ARTIST STATEMENT
Last Night with Guns is a mixed-media piece combining silk-screen and acrylic painting of guns surrounding a bed that represents survival of a marriage with violence, guns, fear, and control. I am a crime and domestic violence survivor and incorporate my experiences into my art to encourage others to share their stories and leave unsafe situations.
Last Night with Guns is about the night I left after finding a handgun under his pillow, knowing that it could be my last night. Women surviving violence is a horrendous and common tie amongst many of us. I believe sharing our stories is even more important now due to the political environment that continues to exert more control over women.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Recka is a visual artist who lives in St Paul, MN and focuses on art activism, printmaking, painting, and multimedia art. She has a studio in the Casket Arts building in N.E. Minneapolis, is active in the arts community and maintains artist memberships in multiple art collectives. She co-founded Calendula Gallery in the Lowertown Arts District in St Paul, MN, studied Fine Arts at Hamline University, and continues to explore new mediums. She has recently exhibited in multiple shows with Otherworldly Art Collective, ALTR Gallery, Chicago Avenue Fire Arts, Supercharged Printmakers in Minneapolis and No. 7 Center Gallery in Vermillion, South Dakota. She created, curated, and exhibited in three shows at Supercharged Printmakers this year, including the Art of Resistance show in (April 2025) and the Weathering Together: Climate Change show (Oct 2025). She received a grant from Springboard for the Arts for the Weathering show and incorporated live poetry reading into the opening. Her greatest love is collaborating and building community with other artists and creatives for social change.
© Recka