Exhibition: Mary GrandPré: An Artistic Spell July 21, 2005

The exhibition ?Mary GrandPré: An Artistic Spell,? featuring more than 50 pieces of art by the famed illustrator of the U.S. editions of J. K. Rowlings? Harry Potter books, opens for repeat two-week showing at ArtOrg in Northfield, Minn., at 7 p.m. on Friday, July 15. Almost every piece in the exhibition will be for sale to the public.

The Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) exhibited GrandPré?s pieces in the fall of 2004. When GrandPré learned that ArtOrg, a non-profit arts organization, offers community-based art classes, she agreed to allow the exhibit to travel to Northfield and to be repeated this summer in connection with the release of the latest Harry Potter book. The Northfield showing coincides with the release of the new Harry Potter book, ?Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince? and will include sketches from the Harry Potter series as well as the popular films ?Antz? and ?Ice Age? and other children's books illustrated by GrandPré.

The exhibition?and the sale of the exhibition pieces at this time?is due to GrandPré?s close relationship to the Northfield community. GrandPré and local artist Kari Alberg have been friends since the early 1990s B.H.P. (?Before Harry Potter?). ArtOrg Executive Director Dave Machacek was the inspiration for the GrandPré?s illustration of Krum in ?Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.? Machacek?s likeness is on the cover of the book?s U.S. edition and his dog, Oso, was the inspiration for the bear face also seen on the cover.

?We are very excited we are to have this opportunity to share Mary?s art with community,? said Machacek. ?Children truly relate to Mary?s art. The last time we had her show, a young girl came to the show four times. When we were taking the show down, she was there again and commenting about the illustrations to her mother.?

GrandPré also will teach a pastel class for kids as a part of ArtOrg's Summer Art Program (ASAP), which began on July 11. Session I will run from July 11 through 28 and Session II will run from August 1 through 18. Classes for both sessions are scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to noon, four days a week (Monday-Thursday). ASAP participants from both sessions will be invited to participate in the special class session with GrandPré toward the end of July.

Born in South Dakota, GrandPré moved to Minnesota with her family as a toddler and attended MCAD in her mid-twenties. There she developed her love of pastels and what she calls "soft geometry." She lived in Saint Paul for many years before moving to her current home in Sarasota, Fla. In 1999, Time Magazine featured her and her work for the Harry Potter books as a cover story. In addition to her well-known Potter illustrations, GrandPré has illustrated more than twelve children?s books. Her soft, evocative pastels have won national recognition from
The Society of Illustrators and Communication Arts, among others. Her work has appeared in Atlantic Monthly and Business Week as well as in other corporate and advertising work.

GrandPré?s vision of a landscape from an ant?s point of view was used in environment/scenery development for the DreamWorks SKG animated film ?Antz? and she was involved with character development for the film ?Ice Age.? GrandPré has been interviewed numerous times by Nickelodeon Magazine and has been featured in
USA Today and Entertainment Weekly.

ArtOrg is located at 200 Division Street South in Northfield, Minn. The exhibition runs for two weeks from July 15-31. Because of the ArtOrg Summer Art Project, the exhibition hours are Thursday-Sunday, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. The show is sponsored by First National Bank of Northfield and Investment Centers of America. Proceeds from the sale of GrandPré?s art will benefit ArtOrg programs.

ArtOrg is a nonprofit organization founded in 2004 by a group of local visual artists desiring to create more opportunities and greater visibility for the arts in Northfield and the surrounding area.

For more information on the exhibition, sale, Summer Art Program and disability accommodations, contact ArtOrg at (507) 645-2555.