesota
Mary C. Bruno
“Mary Bruno’s popular, old-school, analog letterpress art is a tool of her legacy — it tells stories, it connects people, it builds communities, it is modern magic. For 20 years, Mary has used her antique presses to connect with and unite modern humanity. Her humor and empathy intersect with her craft, creating art that shouts authenticity, honors tradition, teaches history, sparks laughter, evokes tears, and creates meaningful statements.”
- From The Bruno Press website
Bev Gold, Pierz, MN
From Pierz, MN, Gold enjoys creating paintings of machinery. Her passion for industrial machinery derived from her father, a machine shop foreman, her husband, a tool and die maker, and her sons that have an interest in machines and machine tools. Other interests for Gold include various marine subjects such as lighthouses and sailboats, along with oil-platforms.
One of Gold’s inspirations for her paintings comes partly from the countries she’s visited. Having been to China, Turkey, Israel, Greece, and Austria, Gold has created paintings of striking churches, landscapes, and castles. Primarily she works with acrylic on both canvas and board, spending at least eight hours a day painting while listening to books on tape. The paintings can take anywhere from a week to three weeks to complete.
Matt Duckett, Little Falls, MN
Matt Duckett
Matt Duckett is a painter and musician. His paintings explore traditional lifestyles and musical subcultures throughout the Midwest and around the world. He has recorded Scandinavian cultural legacies in rural Wisconsin, and spent a number of years investigating the interplay of heritage and hardship in Chicago's unique Irish music scene, where Irish immigrant and Irish American experiences overlap in intriguing discourse. Recently, he spent a number of months traveling to remote tribal villages and disaster-stricken refugee communities the Philippines, examining issues displacement and identity.
Duckett’s work has exhibited across the United States and internationally, in galleries including the Salmagundi Club in New York City and Legacy Gallery in Scottsdale, AZ. His work has been featured in national publications including Fine Art Connoisseur and Poets & Artists.
Duckett has been passionately involved in developing arts communities in the various places he's lived, working with a variety of non-profits, artist incubators and state and local arts boards to foster arts and education.
Kathy Braud, Little Falls, MN
“Art has been a lifelong journey of creativity from using a sewing machine to expanding my wardrobe, to remodeling our century old home while raising our children and practicing nursing and, finally watercolor painting, an activity to counteract my empty nest syndrome. When I realized this medium could capture the essence of a mood or memory or describe a pleasure, I fell in love with watercolor!”
Tyler Evin, Fargo, ND
Tyler Evin
“My work balances between the figurative and the abstract. I draw inspiration from the fleeting nature of moments in time. I want my work to tell a narrative for the viewer by exploring psychological and emotive qualities related to individuals.”
Richard Lozier, Little Falls, MN
“My career started in March 1968 with an ad that read “Can you draw this pirate?” An ad run by the Famous Artist School in Westport, CT. recruiting artists for lessons. I worked faithfully for forty hours every week for three years. During this time I also worked the “Sidewalk shows” in the summers, up and down the New England coast from Boston to Maine. I became obsessed with painting. In 1976 I enrolled at the New England School of Art & Design on Newbury St. in Boston, Mass. After my school days I lived and painted in Rye, NH. Naples, Fl. Tortola, British Virgin Is., McCall, Idaho, Santa Barbara , CA. San Diego, CA. Maui, Hawaii, Jamaica and Little Falls, MN. Where I reside and paint from all my travels. I am presently working on my sketches from Maui. After forty plus years of creative thinking I have come to the conclusion that the more you learn the less you know about being an artist. But the hands must be trained by practice, the mind acquisition of knowledge and the soul by its everlasting desire to create a fresh piece of work.”
All artwork is for sale, unless otherwise noted.
Charles Kapsner, Little Falls, MN
“Remember nature is your teacher, I am your guide”, was a prevailing theme in the studio of Nerina Simi (1890 – 1987) in Florence, Italy, where Charles Kapsner’s greatest learning as a painter occurred. His artistic roots are planted in the 15th Century, yet he remains a contemporary painter whose compositions fuse old and new. He works to ensure that both art and artistare accessible, and that the images serve as educational tools.
Charles Kapsner
Designated in 2018 as ARC Associate Living Master™ (ARCALM) by the Art Renewal Center, Charles is also a member of the Oil Painters of America (OPA), Portrait Society of America (PSA) and the Salmagundi Club. He received a Career Achievement Award from the Florence Biennale, Master Artist from the Five Wings Arts Council, and a Public Service Commendation from the United States Coast Guard.
Perfecting the drawing is critical before ever picking up a brush, a lesson ingrained in him from his time with Simi. Largely a studio painter, he prefers the “Vanitas” style of still life painting in which the various objects depicted symbolize the brevity and vanity of human existence. His repertoire includes drawings, florals, portraits, figurative pieces, nudes, and dancers, painted primarily from life. He is also known for his work on several frescoes in the US and Italy.
Interwoven through several decades and in between his studio time are two community-based art projects: the Little Falls Fresco Project, two large frescoes (9 X 26 ft. and 18 X 41 ft.) in the local elementary school that portray scenes of significance to Central Minnesota; and the Veterans Educational Historic Monument, commissioned in 2009, which he shares is perhaps the most impactful of his career.
The Monument is series of five 8’ X 10’ oil paintings installed in the Committal Hall at the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery. Each painting depicts the stories of the men and women of each of the five U.S military branches. Four paintings are complete; Charles is immersed in the final painting, planned for installation in 2019.
These projects provide Charles with what he shares as “community ownership in the art in a meaningful and important way”. He recalls the words from his high school graduation speaker who urged the class to give back to the community, and he views these public works of art as his contribution to the place he will always call home.
Recent exhibitions include the 2018 NOAPS Best of America National Exhibition, the OPA Juried Salons in 2016, ’17 and ‘18, and the 85th Annual Hudson Valley Art Association exhibition.
He and his wife Catherine call Little Falls, MN home, with travels that take them around the US, with frequent visits to North Carolina, and remaining connected to his artistic roots in Italy.