Aug 31-Sept 28 , 2005
Preus Library (upper floor)
Artist reception Tuesday, Sept. 27, 3:00-5:00 p.m. in Hovde Lounge
The Forbidden City
Carl Homstad is a Colorado native who has lived in Decorah since graduating from Luther College in 1973. He has painted large outdoor murals in several Iowa and Minnesota communities and is also known for his colorful woodblock prints of local and regional scenes. Additional information about the artist and his work is available at www.carlart.com.
Installation View
Artist’s Statement concerning “ Great Places” exhibit:
"Travel has been an important part of my life since I left Denver in 1969 to come to Luther and then left Luther for a Junior Year in Vienna, Austria. It is a way of getting a fresh perspective, a change of scene.
"As an artist it is important to keep growing. Part of that growth is trying new things. About seven years ago I went to a Winslow Homer exhibit and was inspired to start oil painting again in a serious way. Homer started concentrating on oils relatively late after a career as an illustrator and a watercolorist.
"After many oils I became very interested in Chinese painting, and I have had a longtime interest in Japanese woodcut prints. I decided to travel to China to get a taste of that perspective.
"Since then I have discovered that there is a reason so many ‘Zen-like’ eastern paintings are of mountains and lakes and grand scenery. It is easier than doing them of cornfields. So I conceived of this show and used images of my recent trips, (China, Colorado, Montana, and the Grand Canyon) and I have mined memories (the Great Salt Lake) and images from many years ago (the Lake District and the Oregon Coast) .
"I have also recently completed trips to Alaska and Niagara Falls, and hope to go to New Zealand and Japan in the future. I have spent 35 years trying to understand painting, and I have found that the hardest thing is simplicity. I have also spent 35 years understanding the landscape around here. So stick around, eventually you might see that ‘Zen’ painting of a cornfield."
