Reception for the ‘Earth, Ice and Matisse’ exhibit to be held on Sept. 22; gallery open to public until Sept. 25 
The Indiana University Northwest campus and the greater Northwest Indiana community are invited to view Assistant Professor of Fine Arts Derek Walter’s latest art exhibit, entitled, ‘Earth, Ice and Matisse.’ The featured work, which the artists says was inspired by global warming and climate change, is located in the IU Northwest Gallery for Contemporary Art, located in the Savannah Center.
Walter’s exhibit will be celebrated with a reception hosted by the gallery on Wednesday, Sept. 22 from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. The event is free and open to the campus community and the public.
The exhibit features sculptures from Walter’s Earth and Ice collection, as well as artwork inspired by the world-renowned French painter, Henri Matisse.
Walter said the current exhibit was inspired by global warning and climate change.
“Both of these topics dominate our worldview of the future,” he said. “My view is that these sculptures address the transforming union of ice melting over earth. By combining porcelain and stoneware visually and physically, there is an association made of the interconnectedness of the earth elements and the global scale of change.”
Walter also mentioned that his sculptures “capture a moment frozen in time.”
“The formal sculptural elements of line, mass and negative space embody the transformative relationship of ice sheets moving across the earth and revealing unseen rock formations,” he said. “A sense of timeliness and timelessness is embodied within these forms. Many of these sculptures have no set position, much the way a stone is found in nature.”
Walter’s gallery showing will come to a close on Saturday, Sept. 25.
His creative inspiration comes from varying cultures and eclectic sources captured from his time spent in both the United States and abroad.
“I have a foundation of functional pottery mixed with a Northern Californian sense of humor,” Walter said. “Since moving to Northwest Indiana, my work involves the landscapes of the Midwest with strong influences of my time spent in Chicago. And, having lived in China for two years and Japan for two years, I bring an Asian aesthetic to my functional pottery.”
Walter has been making art since the early 1980s and has been interested in all aspects of creating objects out of clay. In addition to teaching at IU Northwest since 2001, he works in his studio located in Hobart, Ind. During the Fall 2010 semester, Walter is teaching Ceramics and Art History & Cultural Survey.
The IU Northwest Gallery for Contemporary Art is open to the public Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m., Friday from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.
The gallery is located in the Savannah Center neighboring the IU Northwest Book Store.
The mission of the IU Northwest Gallery for Contemporary Art is to present an innovative exhibition program that complements and enhances the university's academic offerings.
Exhibit art collections are for study and research, and are also meant to educate the university community, as well as the general public, about the forms and issues of contemporary and historic art from all cultures.
For more information, contact Gallery Director Ann Fritz at (219) 980-6891 or afritz@iun.edu. To view additional artwork created by Derek Walter, visit his Web site at www.derekwalterceramics.com.