People have always been drawn to creative explorations of the landscape, and for good reason: The fodder for inspiration to be found in the natural world is inexhaustible. These places are rich with contradiction and possibility: familiar and persistently mysterious, defiantly wild and, at the same time, ripe with the promise of conquest and cultivation. The lands around us are fundamental and fragile, sometimes inhospitable but always home.

Groveland Gallery, just outside downtown Minneapolis, is exhibiting new work by three Minnesota artists — Gregory Euclide, Robert Dorlac and Andrew Wykes — each of whom offers a revealing, distinctive view into the Midwestern landscapes surrounding us. (You can see more of their work here.)

Andrew Wykes offers a traditional, nostalgic view of the pastoral Northfield environs of his home. His oil paintings are gestural and lovely — deftly executed, subtle and warmly familiar. Wykes's are the landscapes of beneficent cultivation, rich with fertile sweeps of green and loamy brown.

Robert Dorlac's landscapes, on the other hand, bear the mark of a naturalist's eye: His woodland scenes are complex, crowded and close. The hues vary with the seasons — from the gentle browns and greens of summer to the starker shades and muddy white of the colder months. His eye seems drawn to the forest's vulnerabilities, highlighting the small points of ecosystem impact left in the wake of seasonal extremes.

Gregory Euclide's pieces are the stunners of the group. His inventive landscapes are sculptural marvels, clever combinations of artfully twisted paper, natural and found objects, and finely rendered representational images made with pencils and paint. His tricky 3-D pieces beautifully mimic the complexities of the natural world, drawing the viewer right into the scene. Don't pass Euclide's works quickly — their nooks and crannies reward close inspection.

The work from all three artists is accomplished and satisfying, and their distinct approaches to rendering the natural landscape offer eloquent testimony to the enduring attractions and opportunities for reinvention within the genre.

"New Landscapes: New Work by Gregory Euclide, Robert Dorlac and Andrew Wykes" will be on view at Groveland Gallery in Minneapolis through Feb. 28.