Davenport, Iowa (June 8, 2022) — Artist Anne Lindberg embraces the freedom of drawing in a broad spectrum of formats in addition to works on paper. think like the river is an immersive experiential convergence of visual art and language that begins Saturday.  

Anne Lindberg: think like the river creates a tonal landscape of color and light by casting thousands of threads across the span of the Figge’s fourth-floor gallery. Poet Ginny Threefoot collaborated on this conceptually rich project centered on the subject of water, conceived with an awareness of the museum’s location along the Mississippi River. 

“Lindberg’s think like the river probes the connection between this community and the river, through an immersive installation which in addition to blending poetry and drawing also explores the way we perceive color and light.” said Figge Assistant Curator Joshua Johnson.

The chromatic thread installation will occupy the central space of the gallery, rising, falling and twisting in space, encouraging visitors to walk around and under the work. This work will be in conversation with a multi-panel 25-foot-wide graphite and colored pencil drawing at one end of the gallery and Threefoot’s poem on the other. The drawing and the text will mirror each formally and conceptually as they converse across the space. 

References to water and the river became a focus for Lindberg when she read Threefoot’s poem “think like the river,” a piece which entertains a possibility of a closer union with the natural world. Across cultures, the river is a metaphor for the constancy of change and uncertainty in both nature and the human condition. Ideas of water lines, currents, flow, and immersion provide points of departure for this dialogue between art and poetry. 

“We have so many incredible exhibitions come in and out of the Figge all the time, but it is always special to have an exhibition created by an artist specifically for the Figge and this community,” said Figge Executive Director & CEO Michelle Hargrave. “Lindberg’s Mississippi River inspiration connects the local visitors with her impactful message.” 

The convergence of visual art and language will stimulate a fluid dialogue of ideas about the inner and outer worlds of mind and landscape.

Anne Lindberg: think like the river is sponsored by Humanities Iowa (Premier Sponsor) and Modern Woodmen of America and Carolyn Levine & Leonard Kallio Trust (Contributing Sponsors). The exhibition will be on view through September 4.

­–MORE–

Companion Programs:

Opening Program

Thursday, June 9, 6:30 p.m.

Join Artists Anne Lindberg and Poet Ginny Threefoot as they discuss their exhibition think like the river.

Partner Program: think like the river

Thursday, August 4, 6:30 p.m.

In collaboration with River Action and the Native American Coalition of the Quad Cities, explore the history of the Mississippi river in our region, in connection with the think like the river exhibition.

Scholar Talk: Dr. David Cunning

Thursday, August 25, 6:30 p.m.

Join Dr. David Cunning, Professor and Chair of the philosophy department at the University of Iowa, as he explores themes from the think like the river as they relate to the work of 17th-century philosopher & scientist, Margaret Cavendish.

About Anne Lindberg:

For over thirty-five years as a visual artist, Lindberg has been working within a broad definition of drawing in two and three dimensions. Her work currently includes graphite and colored pencil drawings on mat board, composed of thousands of individual lines; and architecturally scaled, site-responsive sculptural installations made with volumes of fine chromatic thread pulled taut through space. While this work has a basis in abstraction, embedded within its formal and material language are concerns of time, sequence, and causality, and a drive to speak about what is private, vulnerable, fragile, and perceptive of the human condition. 

About the Figge Art Museum:

The Figge Art Museum is dedicated to bringing art and people together. Located on the Mississippi River

in downtown Davenport at 225 West Second Street, the Figge is the premier art exhibition and education

facility between Chicago and Des Moines. Its landmark glass building, designed by British architect David Chipperfield, is home to one of the Midwest’s finest art collections and presents world-class exhibitions,

art classes, lectures, and special events that attract visitors of all ages. Museum hours are 10 a.m.­­-5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. on Thursdays; and 12-5 p.m. on Sundays.

Reservations are not required, but can be made at www.figgeartmuseum.org or by calling 563-345-6632.

Admission to the museum is $10 for adults, $6 for seniors and students with ID and $4 children ages 4-12. Admission is free to Figge members and institutional members and to all on Thursday evenings. You can become a member for as little as $50 by visiting the Figge website. To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit www.figgeartmuseum.org. 

-END-