A Little Fun in January

On a dreary, icy morning in January, I needed my spirits boosted. And so I set off on an excursion to downtown Minneapolis, where my Lyft driver deposited me at the Wells Fargo Center, formerly Norwest Center. I was searching for an exhibit that I had read about on the museum’s website. Whimsically titled  "A Little Fun at my Work: Women in Design and Craft", the exhibit features works from Mia’s collection, as well as gifts from Tamara and Michael Root. (You may recall a recent exhibition of the Root’s collection in the Cargill Gallery). I was also there to admire the building’s interior architecture.

Spoon Tile, 2012 • Kirsi Kivivirta Slip cast stoneware, Gift of Tamara and Michael Root • 2024.63.94

The title of the exhibit is taken from the following quote from one of the women featured in the exhibition, Clarice Cliff, an experimental British potter of the 1920s and 30s.

“Having a little fun at my work does not make me any less of an artist, and people who appreciate truly beautiful and original creations in pottery are not frightened by innocent tomfoolery.”

According to Jennifer Komar Olivarez, currently Mia’s head of Exhibition Planning and Strategy, who also curated this exhibition at the Wells Fargo Center, the quote reminds us all not to take our work too seriously and also, of the prominent role of women in modern and contemporary design and craft.

What a wonderful way to showcase these beautiful pieces! Along the walls on the first floor of the building are a series of cases, displaying each individual piece as if it were a precious jewel. Although most of the work is ceramic, silver and furniture pieces are also included. The display continues on the skyway. There are a total of twenty-five cases.

Equally thrilling is the architecture of the interior spaces of the building. Norwest Bank planned the Art Deco-revival style skyscraper, a replacement for the Northwestern National Bank building following a fire in 1982, to accommodate a corporate art collection. The architect was Cesar Pelli, an Argentine-American, who had previously worked with Eero Saarinen. Chandeliers, wall sconces, and balustrades, saved from the previous building, all complement the modernist character. And the location--in the center of Minneapolis’ busy crossroads--was an inspiration for this pedestrian “boulevard d’art”.

How did Mia forge a connection to Norwest and why did Norwest gift Mia their extensive collection of modernist decorative arts?

Some of us remember David Ryan, who was curator of decorative arts at Mia from 1998-2008. (I recall him telling us guides about the newly acquired Tatra). Prior to his tenure at Mia, David was employed at Norwest, where he acquired and curated the decorative arts collection, focused on modern design. He actively participated in the interior design of the building, especially the individual display cases, which were intended to showcase modernism in many forms, including tableware, furniture and graphic design. From 1987 to 1998, David built a collection of 475 objects focused on modern design from 1880-1940.  He was able to acquire such stellar pieces because, at the time, these objects were much more affordable than painting and sculpture from the same period.

In 1998, Norwest merged with Wells Fargo and, through Mia’s strong relationship with Norwest Bank, Norwest generously gifted their entire collection of 475 works to Mia, one of the museum’s largest corporate gifts to date. A stroll through the modern design galleries at Mia confirms that many of the pieces on display were gifted by Norwest. And along with these gifts came David Ryan. He became Mia’s Curator of Design.

Jennifer was a curator in the decorative arts department in the 1990s and worked closely with David on loans for Mia exhibitions as well as acquisitions both before and after the gift. After David retired, Jennifer continued to organize exhibitions at the Wells Fargo Center for a number of years.

Tall Closed Form with Rattle, 1990 • Toshiko Takaezu Glazed ceramic • The Modernism Collection, Gift of Michael and Tamara Root • 2024.63.197

The current exhibit will be on display until July 24, 2026. It is free and open to the public during the building’s open hours (9 am. – 5 p.m. Monday-Friday). Many of the pieces are gifts from Norwest Bank. Some are gifts from Tamara and Michael Root. And some are from individual donors. As someone who loves and collects ceramics (and once owned a potter’s wheel and a kiln), I was enthralled by the pottery. Particular favorites were Kirsi Kivivirta’s Tile Spoon Tile, slip-cast stoneware ; Gertrud Natzler’s neon yellow Coffee Pot with Stand (1942), glazed ceramic; and Toshiko Takaezu’s sculpture Tall Closed Form with Rattle (1990), stoneware with glaze. But I was also drawn to metal pieces, including Marie Zimmerman’s Centerpiece bowl (c 1910), copper, patina.

Coffee Pot and lid from a coffee set, c. 1942 • Gertrud Amon Natzler; Designer: Otto Natzler Glazed ceramic • Natzler Family Trust • 98.276.113.1A, B

The Wells Fargo Center and the Purcell-Cutts House (also curated by Jennifer at present) are the only off-site exhibition spaces that Mia maintains.

My thanks to Jennifer Komar Olivarez for her invaluable help with this piece.