Minneapolis Illustrators, Allegra Lockstadt and Andres Guzman, Share Their Newest Work
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Finally, Allegra Lockstadt and Andres Guzman have an excuse to draw just because they want to. A steady stream of freelance work from publications such as Bloomberg Businessweek and Rookie magazine have kept the two MCAD graduates busy, but the duo is taking a break to make a series of personal works for their exhibition, “Candy Arena,” opening at Paper Darts’ pop-up gallery space.
“We had a lot of discussions before we started about enjoyment,” said Guzman, 26. “We talked about wanting to feel like a kid again,” added Lockstadt, 25.
For them, that meant picking up a marker or a brush to draw simply because they wanted to. The fun and
The Skinny:
- Fun Facts: Mention horses to Lockstadt, and the 25-year-old illustrator might tear up over how much she adores them. Guzman, on the other hand, likes to make music in his spare time, and has created illustrations for several local Minneapolis musicians.
- Candy Arena
- July 8-July 20
Opening reception, July 10, 6:30-10:00 p.m. - SooLOCAL
3506 Nicollet Ave S.
Minneapolis, MN 55408 - Event details
playfulness the two illustrators channeled is easy to spot when you look at Lockstadt’s floral patterns, or Guzman’s shapes resembling strange microbial organisms.
“All art has to come from the most pure, nostalgic childhood place,” Guzman said. “It’s peeling back the layers of crap adulthood has piled on top of you to find what you were in the beginning.”
Flowers and hummingbirds populate Lockstadt's work. “I can't believe there is so much going on in a small organism like that,” she said.
Lately, Guzman has found inspiration in SEM (scanning electronic microscope) images. The photos show what everyday objects look like at a microscopic level. Paper, for example, "looks like a gross network of mucous tree sap chaos,” Guzman said.
It's hard to believe there was a time when Lockstadt struggled to create floral patterns. The illustrator, who wanted to get back to the root of drawing purely for enjoyment, used the show as an opportunity to explore what makes a floral pattern successful.
"In the past as a younger person, I would have been stressed out about what I wanted to paint or reference. But now the struggles are my fingers are giving out,” Guzman said. "The struggles are more technical as opposed to conceptual."
