Artists Squared showcases art inspired by the South Shore

Located at 631 W Bayfield Street in Washburn, Artists Squared Studios and Gallery features the work of Susan Lince and J.R. Lince Hopkins. The couple has been together for 25 years, and they share a love of both art and science.

When they first met, John Hopkins, whose artist name is J.R. Lince Hopkins, and Susan Lince were both new teachers in eastern Texas. He taught science and she taught special ed, but they found a common interest: art.

“I was standing there one day, and we were at a faculty meeting that we all had to be at,” recalled John. “I heard this person coming down the stairs behind me, and I turned around and there she was. It was just, ‘oh, there you are, ‘ and we started having a discussion about the relationship between art and science that started 25 years ago.”

When they met, neither knew the other was an artist.

“That was such a serendipitous thing for us to, I mean, it connected us instantly. It was one of the things that led to, you know, the rest of the day, the rest of the week, the rest of our lives,” said Susan. “The art and science connection is obviously something that still binds us and is still important to us.”

A few years later, the couple got married. John and Susan spent some time in Alaska and then the Twin Cities before eventually finding their home on the South Shore.

“We had already discovered Cornucopia and had a cabin there, and we kind of knew the beauty of this area. We also had met enough really interesting people, creative thinkers, mavericks, political mavericks, all kinds of really interesting people that we knew that it was an area we might like to live in,” explained Susan.

In 2018, the couple opened the Artists Squared gallery in Washburn. John and Susan each have their own side of the gallery, with each having a different style.

Susan incorporates her surroundings into mixed material artwork. Also inspired by the world around us, John enjoys realism and paints skies and clouds with a palette knife.

Both John and Susan enjoy the interaction with guests who visit Artists Squared.

“The fact that John and I can collaborate on inviting people into the gallery and what kind of conversations we have with them about the art has been one of the, for me, one of the very satisfying ways in which we team is the way we understand how important it is to engage people with either the stories behind the art or whatever the art conjures up for the other person wanting to talk about something,” said Susan.