Main floor gallery exhibit July 8-18, 2015
Stop in to the Cultural Center’s main floor gallery from July 8 through July 18 to enjoy the works of some Minnesota natives. Items on display will include hand painted fish and frog decoys, and fish and wildlife paintings and prints by Al Mohler and Bob Johnson.
Also, join us for our artists’ reception on Friday, July 10 from 11am-2pm, during the 2nd annual Fish House Festival. Click here for more info about the festival.
Al Mohler (b. 1893- d. 1986)
Al Mohler was born and raised in Onamia, MN near the shores of Lake Mille Lacs. A true outdoorsman, Mohler hunted and fished for livelihood and his work reflected as much. His work mostly focuses on the natural world that surrounded him, from bears to deer, wolves, elk, ducks and pheasants. Mostly working with oil paints, Mohler created natural scenes on wood-slab or hardboard. Mohler also created folk scenes that depict life of Ojibwe American Indians as well as hunting and fishing scenes.
The Cultural Center would like to extend its thanks to Kirk Schnitker who generously lent some of his personal collection of Mohler’s work to be on display.
- Bob Johnson, from the National Fish Decoy Association website
Bob Johnson
“Bob was inspired to carve and spear at an early age by his father, a local legend during his time and an outdoorsman. The fish decoys his father carved were used as a necessity to harvest fish. Although Bob lost his father before he was a teen he continues to carve decoys and practice the spearing techniques he learned from his mentor. His strong beliefs in spearing have kept him active in promoting decoy carving and lobbying to keep the sport and spirit of darkhouse spearing alive.
Bob is an active member of the Brainerd Chapter of the Minnesota Darkhouse & Angling Association as well as a supporter of the NFDA. Bob’s artistic talents have not gone unrecognized. He has won well over 200 1st place titles in National and World competitions for carving. He has been featured in magazines, documentaries, and newspapers across the country. He was NFDA World Points Champions in 2004.
The Cultural Center thanks Andy Ripley for the use of some of his personal collection in this exhibition.
