Saturday, September 17, 6 – 8 p.m.
All events are free and open to the public
Minneapolis painter Kristie Bretzke explores an unusual element of the built environment: empty pools. Evoking feelings of tension and nostalgia, Bretzke’s hauntingly beautiful poolscapes also call to mind modern American society’s expectations about water’s pureness and abundance. Her paintings invite the viewer to go beyond the surface and contemplate the complexities of the missing element in her compositions ... water.
![Artist Kristie Bretzke seated by wall of paintings](/sites/default/files/styles/make_webp/public/kristie_bretzke.02bacbe2.jpg.webp?itok=cF9ttG9K)
Kristie Bretzke
Kristie Bretzke received her B.F.A. degree from the University of Minnesota where she studied studio art and art history. Bretzke’s work has been featured in numerous group exhibitions, including shows at Winfield Gallery in Carmel, California and the Kaiping Art Museum in Kaiping, China. She has been an artist-in-residence at the Centre D’Art (2012), in Marnaysur-Seine, France; Palazzo Rinaldi (2012), in Noepoli, Italy; and the Kunstlerhaus (2010), in Salzburg, Austria. Bretzke is an artist-member of the Traffic Zone Center for Visual Art, a prominent artist cooperative located in the historic Warehouse District of downtown Minneapolis, where she maintains her painting studio.
Image Gallery
Click an image to view in larger size
![Poolscape 3 (Minikahda Pool Nocturne) 2012, oil on linen, 30 x 60"](/sites/default/files/styles/crop_1_1_600x600/public/2023-07/image3_1.jpg.webp?itok=qsGAYfsS)
![Poolscape 1 (St Louis Park Public Pool Nocturne) 2012, oil on panel, 30 x 30"](/sites/default/files/styles/crop_1_1_600x600/public/2023-07/image1_1.jpg.webp?itok=S2mH5nnI)
![Poolscape 2 (St Louis Park Public Pool Nocturne) 2012, oil on panel, 30 x 30"](/sites/default/files/styles/crop_1_1_600x600/public/2023-07/image2_1.jpg.webp?itok=EkhT4sV-)
![Poolscape 6 (India) 2013, oil on linen, 20 x 24"](/sites/default/files/styles/crop_1_1_600x600/public/2023-07/06.jpg.webp?itok=SlozxPNp)
![Poolscape 13 (Storm Coming) 2016, oil on linen, 24 x 36”](/sites/default/files/styles/crop_1_1_600x600/public/2023-07/Poolscape%2013.jpg.webp?itok=uTBkbY5A)
![Poolscape 7 (San Miguel de Allende) 2013, oil on panel, 24 x 24”](/sites/default/files/styles/crop_1_1_600x600/public/2023-07/07_0.jpg.webp?itok=USHCNnuI)
![Poolscape 9 (San Miguel de Allende) 2013, oil on panel, 20 x 16”](/sites/default/files/styles/crop_1_1_600x600/public/2023-07/09.jpg.webp?itok=G7Qe_aWt)
![Poolscape 8 (Summit House Rooftop, Minneapolis) 2013, oil on panel, 16 x 20”](/sites/default/files/styles/crop_1_1_600x600/public/2023-07/08.jpg.webp?itok=uR_IyO9G)
![Poolscape 10 (India) 2013, oil on linen, 12 x 24”](/sites/default/files/styles/crop_1_1_600x600/public/2023-07/10.jpg.webp?itok=Fr6xYahm)
![Poolscape 11 (The Towers, Minneapolis) 2013, oil on linen, 18 x 24”](/sites/default/files/styles/crop_1_1_600x600/public/2023-07/11.jpg.webp?itok=KDcw-azR)
![Poolscape 5 (Minneapolis Rooftop) 2013, oil on panel, 18 x 24”](/sites/default/files/styles/crop_1_1_600x600/public/2023-07/Poolscape%205.jpg.webp?itok=yJe1R_Rq)