The Rumriver Art Gallery was initiated to support and show local artists’ work. One issue many artists experience is where to show their work as gallery space can be limited, especially to those who are just starting. Our mission with the gallery is to support and show the artwork of local artists. The shows are changed every month, providing many opportunities throughout the year for artists to display their work. The Art Gallery brings the community together and creates a greater appreciation for art. Selected artwork may be available for sale.
Being that we are located in a very old building, there are no elevators or escalators. The only way into the 21 Step Gallery is to climb up 18 stairs. We are currently exploring options and funding to make this gallery more accessible for everyone.
If you’ve ever counted the stairs on your way up to visit the 21 Step Gallery, you may have tilted your head in confusion as your count abruptly stopped at 18 steps.
Legend has it that Rumriver Art Center Director Larry Weinberg was CERTAIN there were 21 steps. RRAC Co-founder Susan Yee suggested it was 18.
Susan was correct.
But being the fun, quirky Art Center RRAC is, Larry’s certainty was honored with the title: 21 Step Gallery.
Larry suggests that it remained the 21 Step Gallery to honor Susan’s birthday, which falls on the ’21st,’ and that 21 is a popular and memorable number.
Upcoming Shows
- Eric Zuccola – Preposterous Portraits: July 12, 2025 – Aug 2, 2025
- Jill Whitney – Making Waves: August 9, 2025 – September 6, 2025
- Deborah Ann Kirkeeide: September 13, 2025 – October 11, 2025
- Bonnie Klatt: October 18, 2025 – November 8, 2025
- Holiday Show and Shop: November 15, 2025 – December 20, 2025
Gallery Hours
Summer Hours (6/2 – 8/31)
Monday – Thursday: 9:30am – 4:00pm
Friday: 9:30am – 12pm
Saturdays 8/2, 8/9, 8/16, 8/23: 10am – 3pm
Closed Sundays
Closed Saturday 8/30
September Hours (9/2 – 9/27)
Tuesdays and Wednesdays: 10am – 3pm
Saturdays: TBD
Other days by appointment only. Please email sales@rumriverart.com to arrange.
Current Gallery Show: Preposterous Portraits
Rumriver Art Center will feature the work of Minneapolis-based mixed media artist Eric Zuccola in a solo show housed in the center’s 21 Step Gallery from July 12 – August 2, 2025. The show, Preposterous Portraits, will debut with a public reception on July 12 from 2-4 p.m. Zuccola will also hold an accompanying artist talk and demonstration at the gallery from 6-7 p.m. on July 21.
The Preposterous Portraits exhibition will feature multiple mixed media works that, on first glance, follow the form and function of traditional portraiture before becoming something entirely different thanks to the unpredictable intrusion of surreal and fantastic elements. The resulting pieces showcase people who have never existed and perhaps never will in environments that echo and deviate from our own. Each portrait may be appealing or it may be challenging, but it will always be preposterous.
The works highlighted in the Preposterous Portraits show intersect with the broader themes and concerns featured in all of Zuccola’s work. His pieces take the form of covers for obscure albums that sell for four figures online. They are posters for the underground films movie nerds flock to at midnight screenings. They are ads for the off-brand products of a capitalist society in decline. They are portraits of celebrities that never were but one day might be. They are realistic depictions of uncanny things.
Zuccola is an artist and educator whose work has been featured in multiple juried exhibitions and solo shows across the United States and in various print and online publications. Zuccola is a Signature Member of the National Collage Society and has had his work added to the permanent collection of The School of Art at Kent State University. Zuccola also has recently been the recipient of a Juror’s Award of Distinction from the North Suburban Art Center during its Pop! Goes the Easel show in 2024, an Honorable Mention award at the MacRostie Art Center’s 31st Annual Juried Show in 2023, a jury prize at the National Collage Society’s 39th Annual Exhibit in 2023, and the National Collage Society’s Fergus Ursprung Award for Excellence in Collage or Assemblage in 2022. In addition to his work as an artist, Zuccola is a high school teacher who was named Teacher of the Year by the Robbinsdale Area School District in 2020 and was a Minnesota State Teacher of the Year finalist in 2022.
To view more of Zuccola’s work visit his website: uncannyimages.com
The exhibition will open July 12th and run until August 2nd, 2025.
