Davenport, Iowa (February 6, 2013) - Beginning February 9, the Figge Art Museum will present the work of Los Angeles-based sculptor Alison Saar in the exhibition titled: Alison Saar: STILL...which will be on display through April 14 in the third floor gallery.

Saar, who is receiving international attention, combines bold figurative sculptures with found and repurposed objects such as tree branches, old lumber, pots and pans and boxing gloves to create moving, personal statements. The works in the exhibition play on the many meanings of the word "Still"?to quiet or appease, to persevere, an apparatus for transforming liquids, or lifeless (as in still born)?to explore issues of aging, gender and racial identity, and our progress through life.

Informed by artistic traditions from the Americas to Africa and beyond, and by her mixed racial upbringing, Alison Saar fuses her paradoxical responses to the black-and-white delineations of political and social forces into a powerful, visual, and kinesthetic tension. She uses the everyday experience, history and associations of her materials, African art and ritual, Greek mythology, and the stark sculptural tradition of German Expressionism to infuse her work with a primal intensity that challenges cultural and historic references and stereotypes.

Museum visitors will have the opportunity to meet Alison Saar on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. for a discussion about her exhibition in the John Deere auditorium followed by a catalogue signing in the Museum Store. The talk will be free with membership or paid admission.

Saar received her BA from Scripps College and her MFA from Otis Art Institute, Los Angeles. Her work is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, the High Museum in Atlanta, and many others. She has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and Anonymous Was a Woman, and she was recently named a USA Fellow. The exhibition is organized by the Ben Maltz Gallery at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, and is curated by Gallery Director Meg Linton. The catalogue and exhibition are sponsored by the Contemporary Collectors, Orange County, and the presentation of the exhibition at the Figge is sponsored by Iowa American Water.

Companion Programs:

Members Only Preview Reception

5:30 p.m. Friday, February 8

Meet Alison Saar and exhibition curator Meg Linton

Alison Saar Talk

2:30 p.m. Saturday, February 9

Alison Saar discusses her works in the John Deere Auditorium. Join her in the Museum Store immediately following where she will sign copies of the exhibition catalogue for STILL...

Artists Talk

7 p.m. Thursday, March 14 and 28

Speakers: Zaiga Thorson, Terry Rathje, Steve Banks and Skip Willits

Experience the exhibition Alison Saar: STILL... through the eyes of four local artists as they each discuss the artworks from their own perspectives.

Docent-led Tours

1:30 p.m. Sundays in March

6 p.m. Thursday March 14 and 15

6 p.m. Thursday, April 11

All programs are free with membership or paid admission.

About the Figge Art Museum

The Figge Art Museum is located on the riverfront in downtown Davenport at 225 West Second Street. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and Sundays 12-5 p.m. Thursdays the museum is open until 9 p.m. Admission to the museum and tour is $7. Admission is free to Figge members and institutional members. To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit www.figgeartmuseum.org.

The Taste of New Orleans is Coming to the Figge on Fat Tuesday

Davenport, Iowa (February 5, 2013) - The taste of New Orleans will be invading the Figge Art Museum for the 9^th annual Mardi Gras Rajun Cajun Fest taking place one week from today on Fat Tuesday, February 12.

Area chefs from the Figge, Thunder Bay, Machine Shed, Gendler's Black Ram, Crow Valley Country Club, Johnny's Italian Steakhouse, Gramma's Kitchen and Select Specialty Hospital will be cooking Cajun-inspired appetizers, entrees and desserts in the lobby of the museum from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Guests will have the opportunity to sample each chef's Cajun creations including chicken and sausage jambalaya, crawfish tails with alligator gumbo, oyster po'boys, beignets and much more. There will be live music by local artist Lewis Knudsen, the option to participate in a make-your-own Mardi Gras mask art activity, a cash bar and a chance to cast votes for your favorite chef.

This is the first year the Figge has hosted the event and all proceeds will benefit the museum's outreach programs for thousands of area students. Advance tickets are $25 each or two for $45. To purchase tickets, visit www.figgeartmuseum.org or call 563-326-7804 x2046. Tickets at the door are $30 each or two for $55. Doors open at 5:00 p.m.

About the Figge Art Museum

The Figge Art Museum is located on the riverfront in downtown Davenport at 225 West Second Street. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and Sundays 12-5 p.m. Thursdays the museum is open until 9 p.m. Admission to the museum and tour is $7. Admission is free to Figge members and institutional members. To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit www.figgeartmuseum.org.

The Muscatine Art Center will provide visitors with an escape from Iowa winter with the opening of an exhibition of works by Beth Van Hoesen. This exhibition will be the first opportunity for the public to view the twenty-six prints and drawings of flowers gifted to the Art Center in 2012. The exhibition will be on view from February 1 through June 16, 2013.

Van Hoesen's flowers are richly colored and draw attention to the idea of art being all around us. Van Hoesen takes everyday objects and highlights the sublime hidden in small things. Her works are nearly scientific in detail but also quite charming.

For much of her career, Van Hoesen functioned outside of the "fleeting and fashionable" movements of the time. Van Hoesen was a realist when many artists tended towards abstraction. Her printmaking technique was highly regarded, and her work is represented in the collections of major art museums. These include the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Art Institute of Chicago, Boise Art Museum, Brooklyn Museum, Cincinnati Art Museum, Honolulu Academy of Arts, Smithsonian Institution and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Born in Boise, Idaho in 1926, Van Hoesen studied art at Stanford University, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1948. After graduating from Stanford she studied art in France and later at the California School of Fine Arts (San Francisco Art Institute). Her career spanned more than five decades.

The E. Mark Adams and Beth Van Hoesen Trust of San Francisco, California gifted the works to the Muscatine Art Center. The collection includes the medias of graphite, colored pencil, watercolor, aquatint, etching, drypoint, engraving and lithography.

The Muscatine Art Center is located at 1314 Mulberry Avenue in Muscatine, Iowa. Hours are Tuesday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Thursday evenings until 7:00 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Admission is free. Donations are appreciated.