Justin Sorensen: Long Minnesota Goodbye
August 26 - October 24, 2026
Artist Reception & Talk
Saturday, October 24, 1:00 PM
Gallery Hours:
M-Th 4:30 - 7:30 PM
F/S 1:00 - 4:00 PM
*Closed during university breaks and holidays
Exhibition Statement:
This exhibition is a loose investigation into the cultural ritual known as the Long Minnesota Goodbye. Equal parts social custom and performance, the Long Minnesota Goodbye is a prolonged process of attempting to leave that unfolds through a series of departures rather than a single farewell.
Installed in the Victorian House Gallery at Olivet Nazarene University, this exhibition exists in three parts. The first is an installation of vinyl words and phrases distributed throughout the house at varying scales. Some function as direct farewells, while others act as discourse markers (WELP, ALRIGHTY, etc.), signaling that the conversation is coming to an end. By dispersing words throughout the house, the Long Minnesota Goodbye is transformed into an extended spatial experience. As visitors move between rooms, words recur, creating a loop in which ending and continuation become increasingly difficult to distinguish.
The second part of the exhibition is a postcard containing a link to my website. Entering the address into your browser extends the exhibition into the digital realm, where the word BYE moves beyond the physical boundary of the gallery, continuing the cycle of departure online.
The first floor of the gallery features a video that loops over the course of the exhibition. Made after leaving Bourbonnais, the video records the sky as I drove away and began the journey home to Ohio. In doing so, the act of departure continues beyond the walls of the gallery.
Bio:
Justin Sorensen is an artist whose work explores time, religion, technology, and
literature. Working across multiple mediums and visual traditions, Sorensen’s work
ranges from durationally driven drawing projects to intuitive investigations that are
grounded in sculpture, performance, and installation.
Sorensen received his BFA from Kutztown University (Kutztown, PA) and his MFA from
the Rhode Island School of Design (Providence, RI). His work has been featured in
exhibitions at David Krut Projects (New York, NY), Wesley Theological Seminary
(Washington DC), North Dakota Museum of Art (Grand Forks, ND), the Granoff Center
(Providence, RI), Beeler Gallery (Columbus, OH), Space Place (Nizhny Tagil, Russia), and
Urban Shaman (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada), among others. In 2018, he received a
fellowship from the Nagel Institute at Calvin University, allowing him to study art and
religion in Beijing, Nanjing, and Shanghai. He was recently awarded an Individual
Excellence Award from the Ohio Arts Council.
Originally from the Pennsylvania Rust Belt, Sorensen has lived in Rhode Island, Iowa,
North Dakota, before moving to Ohio in 2016. He is currently Associate Professor of Art
at Mount Vernon Nazarene University in Mount Vernon, Ohio. When he’s not in the
studio, he enjoys spending time with his wife and three daughters.
*for more artist information please www.justinsorensen.us
