Artist: Greg Van Dusseldorp
Greg Van Dusseldorp, IOWA
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My creative endeavors include ceramic sculpture, pottery and painting with an unrefined quality derived from a primitive instinct, freedom of the mind and my quest for provocative images. What drives me to express my unique viewpoint is stretching the materials I work with and interjecting the use of vivid color to the art work. I gather a lot of my inspiration for creation from several different sources. It comes from abstract paintings, folk art, sculpture, ceramics, outsider art and my creative grandparents.
The sculptures are created from thrown forms off the potter’s wheel and shapes that I mold by hand. I like to fabricate a couple dozen forms and begin to pick them up and compose them into sculptures spontaneously. I often choose to interject my personality, lifestyle, and a perverse sense of humor into the sculpture. I like to paint on large ceramic jars, cardboard, wood and canvas. The subject matter of the piece usually ends up with a narrative theme. The theme can come through a sculpture directly, on the surface of a jar or on the flat surface of a painting.
My ceramic work is fired in different types of kilns and atmospheres. The ceramic sculptures are typically fired in a kiln fueled by wood. The use of the wood kiln as a tool to help make my creations has been an important aspect in giving birth to my ceramic sculpture. I find this ancient method of firing exciting, particularly when it comes to filling a wood fired kiln with my sculpture. I believe that losing control of the results of the sculptures with an unpredictable atmosphere and flame pattern just works well with how I manipulate the clay and envision these sculptures. My large jars are decorated with colored slips and are fired with electricity. The electric kiln is a very controlled atmosphere so I can achieve a very clean and fairly predictable decoration. I enjoy using both methods of firing to achieve the different results that I desire.
There are many artists in differing fields that ignite my interest. The paintings of Dubuffet, Twombly. Pollock and Basquiat, the sculptural work of Miro, Arneson and Oursler and the raw energy of the ceramic work by Voulkos are some of the artists that I admire. I also marvel at the art work of folk artists, outsiders and graffiti artists. The personal styles that each artist portrays and the commitment they have made to being creative moves me emotionally to become an imaginative artist.
EDUCATION
1993
M.F.A., School of Art & Art History, University of Iowa
Ceramics, Drawing
1991
M.A., School of Art & Art History, University of Iowa
Ceramics, Drawing
1982
B.A., Art, Mass Communications, Buena Vista University
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2016
New Work – Clay Akar, Iowa City, Iowa
Wood Fire Funk – Ceramics Center, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
2006
Vessels – Quad City International Gallery, Quad City Arts, Moline, Illinois
2001
Fine Art of Wood Fire – Iowa Wesleyan University, Mt. Pleasant, Iowa
1999
Project Art – UIHC – University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
1995
Wood Fired Sculpture – Catherine’s, Iowa City, Iowa
Sculpture/Painting – Joan Kuyper Farver Gallery, Pella, Iowa
1993
Death of a Maverick – Eve Drewlowe Gallery, Iowa City, Iowa
Iowa Fire – Quad Cities Art Center, Rock Island, Illinois
1991
Shed the Skin of Fear – Checkered Space, Iowa City, Iowa
Wood Fired Clay – Eve Drewlowe Gallery, Iowa City, Iowa
Primitive Influences – Joan Kuyper Farver Gallery, Pella, Iowa
1990
Bitch & Whine – Eve Drewlowe Gallery, Iowa City, Iowa
Clay Jars & Sculpture – Joan Kuyper Farver Gallery, Pella, Iowa
JURIED EXHIBITIONS
2017
Waterloo Arts National Juried Exhibition – Waterloo Arts, Cleveland, Ohio
2015
River 2 River – Iowa Clay Conference, Ceramics Center, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
2012
12th Annual National Cup Show – Kent State, Downtown Gallery, Kent, Ohio
2011
River 2 River - Iowa Clay Conference, Ceramics Center, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
2003
Wichita National – Wichita Center for the Arts, Wichita, Kansas
2001
National Cup Show – Kent State University, Gallery 38, Kent, Ohio
1999
Bi-State Competitive Art Exhibition – Davenport Museum of Art, Davenport, Iowa
1998
Crossroads in Clay – Middletown Arts Center, Middletown, Ohio
Iowa Crafts: 31 – Charles H. MacNider Museum, Mason City, Iowa
1997
Oregon Clay/97 National. Made by Men – Renshaw Gallery, McMinnville, Oregon
1995
Feats of Clay VIII – Gladding & Bean Terra Cotta Factory, Lincoln, California
1993
Carbon County Arts Guild National – The Depot Gallery, Red Lodge, Montana
1992
Muscatine Art Center Biennial Show – Muscatine Art Center, Muscatine, Iowa
Iowa Designers Crafts Association Exhibition – Cedar Rapids Art Museum, Iowa
1991
49th Annual Competition – Sioux City Art Center, Sioux City, Iowa
1990
Salon XIII Student Exhibition – Brunnier Gallery, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2016
Yunomi Invitational – AKAR Design, Iowa City, Iowa
2015
Artist–Invite–Artists Preview Exhibition – Red Lodge Clay Center, Red Lodge, Mt.
