U Card required to access all libraries

A U Card is required for access to all University of Minnesota libraries beginning Jan. 20. To see this exhibit, please call 612-624-7469 upon your arrival at Elmer L. Andersen Library to be let into the building. Hours: Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Echoes and Equations

“Echoes and Equations: The Art and Archiving of Harriet Bart” offers a historical examination of this leading Twin Cities artist. Active from the 1970s to the present, Bart’s artistic career and culmination of achievements are illuminated, bringing to light her creative process and work that has consistently examined the intersection of visual and performative art, history, poetry, and science. By presenting selections from her archives displayed alongside her handcrafted artists’ books, this exhibition champions the interdisciplinary nature of Bart’s artistry. Co-curators Amy Gabbert-Montag and Deborah Ultan underscore the storytelling power of archives and celebrate the artist’s vision and production of art.

The combination of archival materials — sketchbooks, correspondence, research notes, photographs, and ephemera — complement the art objects and artist’s books to reveal Bart’s intellectual and spiritual acumen, and the depth of research that has informed her decades-long art and book making. This exhibit emphasizes the artist’s attention to the echoes of memory, the geometry of pattern, the eloquence of equations, and the profound inspiration she finds in literature, historical imagery, and stories of people and places.

This exhibit was curated from the newly acquired Harriet Bart archive for the UMN Libraries’ Gorman Rare Art Books and Artists’ Archives. It is co-sponsored by The Institute for Advanced Study and made possible through the Imagine Fund.

Exhibit details

What: Echoes and Equations: The Art and Archiving of Harriet Bart
Where: Elmer L. Andersen Library | Parking (Lot 86)
When: June 8 through Sept. 18, 2026 (weekdays only)
Hours: Open during library hours, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. | To see this exhibit, please call 612-624-7469 upon your arrival at Elmer L. Andersen Library to be let into the building.

Curated by Amy Gabbert-Montag and Deborah Ultan. Exhibit design by Darren Terpstra.

Exhibit tours with the curators

The curators, Deborah Ultan and Amy Gabbert-Montag, are offering hour-long, guided gallery tours for parties of up to 12 on select Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays from noon to 2 p.m. for the duration of the exhibition — June 8 through Sept. 18, 2026. Advance registration is required.

Artist in the gallery

The artist, Harriet Bart, will be in the Elmer L. Andersen Library Gallery on Tuesdays, July 21 and 28; and Aug. 11 and 18, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Join the artist as she works in the exhibition space “studiolo” as she adds to her living journal on-view.

Building access reminder:

At the present time, a U Card is required for access to all University of Minnesota libraries. To see this exhibit, please call 612-624-7469 upon your arrival at Elmer L. Andersen Library to be let into the building.

Exhibit closing reception, Sept. 10

Please join us on Thursday, Sept. 10 for an exhibit closing reception, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The event is free and open to all. Please register if you plan to attend.