Terra Incognita: Shannon
Estlund and Aaron Squadroni

Terra Incognita, the Latin translation of unknown lands, pairs the paintings of Shannon Estlund and the drawings of Aaron Squadroni. Both artists explore how landscapes are transmutable narrative histories, revealing human impact through an ever altering terrain. Terra Incognita also references how the phrase is used metaphorically to describe any unexplored subject or field of research, in this case how traces and disruptions in land forms develop into chronicles of human existence.

Shannon Estlund’s paintings consist of a multitude of layers, alternating between thick and thin applications, creating the illusion of spatial depth in order to present the viewer with a distant potential destination. Her landscapes are accumulations of overlapping and contradictory information focusing on natural spaces that do not represent the ideal, destinations that are hidden or difficult to access. These locations tend to be overlooked areas near dirt roads and houses but outside of everyday human use. Estlund describes her subject matter as “spaces that are both real and imaginary, that are complex and difficult to move through, and function both as instances of actual sensory experience and metaphors for decisive moments in everyday life.”

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Aaron Squadroni’s work is a series of copper drawn land portraits. These land portraits record a history of landmarks and sacred spaces based on traditional legends, government treaties, current disputes, and future visions. He is documenting the significant changes that have or will occur in the Mesabi Iron Range. The series specifically focuses on the Kawishiwi River that flows over the Duluth Complex, a region in contention as mining companies are in the process of obtaining permits and conducting environmental impact studies in order to mine the area for copper, nickel and other precious metals. This catalog of imagery is meant to heighten public awareness about how the future of Minnesota’s landscape will take shape, while simultaneously preserving its identity in the past.

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Shannon Estlund recently received her MFA from Minneapolis College of Art and Design. She teaches at Minneapolis College of Art and Design and Augsburg. Her work will be featured in an upcoming New American Paintings issue and has received numerous grants in support of her work. Estlund has exhibited extensively in Jacksonville, Boston and Minneapolis.

Aaron Squadroni lives and works in Coleraine, Minnesota. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Masters degree in Architecture and is currently an adjunct faculty member at Itasca Community College. Aaron has received several grants in support of his work including the Jerome Planning Grant from Forecast Public Art. This will be his first gallery exhibition in the Twin Cities.

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