2013
Yunomi Invitational – AKAR Design, Iowa City, Iowa
2012
Yunomi Invitational – AKAR Design, Iowa City, Iowa
2011
Yunomi Invitational – AKAR Design, Iowa City, Iowa
Center to the Edge - Archie Bray Foundation, Silent Auction, Helena, Montana
2008
Alumni Exhibition: Buena Vista University, Art Gallery, Storm Lake, Iowa
Legacy: Bunny McBride - AKAR Design, Iowa City, Iowa
2005
Off the Wall – CSPS, Legion Arts, Cedar Rapids
2004
30 Artists x 5 Pots – AKAR Design, Iowa City, Iowa
Area Code 319: Ceramics from Eastern Iowa – CSPS, Legion Arts, Cedar Rapids
Eastern Iowa Ceramics Invitational – Iowa Artisans Gallery, Iowa City, Iowa
2003
Tozan Pottery Exhibit – Northern Arizona University Museum of Art, Flagstaff
2002
Southeast Iowa Invitational – Iowa Wesleyan University, Mt. Pleasant, Iowa
2001
2001: Clay Odyessy – Archie Bray Foundation, Silent Auction, Helena, Mt.
2000
Alumni Exhibition: University of Iowa – Levitt Center, Iowa City, Iowa
Iowa Designers Crafts Association Exhibition – Lakes Art Center, Okoboji, Iowa
Holiday Show – Olson-Larsen Gallery, West Des Moines, Iowa
1999
20th Anniversary Exhibition - Olson-Larsen Gallery, West Des Moines, Iowa
1999
Art Under Glass - Mid Coast Fine Arts, Rock Island, Illinois
1998
Holiday Show - Olson-Larsen Gallery, West Des Moines, Iowa
1997
Wood Fired Invitational – George Calib-Bingham Gallery, University of Missouri
Arts/Iowa City Members Show – Nina Lou Gallery, Iowa City, Iowa
1996
Made in Kent – School of Art, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio
Iowa Designer Craft 96 – Polk County Heritage Gallery, Des Moines, Iowa
1995
Iowa Craft 95 - Polk County Heritage Gallery, Des Moines, Iowa
1994
Archie Bray Foundation: A Ceramic Tradition – Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art, Great Falls, Montana
Archie Bray Foundation Exhibition – Gallery I/O, New Orleans, Louisiana
Comrades in Clay III - Clinton Art Association Gallery, Clinton, Iowa
Archie Bray Foundation: 1994 Resident Artists – Warehouse Gallery, Helena, Mt.
Archie Bray Foundation: Resident Artists – Holter Museum of Art, Helena, Mt.
Form/Function: Diversity in Iowa Crafts – Polk County Heritage Gallery, Des Moines, Iowa
Archie Bray Foundation: Summer Residents Exhibition – C.M.U. Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
1993
Death of a Maverick – Eve Drewlowe Gallery, Iowa City, Iowa
6 at Clapp – Clapp Recital Hall, University of Iowa Music, Iowa City
Function to Fantasy: Contemporary Clay Invitational, Iowa Artisans Gallery
M.F.A. Exhibition – University of Iowa Museum of Art, Iowa City, Iowa
Legacy of the Archie Bray: Resident Exhibition – Warehouse Gallery, Helena, Mt.
1992
Comrades in Clay – Joan Kuyper Farver Gallery, Pella, Iowa
1991
Buena Vista University Alumni Purchase Show – Art Gallery, Storm Lake, Iowa
Clay is Mud, Mud is Art – Eve Drewlowe Gallery, Iowa city, Iowa
1990
Two Man Exhibition – Buena Vista University Art Gallery, Storm Lake, Iowa
Clay: Form & Function – Eve Drewlowe Gallery, Iowa City, Iowa
COLLECTIONS
Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts – Helena, Montana
Buena Vista University – Storm Lake, Iowa
Kent State University – Kent, Ohio
Northern Arizona University Museum of Art – Flagstaff, Arizona
University of Iowa School of Art & Art History – Iowa City, Iowa
Joan Mannheimer – Des Moines, Iowa
Toni & Clark Broadbent – Helena, Montana
Gerald & Sandra Eskin – Iowa City, Iowa
Robert O. Taunt III – Helena, Montana
PUBLICATIONS
Sex Pots: Eroticism in Ceramics – Paul Mathieu
RESIDENCY
Red Lodge Clay Center –Red Lodge, Montana 2015
Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts – Newcastle, Maine 2007
Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts – Helena, Montana 1993-94
TEACHING
Adjunct Professor of Art – Ceramics – School of Art & Art History, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 2008
Assistant Professor of Art – Ceramics – Iowa Wesleyan University 2002-03
Adjunct Professor of Art – Ceramics – Iowa Wesleyan University 2001-04, 2008
Visiting Professor – Ceramics – School of Art, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 1996
Ceramic Instructor, Community Classes, Archie Bray Foundation, Helena, MT. 1994
Teaching/Technical Assistant – Ceramics – School of Art & Art History, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 1991-93