Three Northwestern art majors to display work in Te Paske Gallery

A March 28–31 senior art exhibit at Northwestern College will feature works by Nancy Becerra-Balbuena, including “Renuevame (Renew Me),” an oil on canvas; Carrie Bouwman, including “Sirius Business,” a linocut; and Sharla De Bruin, including “Stagglings,” an oil on canvas.

Three senior art majors at Northwestern College will display their work during an exhibit in the Te Paske Gallery March 28–31. A reception with Nancy Becerra-Balbuena of Eden Prairie, Minn., Carrie Bouwman of Rock Valley, Iowa, and Sharla De Bruin of Pella, Iowa, is scheduled for Friday, March 31, at 7 p.m.

“This Is Us” will feature a wide variety of art, including oil and acrylic paintings; woodcut, linocut and lithograph prints; etchings; photographs; pen-and-ink and colored pencil drawings; needlework; sculptures; and digital art on canvas.

Becerra-Balbuena’s work is influenced by surrealism and inspired by photographer Erik Johansson and painters Francis Bacon and Salvador Dali. Becerra-Balbuena is serving with AmeriCorps at the Integrated Arts Academy in Chaska, Minn., where she also works as the choreographer for the Korean Pop (K-Pop) Dance Club of Chaska High School. Her parents are Armando Becerra and Leonor Balbuena of Eden Prairie.

An avid reader with an interest in writing, Bouwman combines quotes and song lyrics with her illustrations. She is the daughter of Kevin and Melinda Bouwman of Rock Valley. After graduating with a degree in art and writing/rhetoric, she plans to teach English in China.

Like Becerra-Balbuena, De Bruin is drawn to surrealism. Many of her pieces are also influenced by the music she’s listening to as she creates her art. The daughter of James and Ruth De Bruin of Pella, she will head overseas following graduation to teach English in Japan.

Northwestern’s Te Paske Gallery is located in the Thea G. Korver Visual Arts Center, on Highway 10 at 214 8th Street SW in Orange City. Gallery hours are 8 a.m. to midnight Monday through Saturday and 1 p.m. to midnight Sunday.