Art spotlight: 'Pamela & Frank Gaard/ Dual Portraits'

'Pamela & Frank Gaard/Dual Portraits'

Hot off his acclaimed solo retrospective at the Walker, Minneapolis iconoclast Frank Gaard heads into a decidedly more intimate venue — temporary exhibition space TuckUnder Projects — with "Dual Portraits." The portrait series, which appeared in part at the Walker show, has been a long-running collaboration between the artist and his wife, Pamela, in which both artists paint the same person in tandem. The end results are two very different, nuanced takes — Frank with his comic book/pop art style, and Pamela's more realistic interpretations. But don't count on Frank's signature panties to make an appearance; these portraits are a relatively traditional output from a subversive voice in contemporary art. (Free opening reception 6-9 p.m. Thu. Runs through July 29 with unstructured hours Wed.-Sun. and by appointment. TuckUnder Projects, 5120 York Av. S., Mpls. www.tuckunder.org .) - Jahna Peloquin

'This Will Have Been: Art, Love & Politics in the 1980s'

Remember Reaganomics, the AIDS/HIV crisis, postmodernism and monster shoulder pads? No? A new Walker Art Center show plans to re-examine all those dubious 1980s moments, except maybe the shoulder pads. "This Will Have Been: Art, Love & Politics in the 1980s" promises more than 100 paintings, sculptures, photos, videos, audios, works on paper and documentary material by more than 90 artists. That should allow for plenty of deep-dish investigation of the preoccupations of the era: identity politics, sex and gender roles, environmentalism, feminism, queer culture, the commodification of pretty much everything. Jeff Koons, the art world's boy toy of the time, made beaucoup bucks wrapping up some of the issues in his glitzy sculptures. As always with Koons, it's difficult to tell if he's a victim of his era or an ironic commentator on its excesses. (Opening day talk, 2 p.m. Sat., free with $10 gallery admission. Walker Art Center, 1750 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls. Ends Sept. 30. 612-375-7600 or www.walkerart.org.) - Mary Abbe

'A Punker’s Revenge: A Celebration of Speedboat Gallery'

As many great things do, Speedboat Gallery started on a lark. The long-defunct underground art gallery was founded as a front for hosting punk rock shows by poet Paul D. Dickinson (the man behind the Riot Act Reading Series) along with three friends in 1988. By the time it was finally shut down by the cops in 1994, it had become a nationally known venue, hosting shows from a veritable who's who of the underground scene — Bikini Kill, Green Day and NOFX all performed there, to name a few. And then there was the art. Speedboat presented hundreds of on-the-edge visual artists, including the likes of Frank Gaard, Bruce Tapola, Richard Lack and W.C. Wormley. This weekend, memories and relics of Speedboat resurface with "A Punker's Revenge," a one-night-only exhibition featuring art from former SBG artists and — staying true to the Speedboat spirit — a selection of young artists, plus photography and paraphernalia from the gallery's heyday and live music from Dickinson's band Frances Gumm. (6-10 p.m. Sat. Free. All ages. CO Exhibitions, 1101 NE. Stinson Blvd., Mpls. www.coexhibitions.com.) - J.P.