This week, we received the heartbreaking news that Sally Gordon, a beloved friend, artist, and long-time community member, has passed away. It is with a deep and profound sadness that we relay this news. Sally was extremely close with her family, and there was much comfort in knowing that she was enveloped in their love when she passed.
A memorial for Sally is being held on Friday, May 31st at the American Swedish Institute. A short service will begin promptly at 1 PM, followed by a celebration with food and drink and a playlist of Sally’s favorite music, ending at 5 PM.
Sally joined the the co-op at Highpoint in June of 2003 and she was a constant presence. Stone lithography was her domain, she learned the technique at the University of Minnesota Twin-Cities. Sally was an incredibly gifted draftsperson, a former arts writer for the Star Tribune called her “the Human Xerox Machine”. It’s no wonder that lithography, the printmaking technique most closely related to drawing, was her chosen medium. I think it’s fair to say that Sally was routine oriented. She typically parked in the same space in the lot behind Highpoint. She always sat at the same spot and in the same chair at the co-op work tables because that was the one place where the light was just right. The images that she made affectionately illustrated the people (her family) and scenes from everyday life or Her World as she called them in her 2019 solo exhibition at Highpoint. An exhibition that she was reluctant to agree to at first but ultimately embraced.
Sally Gordon at the Prints on Ice Co-op Exhibition, 2023
Sally was a lover of music. Her musical tastes were diverse and surprisingly contemporary. Even though she liked to rock out while drawing on her stone, Sally was never unavailable. Sally would slide her headphones off to converse with anyone at any time, including the many curious schoolchildren that looked over her shoulder on their way to the classroom. Sally brought her perfectly wrapped homemade caramels to Highpoint every year as a holiday treat. On at least one occasion, she organized a co-op soup exchange. She had the best hooded sweatshirts, including those that read “Live, Laugh, Lithography” and “Trust me, I’m a printmaker". There are countless, charming anecdotes about Sally but of all the interesting things about her, most important is that she was a genuinely good person. Whenever Sally came to Highpoint, she brought a brightness with her. Sally is going to be dearly missed in our community.
With input from her family, and when the time is right, we will permanently commemorate Sally at Highpoint.
Sally Gordon and her husband Gallen Benson at the Highpoint’s 20th year anniversay party at the Minneapolis Institute of Art
Photo from Sally Gordon’s recent Threshold Gallery exhibition
Written by Josh Bindewald, Director of Artist Programs and friend of Sally.