BODY PILE: New Works By Terrence Payne
Updated: Oct 22
Exhibition Dates: October 10th - November 1st 2026
Reception: Saturday, October 10th, 6-9 PM
The drawings in Terrence Payne’s latest body of work, BODY PILE, confront the challenges made to the well-being of our community over the past year. The values, creativity, and dreams of many in our community have often been besmirched in favor of the perceived needs and grievances of those who claim entitlement due to their identities as conservative, Christian, and white. They wrongly believe they are born with moral assurances that grant them the right to police the thoughts and lives of anyone who does not conform to their views, inflicting as much pain and humiliation on their foes as we allow. The current government thought the dim light of their fragile convictions would be a beacon to bring the nation to their cause, but instead it has rallied the courage and humanity in our communities who have come together to protect and care for those they would hope to harm.
Terrence had this to say about his exhibit:
Back in January of this year, I began sketching out ideas for what was meant to become the exhibition I was planning to have at Rosalux in the coming fall. I had initially made a conscious effort to step away from the themes of my previous exhibitions, which had been poking around in the swamp of American politics and looking at how the manipulations of our political leaders and media had divided our families and communities. I wanted to focus on ideas that had come up in the floral compositions of my last exhibit, but then ICE came to town, and all of that went out the window.
Predictably, violence and chaos ensued immediately upon the arrival of ICE as they employed many of the same cruel tactics they had been using in other American cities. The only real difference was the scale at which they were committing their crimes here and the deadly violence and murder that followed. Their actions and the reaction of our city government brought me back to the summer following the murder of George Floyd, both in the indiscriminate violence against peaceful protest and in the character of the men who were committing these crimes. They reminded me of the men that I saw tearing down Lyndale Avenue and Lake Street late at night that summer in unmarked trucks painted black and filled with goons carrying bats and guns. The same high-fiving white guys that were starting fires all over my neighborhood and stashing cans of gasoline in our alleyways were back as paid law enforcement for the federal government. The reaction of the media was also much the same, letting the conservative leadership label observers, protesters, and people just trying to help their neighbors as rioters, agitators, and antifa, and relating second-hand accounts from biased agencies as the official record even though they had proven to be liars time and again.
What inspired me to change direction and begin to create the work I am displaying this month was the way that everyone I knew and thousands of people I didn’t rally together to stand up against the siege we were under at the time. People banding together to keep watch for ICE patrols and blowing on whistles to warn their neighbors of their presence; people volunteering to bag and deliver groceries to families trapped in their homes; funding and donations to mutual aid; and the thousands of Minnesotans who stood up against fascism and marched to let our government and our countrymen outside of Minnesota know that we will not sit idly by while a minority in government choose to abuse their power to harm our friends and neighbors. It struck me as a truly remarkable moment in our local history and moved me to create these drawings, which endeavor to bear witness to the events that unfolded in that horrible and remarkable time.
-Terrence Payne
Terrence Payne is an American artist from the Midwest, currently residing in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has exhibited his artwork in galleries, universities, and museums throughout the United States, and his work is part of private, museum, and corporate collections worldwide. Terrence's art has received critical acclaim and recognition from various publications such as Beautiful Decay, Juxtapoz, Dwell Magazine, Bust Magazine, It's Nice That, The Jealous Curator, Boooooom, and The Minneapolis Star Tribune. In 2002, Terrence founded Rosalux Gallery, the longest-running artists' collective in Minneapolis, which has helped over 80 Minnesota artists achieve their artistic ambitions and further their studio careers. Terrence has been a leader at Rosalux since its inception.
Terrence Payne's art revolves around the theme of community and how people's relationships with each other shape their identities and actions. Using playful yet sophisticated oil pastel drawings, Terrence creates archetypal portraits of various individuals that, when put together, represent different segments of communities and their relationships. He uses a visual language that is easy to understand, along with refined organic forms, patterns, text, and costumes to create a connection with his audience based on shared experiences. Terrence often unifies his work using a single pattern or other motif to identify the overall theme of the community, allowing the figures, objects, and narratives to define the individuals within it. The humorous and empathetic allegories in his creations may leave more questions than answers, but they undoubtedly offer entertaining comforts for his audience. You can learn more about Terrence and his work by visiting:https://www.terrencepayne.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/terrencepayneart/
Contact info for inquiries: https://www.terrencepayne.com/contact
Rosalux Gallery hours are 12-4 PM on Saturdays and Sundays.
The gallery is located at 315 W 48th Street in Minneapolis. Rosalux is always free and open to the public.
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