Image: Minnesota Marine Art Museum, Winona
The Minnesota Marine Art Museum in Winona, Minnesota, has opened ‘Geo Rutherford: Spooky Waters of the World’, an exhibition bringing together original illustrations from Rutherford’s New York Times bestselling book ‘Spooky Lakes’ (2024) and her forthcoming book ‘Spooky Rivers’ (2026). The exhibition is on view from August 1, 2026, through February 14, 2027.
Rutherford’s illustrations examine unusual, mysterious and sometimes eerie stories connected to the Great Lakes and other bodies of water around the world. The museum describes the works as both educational and entertaining, combining visual storytelling with subjects drawn from science and natural history.
Alongside the book illustrations, the presentation includes mixed-media works focused on environmental issues and threats facing Great Lakes ecosystems. The selection encompasses prints, collages, sculptures and collections of natural and manufactured found objects gathered while Rutherford combed the shores of Lake Michigan.
Rutherford is identified by the museum as a Sauk City, Wisconsin-based artist, author and educator whose work centres on science, natural history and stories about water. Her online audience exceeds 2 million followers across TikTok and Instagram, according to the museum’s exhibition material. The presentation also lists ‘SS Kamloops’ (2024), a gouache on watercolour paper, among the featured works.
The exhibition extends the Minnesota Marine Art Museum’s focus on artistic responses to water. The independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit museum describes its mission as creating meaningful art experiences that explore humanity’s relationship with water. Its galleries contain 20,000 square feet of marine-inspired art, and its 2026 programme is organised around the theme ‘Making Waves’ as the institution marks its 20th anniversary.
Rutherford will take part in an artist talk at the museum on October 3, presented in partnership with the Winona Public Library. A book signing in the museum atrium will follow the talk. The events are scheduled as part of the museum’s Fall New Look Weekend, which runs from October 2 through October 4 and also features presentations by Andy DuCett, Barbara McIlrath and Tanya Aguiñiga.
‘Geo Rutherford: Spooky Waters of the World’ remains on view at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum, 800 Riverview Drive, Winona, through February 14, 2027.
