Focus on Form at Gallery 120

Sculptor Dennis Kalow Exhibition • February 18 thru March 13, 2020

Dennis Kalow, a sculptor from Minneapolis, Minnesota, is exhibiting Focus on Form at Gallery 120 on the campus of Inver Hills Community College. Focus on Form is a series of sculptures in wood, metal and stone.

The exhibition runs from Tuesday, February 18, through Friday, March 13, 2020. An opening reception will be held Thursday, February 20, 2020, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in Gallery 120.

Focus on Form

Sculptor: Dennis Kalow

February 18 thru March 13, 2020

Opening reception:
Thursday, February 20, 2020 | 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Gallery 120 hours:

Monday–Thursday: noon to 4 p.m.
Friday: Noon to 2 p.m.

Gallery 120

Fine Arts Building
Inver Hills Community College
2500 80th Street East
Inver Grove Heights, MN 55076
General: 651-450-3000
Gallery: 651-450-3101

More about Dennis Kalow…

I’ve been involved in the arts both as an educator and participant for more than 50 years. My teaching career has been in public and private schools to include Cannon Falls High School in Minnesota, The American School in Tokyo, Japan, and Colegio Internacional de Caracas in Venezuela. For more than 20 years of this time, my personal focus was on clay and pottery. This work ended up in faculty and invitational exhibits as well as many regional art fairs.

After 32 years of teaching, my interests moved to architecture, especially historic and period buildings. Over the next 12 years, I found no shortage of work on both commercial and residential projects. This required research, design, management and hands-on building, all of which kept me interested and involved.

My artwork during these years, however, was limited to drawings, sketchbooks full of drawings, which tended more and more to favor sculpture. Without any time to actually sculpt, I decided to leave my architecture career behind and re-surface as a sculptor in late 2017. Since then I’ve shown work in many local and out-of-state galleries to include:

Art Loft 100 – Minneapolis
Opening Night Gallery – Minneapolis
Minnetonka Center for the Arts
The Zeller Gallery – Hopkins, Minnesota
Great River Arts Center – Little Falls, Minnesota
Vanessa Lacy Gallery – Kansas City, Missouri
Kaddatz Gallery – Fergus Falls, Minnesota
Rogue Buddha Gallery – Minneapolis
Minnesota State Fair
Hopkins Center for the Arts

I’ve always had a love for materials. Their textures, contrasts, and unique challenges are endless, and perfect for 3D expression. I have found that acquired skills with wood, jewelry, clay and finishes all come in handy when applied to designs that I find fascinating.

I look forward to heading down new paths in the months to come and to confront whatever challenges and surprises they might bring. Each day brings with it a new adventure.

— Dennis Kalow

Dennis Kalow artist statement

While my work may seem quite distant from life, it always starts with some experience that has grabbed my attention. This can be most anything, but for some time now I’ve been especially fascinated with shifting forces and precarious relationships and in our world.

Drawings are done and media decisions are made. When I’m ready to start building, my hands get dirty and something tangible appears. More than anything it becomes an arrangement of shapes, colors, and textures that combine to reflect my thoughts and interests.

And when I’m finished, others step up and respond with experiences of their own. At this point, things may move in directions quite apart from mine. Art becomes a community effort, an experience that is personal and unique for everyone involved. It’s a process I’m lucky to be a part of.