Northwestern College schedules 2021–22 art exhibits in Te Paske Gallery
Thursday, August 26, 2021
Northwestern College’s Te Paske Gallery will host exhibits by three local artists during the 2021–22 school year.
The season opens with work by Orange City artist David Platter, on display now through Friday, Oct. 8. Entitled “Super Fascia,” the exhibit consists of sculptures done in stainless steel, plastic, or a mixture of plaster, cement and fiberglass. They include a 700-pound sculpture of a head suspended from the ceiling, as well as a number of two-dimensional digital images.
A reception with the artist is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 30, at 7 p.m.
Superficial fascia is the tissue under the skin that binds it to the parts beneath. Similarly, Platter’s artwork, he says, illustrates the various strengths, weaknesses and remarkably layered nuances involved in human perception.
“With these works, illustrative distortions are laid bare,” Platter says. “Collectively, the show employs various perceptual anomalies and offers tricks of perception as evidence that there is indeed something lying beneath the surface.”
Platter has been teaching art for more than a decade and maintains his studio practice as a commission artist working as a muralist, bronze sculptor, metal fabricator, mold maker and freelance designer in the industrial arts. He teaches art at Dordt University and also serves as the gallery director and curator of Dordt’s permanent collection.
The Te Paske Gallery’s second show will feature art by Matt Drissell of Sioux Center. “Residue” will be on display Oct. 20 through Dec. 10, with a reception with the artist scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m.
Drissell’s art draws its inspiration from 11 black walnut trees near his home. Drissell crushes the walnuts onto watercolor paper, and the result is embossed stains—small bursts of ink that create an intense aesthetic artifact.
“These stains are then juxtaposed with walnut ink drawings of the houses and vehicles from my block,” Drissell says. “I live in a quiet and conservative corner of the upper Midwest, but the political events of the last few years have brought to light underlying disagreements and tensions. These scenes suggest there lies more beyond the idyll.”
Drissell majored in art at Wheaton College and then earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from New York Academy of Art. Named a 2015–16 Artist Fellow by the Iowa Arts Council, he is an associate professor of art at Dordt University.
And lastly, an exhibit titled “Out of the Fire” will consist of artwork by Jake Van Wyk of Ireton, Iowa. The show will open Jan. 10 and close March 4, with a reception scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 12, at 7 p.m.
In 2019, Van Wyk’s studio was destroyed in a fire, along with hundreds of works of art, materials, tools and equipment. After spending a year salvaging damaged art and rebuilding his studio, he compiled a selection of drawings, prints, paintings and sculptures that span his career as an artist.
“Collecting the work for this exhibit allowed me to reflect on the variety of images, production techniques, and inevitable changes of style and choices of subject matter over nearly 50 years,” Van Wyk says. “After comparing early works to recent ones, I’m encouraged that I’ve remained true to my artistic vision of substantial images that transcend themselves.”
Van Wyk is a Dordt University professor emeritus of art who is a master potter and printmaker, excelling in stone lithography and clay sculpture. A significant portfolio of his art is functional ceramic ware and clay commissions, as well as landscapes in many different mediums. His work has been featured in regional art exhibits, national competitions and multiple one-person shows.
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Northwestern art students have had their work selected for off-campus juried exhibitions, won graphic design competitions and been chosen for elite internships. They're mentored by art faculty who maintain their professional practice while teaching, and they create in the well-equipped Korver Visual Arts Center.
