Black Earth Gallery

April/May 2022

Featured Artist: A Conversation with Bill Stamats

For the first Featured Artist blog post, the logistics were refreshingly easy ― I interviewed my husband, Bill Stamats.

Bill earned his BFA from Pratt Institute and his MFA from the University of Iowa. He’s been part of several national exhibitions and juried shows, and his work is part of the permanent collections of the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art and the University of Iowa.

Over the past couple of years, Bill’s focus has been painting an icon of Midwest life, the rural barn. With pieces getting noticed across the country, I invited him to share his thoughts on this new extension of his work.

Black Earth: When and how did your barn paintings begin?

Bill: I started the barn series immediately after the devastating  derecho 2020. So much was lost in that single event that painting these structures became an act of creative preservation.

In some cases, I was painting structures that were already gone, working from old family photographs to create a new legacy for future generations. Barn and Silo at Stillwater Cove is a perfect example. In that commissioned piece, a single surviving barn door served as the canvas. Together, the painting and the salvaged door communicate the soul of that structure and the intimate connection between people and place.

As Midwesterners, we understand how central farming is to life. And for farm families, barns aren’t only practical and aesthetically pleasing; they’re a sort of totem that embodies memories, livelihoods, and traditions. In this way, barns and the landscape and skies that surround them express a new take on American Regionalism ― a sort of neo-regionalism.

Black Earth: You mentioned a new term, “neo-regionalism.” Could you define that for our readers?

Bill: To me, neo-regionalism is a fresh approach to Midwest art, one that evokes symbols and ideas that instantly and powerfully communicate Midwest. Early regionalists such as Grant Wood communicated that idea through agriculture and topography. For Marvin Cone, it was skies and his own unique version of barn paintings.

Essentially, neo-regionalism elevates the Midwest aesthetic by isolating and focusing on what’s iconic about life here ― the sky, earth, agriculture, home, people, wildlife, and more. By making these themes more visible, neo-regionalists make them more accessible and, ideally, more appreciated.

Black Earth: How many barn paintings are in the series so far?

Bill: I’ve completed seven paintings, with another in the works right now. The Remnant, a painting of our family’s barn on a Century Farm, took on a life of its own. By request, I’ve done three versions of that piece.

It’s a special honor to capture particularly historic structures. In Century Barn Near Tipton I could imagine the generations of families who woke before sunrise and made that barn their first destination. Weathered but solid, it’s a rare survivor and a testament to the quiet dignity of the American farmer.

Black Earth: What’s next for you?

Bill: I’m planning to continue the barn series, approaching each new piece almost as if it’s an abstract work or detailed color field painting, though obviously representational in style. I find the straight-on perspective makes a more powerful and profound statement. It fits well with the iconic status of the barns and better captures their structural simplicity and honesty.

In all of the paintings, the title references the general location of the barn (where it stands currently or once stood). It’s another way to ground the piece to the geography of the Midwest. Each structure is (or was) real ― connected to a plot of land, to a specific homestead, and to the heart of a working family.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this first installment of our Featured Artist series. Explore more of Bill Stamats’ work, or join the conversation by following us on Instagramand Facebook.

March 2022

Art Is Evolution: Black Earth Gallery Today

My previous post explored the history of Black Earth and the myriad ways its history is intertwined with the history of the NewBo Arts District. But art is evolution. Success is all about seeing what’s next, discovering new voices, and adapting to ― no, embracing ― change.

In 2019 I made the business decision to close Black Earth’s physical space. Though difficult, it proved to be a fortuitous choice. Like every other business, the pandemic upended the business of art. Buying art, building new commercial spaces that would need art, and art-related event planning all came to an abrupt halt.

A respite (even a forced one) is a good time to regroup and rethink. I focused on art consulting, promoting my husband Bill Stamats’ work and representing other Midwest artists in whatever virtual ways I could. I was motivated by one frustrating fact:  The Midwest art community is woefully underrepresented nationally. My goal was to find new ways to shine a brighter light (ideally, a megawatt spotlight) on the rich talent right here in America’s heartland. 

      
Marvin Cone                                                         Overmantle Decoration by Grant Wood                             (Aunt) Sally by Grant Wood

Both my family and Bill’s have deep roots in the regional arts community. Marvin Cone was a relative, and I vividly remember visiting his home and playing with his paintbrushes and easel as a young child. A lifelong friend of Cone, Grant Wood worked not only as a painter, but a craftsman and interior designer. Wood decorated much of Bill’s grandparents’ home in 1929-1930. As part of that project, the family commissioned a painting to be featured above the fireplace. The resulting Overmantle Decoration (now part of the permanent collections of the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art) was meant to be anachronistic ― a play between subject matter and time. Wood’s iconic American Gothic, completed later in 1930, is a similarly anachronistic work.

That early exposure to artistic genius left indelible marks on us both. It led me to a degree in art marketing and led my husband to earn his BFA at Pratt Institute and his MFA from the University of Iowa. Together, we’re not only advocates for regional artists, we’re working artists ourselves.

Today, Black Earth Gallery Art Consulting reflects that broad sensibility. Here, art consulting is “easel-to-wall.” We work with businesses, medical clinics, experienced collectors, and first-time buyers to match artists with art appreciators. Our goal is to help every client develop a curated art environment that honors their budget, reflects their personal taste, and showcases the vision of new and established artists.

We handle everything ― quite literally ― from easel to wall. Space assessment, selection and purchase, digital rendering so clients understand how a two-dimensional or three-dimensional piece will look in a specific space, and framing and installation are all part of our seamless service.

Why do we do it? Because we believe art is a unique investment ― of money, of time, and of raw human creativity. The right piece should represent the people it draws in. It should not only enrich the physical space, but broaden the mental space by inspiring new ideas and offering moments of reflection in a complex world. That’s the power of art and it’s the passion that drives our work. 

Next time, we’ll launch a recurring blog feature that profiles the careers and works of individual artists. Until then, join in the conversation by following us on Instagram and Facebook.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

February 2022

The history of Black Earth is part of the history of the NewBo Arts District itself.
Explore the visionary projects, events, and ideas that helped shape the gallery today.

Art History: How Black Earth Got Started

Every business has a history, and in the life of an art gallery, that history is wrapped up in many other things. Community-building, epic levels of publicity and marketing, endlessly (and joyously!) searching for new talent ― these are just a few of the day-to-day activities that create a history for a business, a neighborhood, and a city.

I opened Black Earth Gallery in 2012 with a deep personal appreciation for art. Both my husband and I are working artists and we come from families who believe art is a foundational part of life. But opening and operating a gallery was new territory. Those early days were a mixture of excitement, terror, and pure focused energy.

My mission was straightforward: Reach out to established, new, and underrepresented artists in the Midwest and give them a dynamic venue to share and sell their work. Their success would be Our (writ large) success. We would showcase the deep talent right here in America’s Heartland, home of rich black earth…and now, Black Earth.

The gallery’s first location was a space on the second floor of the Cherry Building in Cedar Rapids. Back then, the NewBo/Czech Village neighborhood was transitioning ― a change fueled by visual artists; ceramicists; small galleries; locally owned shops and restaurants; and an enormous new asset, NewBo City Market. 

A committed team of business owners and artists worked hand-in-hand with Legion Arts/CSPS (the Czech-Slovak Protective Society), and the New Bohemia Group to turn our vision for NewBo into reality.

Here are just a few highlights from the past several years:


First Thursdays NewBo Art Walk:
Designed to increase foot traffic for NewBo businesses, First Thursdays caught on quickly. Packed galleries, engaged visitors, and growing buzz about the neighborhood helped make this an on going event.