Visual Arts Center

Resurrection
A Feminist Perspective

December 12, 2025–May 31, 2026

Everist Gallery

Featuring Artwork By

Hazel Belvo

Celebrating the Feminine Spirit

Resurrection: A Feminist Perspective is a series of large-scale paintings that honor the resilience and endurance of the feminine spirit. Additionally each painting serves as a metaphor for Mother Earth, capturing cycles of struggle, renewal, and hope. Their work grows from a lifetime of experience and observation, inspired by the energy and promise of future generations. Together, the series is both a tribute to women and a reflection on our shared responsibility to nurture and protect the world.

Exploring Color, Form, and Scale

Engage with color, form, and scale in a distinctly feminine way. Each color gains strength when placed next to others, supporting the idea of “Stronger together.” Figures shown at human size or larger create a sense of connection, encouraging viewers to relate personally to the subjects.

In these compositions, energy flows from the hands, while strength rises from the feet. At the same time, she plays with gravity—both embracing and defying it—to link the Earth to the Universe and emphasize life’s interconnectedness.

Content and Intention

Belvo’s work addresses the historical and ongoing struggles women face worldwide, including economic inequality, violence, and invisibility. Despite these challenges, the feminine spirit persists. As the artist writes:

“We rise, again and again. We rise. We teach. We heal. Cycle after cycle. Throughout history. Throughout the world. We heal our own wounds, and those of others. We bear children, and we love them with unbounded hope, even if it immerses us in unbearable grief.“

Reflections of this resilience, her paintings capture the cycles of survival, teaching, healing, and hope that define the feminine experience.

Witnessing the Power of Survival

Through both her life and her art, Hazel reflects on the extraordinary strength of women. She has experienced, observed, and thrived through these cycles of renewal. This work invites viewers to recognize and celebrate both personal and collective resilience.

Renowned American Painter

Hazel Belvo is a celebrated American painter with a career spanning more than sixty years. Her work is included in major public, private, and museum collections, including the Steinway Collection (New York), the Bezalel Museum (Israel), the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Weisman Art Museum, and the Minnesota Museum of American Art. Born and raised in Southern Ohio, Belvo has been drawing and creating art since childhood.

Education and Early Career

After earning both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Minnesota, Hazel continued her studies at the New School for Social Research and was a fellow at Harvard’s Bunting Institute for two years. A committed feminist and advocate for women in the arts, she was a founding member of the Women’s Art Registry of Minnesota (1976–1986), an important feminist art collective.

Teaching and Studio Practice

Hazel Belvo has taught at a variety of schools, including Quaker Schools and the Rhode Island School of Design. She maintained a studio in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and later became teacher and chair of fine arts at St. Paul Academy and Summit School, where she developed a full fine arts program.

In 1989, she joined the Minneapolis College of Art and Design as Professor and Chair of the Division of Fine Arts, where she is now Professor Emerita.

Life, Studio, and Artistic Exploration

Belvo shares her life and studios in Minneapolis and Grand Marais, Minnesota, with artist and philosopher Marcia Casey Cushmore. She teaches at the Grand Marais Art Colony and has traveled extensively, often working from portable studios in a backpack while painting and exploring the world. Her life and work reflect a deep commitment to feminist perspectives, large-scale painting, and artistic exploration around the globe.

Sponsored by

South Dakota Arts Council support is provided with funds from the State of South Dakota, through the Department of Tourism, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Artist Reception

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