Next Gallery Show: Making Waves
The 21 Step Gallery of Rumriver Art Center is presenting a new art exhibition, Making Waves, by Jill Whitney-Birk. On August 16th, from 2 pm – 4pm the 21 Step Gallery will be hosting an opening for Whitney-Birk’s show. On Tuesday, August 26th, at 5 pm she will be giving an artist talk. All events are open to the public and free to attend.
Jill is a mixed media/fabric artist from St. Paul, MN who loves all things old. From fashion to film, pictures to culture- she tends to live in a nostalgic world of her own-and her work reflects that.
On the flip side, she is a feminist pushing for equality, respect and power due to all people. So somewhere between the glorious past and the tremendous future, Jill’s body of work resides. Utilizing fabric, vintage photos, strong words and the “womanly art” of stitching, she hopes to bring joy, challenge, and empowerment to people through her mixed media art.
This series is very time consuming due to the huge number of hand-stitches (a process called slow stitch) on each piece. No sewing machines are used. It’s a very meditative process and lots of quiet time is spent with each piece. Jill finds the juxtaposition of “feminine stitchery” and badass empowerment to be very exciting and fulfilling.
The exhibition will open August 9th and run until September 6th, 2025.
Past Shows
- Surelle Schewe – The Stories She Tells: Saturday, September 10, 2022 – Saturday, October 1, 2022
- Call for Entry – World of Anime: Saturday, October 8, 2022 – Saturday, October 29, 2022
- Paul Hanson – Portraits in Watercolor: Saturday, November 5, 2022 – Saturday, December 17, 2022
- Sanjukta Mitra – Spiritus: Saturday, January 7, 2023 – Saturday, January 28, 2023
- Danniella Mortezaee – Love Always: Saturday, February 4, 2023 – Saturday, February 25, 2023
- Val Coopet – Faces and Places: Saturday, March 4, 2023 – Saturday, March 25, 2023
- Montana Becker – Prone to Wander: Saturday, April 1, 2023 – Saturday, April 22, 2023
- Kenya Latourneau – Kenya Letourneau’s Kreations!: Saturday, June 3, 2023 – Saturday, July 29, 2023
- Juanita Tatum – Exploring Emotions Through Faces: Saturday, August 5, 2023 – Saturday, September 30, 2023
- Britt Maki – Don’t Be Hasty: Saturday, October 7, 2023 – Saturday, November 4, 2023
- Holiday Show and Shop: Saturday, November 18, 2023 – Saturday, December 30, 2023
- Margarita Stantchevski – Beauty and More: Saturday, February 10, 2024 – Saturday, March 9, 2024
- Joel Springer – Finding My Voice: Saturday, March 16, 2024 – Saturday, April 13, 2024
- Lynelle Kocher – Bits and Places: Saturday, April 20, 2024 – Saturday, May 11, 2024
- MaryLeah Marshall – Themes from Nature: A Collection: Saturday, May 18, 2024 – Saturday, June 8, 2024
- Rachel Coyne – Rock and Rollerskate: Saturday, June 15, 2024 – Wednesday, July 3, 2024
- Jerry Jorgenrud – Spiritus: Saturday, July 13, 2024 – Saturday, August 3, 2024
- Sandy Adler – Celebrate Creation: August 10, 2024 – September 7, 2024
- Carol Collins – Wonderful World of Fur and Feathers: September 14, 2024 – October 5, 2024
- Emma Ahart – Visceral: October 12, 2024 – November 9, 2024
- Holiday Show and Shop: November 16, 2024 – December 21, 2024
- Laura Hanson – Forced Witness: January 4, 2025 – February 1, 2025
- Angie Renee – Inked, Ripped, Glued: The Processing of Creating Light Within the Dark: February 15, 2025 – March 1, 2025
- Jena Rivard – It’s Made From WHAT???: March 8, 2025 – March 29, 2025
- Art Jacobs – Pastel Images – Landscapes and Still Lifes: April 5, 2025 – May 3, 2025
- Erik Jon Olson – The medium IS the message: May 10, 2025 – May 31, 2025
- Lucy Sinkkonen – Calling and Renewal: June 7, 2025 – July 5, 2025