As the shortest day of the year, the winter solstice, approaches and passes, flora and fauna hunker down within themselves: humans seek shelter and don winter clothing, animals hibernate and frantically consume calories to keep warm, plants retreat beneath ground to protect their roots, and many trees cease photosynthesis entirely. But there is life beneath the snow and ice that blankets our Minnesota landscape during these short days. In Winter Quietude, a new exhibition in the Arboretum’s Reedy Gallery, four artists share their reflections on the season, with works depicting a frozen Gitche Gumee (Lake Superior), the stripped, leafless branches of birch and their peeling paper bark, woven snowy trees and frozen lakes, and lights glowing in the pastel darkness.
“In winter, it seems everything is simplified,” said oil painter Ann Singsaas. “All the vistas with the views of Lake Superior open up and the land feels expansive.” Deep winter is when Singsaas feels stillness — even the very sounds of the earth are muffled by the snow. She enjoys the humming of the powerlines when it gets to be 30 below, and the squeaking of her heavy boots on the snow. “With the exception of bright blue skies, hues become more muted, so texture is a much more prominent element of design. The light is crisp, and shadows become very stark.” Her striking oil paintings on aluminum show palpable naked winter tree trunks and branches.
Adorned With Rubies” by Ann Singsaas
Winter is plein air painter Neil Sherman’s favorite season. Sherman said he gets “a bit of a thrill of being out in nature when the conditions become harsh,” adding that, in addition to his own art of oil painting, “there is definitely an art to embracing winter's worst.” Sherman is drawn to the rugged beauty of the season in his Impressionist-style paintings: “Winter is the only season where you have rich blue shadows that contrast against a warm sunlit snow. Conversely, I enjoy finding the subtle shifts of grey tones and values on an overcast day. There is a lot of beauty to be revealed on a grey day.”
Plein air painter Neil Sherman finds beauty in the harsh winter landscape.
Winter makes pastel artist Susan Solomon “feel simultaneously very big and very small” as she searches for a light in the dark. Originally from the Southwest desert, “winter will always be the mysterious season” for her. “Winter feels dangerous to me, but also quietly beautiful. I love observing the skeletons and forms of trees. Seeing animal tracks in the snow always reminds me how the Earth will last no matter how much damage we inflict … I think mostly winter reminds me who is really in charge.” Solomon similarly depicts the stillness the season brings, finding “a never-ending source of inspiration and awe” in the clear blue skies. In her pastel works, the contrast of bright lights in the long winter nights jumps forward to catch the viewer’s eye, inviting them into the darkness.
Weaver and textile artist Emily Wick echoes the feelings of stillness: “Winter, once it arrives, feels like a much-needed pause. It evokes a desire to rest, to learn, to go deeper into ideas I gathered throughout the rest of the year but didn't have time to explore.” Like Sherman, Wick loves the start of the season, the anticipation of “the first snowfall, the first fire in the fireplace, the lakes freezing over with the possibility of wild ice skating.” In Grand Marais, Wick’s home, “the stark beauty of the season gets pulled into sharp focus by the extreme weather.” Like the way she pulls threads through and past each other to weave her winter landscapes, the color and softness of her tapestries pull us through what can be a long, gray season. “There is so much peace to be found outside in winter when we can embrace the elements,” she said, and learning to accept the beauty along with the discomfort has been a major aspect of her journey of living up North.
“Floes” by Emily Wick
Winter Quietude is on display in the Arboretum’s Reedy Gallery until Jan. 25, 2026. View the exhibition and meet the artists at a special Artist Meet and Greet event on Jan. 25, from 1:30-3 p.m. in the Reedy Gallery.
Cover image “Home” by Susan Solomon
The Arboretum is home to three indoor gallery spaces featuring rotating exhibitions of nature-based art plus numerous works of art and sculpture found across the grounds and in the Harrison Sculpture Garden, home of the Dakota Sacred Hoop Walk. Learn more about Art at the Arboretum and explore upcoming exhibitions.