new work: David Versluis's powder-coated steel sculpture “Rungs to Rings” for Public Art Edina 2017-18

Rungs to Rings, 2017
David Versluis sculptor (Versluis is dusting and polishing the piece)
Powder-coated, welded steel, laser-cut circles
8'H x 27"W x 27"D

Artist Statement: Rungs and Rings 

This sculpture suggests a pillar or column that combines bi-dimensional planes, ornamented with a repeating circle motif. Of interest are the circular cut-outs that let observers see through the piece and frame background views, allowing the piece to interact with the location and activating a multi-dimensional experience for the viewer. 

Two thick steel plates, with laser cut-out circles, stand upright at a 90-degree angle. All the parts are welded together perpendicular to a circular base—the weld is a seamless bond that’s solid and weather tight. The sculpture produces a shadow, casting a delightful pattern within the piece and on the ground. Depending on the intensity of sunshine, the shadows can be diffused or hard-edged. 

The proposed color is a powder-coated bright red which is meant to accent the area in which the piece is displayed.

On May 11, 2017 we installed the powder-coated steel sculpture “Rungs to Rings” at 50th and France in Edina, Minnesota. The piece was selected by Public Art Edina and the City of Edina for 2017-18. I’m grateful to Michael Frey, Edina Art Center and assistance from Cory Shubert. The piece stands 10 ft. high including the pedestal and 350 lbs.


Versluis is checking the installation and touching-up the painted anchor bolts.

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Dordt College student work in printmaking—Shelby Zomermaand: “Early Morning Rehoboth”

Early Morning Rehoboth
Shelby Zomermaand
4-color linocut on Hosho paper
9 x 12 inches

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Geometric Complexions, a group exhibition curated by Sergio Gomez: The Zhou B Art Center / Chicago, April 28 - June 9, 2017

Geometric Complexions: Curated by Sergio Gomez. Picture in the background are paintings by Enrico Magnani, Italy. In the foreground is David Versluis’s “Tectonic Tower” at the Zhou B Art Center, Chicago. All photographs courtesy of Sergio Gomez, © 2017.


David Versluis talks about his work during the Artists Talk on April 28. A public reception will be held on May 19.


Geometric Complexions: Curated by Sergio Gomez. Pictured above are works by Ruben Aguirre and David Versluis’s sculpture titled “Boundless Spirit: A Steady Flame” at the Zhou B Art Center, Chicago.

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David Versluis | new work: Public Art Edina, Minnesota—Sculpture Exhibit 2017–18

This piece, titled “Rungs to Rings” was selected by the Edina Art Center, city of Edina (Minneapolis metro) for the 2017–18 outdoor public sculpture exhibition. The eight foot high (325 lbs), welded, all-steel and powder-coated sculpture will be rented for a year starting in May. The piece will be placed on a twenty-inches high pedestal and elevated to a total height of almost ten feet.

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Geometric Complexions exhibition at Zhou B Art Center, Chicago

Geometric Complexions. Curated by Sergio Gomez
April 28 – June 9, 2017
Zhou B Art Center, 1029 W 35th St., Chicago

David Versluis will be one of thirteen artists participating in the upcoming exhibition Geometric Complexions at the Zhou B Art Center. This exhibit features the wide variety of visual expressions within this artistic tradition. 

The exhibition prospectus states, “The exhibition explores the visual language of geometric abstraction in the context of contemporary art. Traced as far back as 1908 with the birth of cubism, geometric abstraction continues to evolve in studios of many contemporary artists today.”

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New work—David Versluis: Sioux County Oratorio Poster for 2017

David Versluis, designer and photographer
12x18 inches
2017

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Abstract Experiments: Latin American Art on Paper after 1950—Art Institute of Chicago

Hélio Oiticica. GFR 022, 1955. Collection of Donna and Howard Stone.
All images courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

The following is from the AIC gallery didactics:
“The Neoconcrete movement emerged in Rio de Janeiro as a reaction to the perceived rigidity of the Brazilian Concrete art movement as it was practiced in São Paulo. The Neoconcretists, among them Lygia Clark, Lygia Pape, and Hélio Oiticica rejected the commodification of the art object and embraced a poetic, participatory and multi-sensory experience. In their two-dimensional work the artists of the Neoconcrete movement replaced the strict geometry of concrete art with softened more organic forms. Moving into the three-dimensional realm, they turned spectators into participants in order to challenge to traditional relationship of the viewer to the work of art.” 


Hélio Oiticica. Metaesquema, 1958–59. Collection of Diane and Bruce Halle. In 1959 the two-dimensional geometric forms of Oiticica’s early paintings on cardboard began to transition into his Bilateral and Spatial Reliefs, which were suspended from the ceiling.


Manuel Espinoza. Celestial Theme, from 21 Estampadores de Colombia, Mexico y Venuzuela, 1972. Gift of the Container Corporation of America. This piece exemplifies the genre of Venezuelan kineticism.

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