Bruce Tapola: Paintings for Germans, Sculpture for Snobs

If you’re going to be in Rochester for your annual colonoscopy, brighten the occasion with a trip to the Rochester Art Center to see the always interesting work of Bruce Tapola, Minnesota’s most famous somewhat-obscure artist. Venues ranging from esteemed institutes of art (in Milwaukee and Minneapolis) to a rented U-Haul parked in front of the Walker Art Center have spread his fame. Recent outings in Miami and Minneapolis, and a collaborative installation with his wife and daughter called I’m With Stupid, have enabled Tapola to further develop his broad range of media-inflected moody imagery. Here he again hammers on the closed gates of American culture, with his ambivalent cry: “I love you! I hate you! I love you!” 40 Civic Center Dr. S.E., Rochester; 507-282-8629; www.rochesterartcenter.org