Iowa City, IA
Home MenuIowa City Sculptors Showcase
The Sculptor Showcase is an annual public art program that gives Iowa sculptors the opportunity to showcase their work around the Iowa City community. The City of Iowa City’s Public Art Advisory Committee (PAAC) selects sculptures based on submissions to be put on display for a year.
In 2023, there are eight locations scattered throughout the community at Terry Trueblood Recreation Area, along the Iowa River Trail, in Riverfront Crossings Park, and at Mercer and Scott parks. View the map for specific locations.
Tim Adams, artist from Webster City, Iowa
Prairie Tussock on exhibit at Mercer Park
The beauty of the seed head is even more impressive when you consider it’s been the food source that allowed the evolution of man! Even more impressive is that all native grasses have evolved over 100 million years by developing amazing adaptations to live with the constant wind and extreme weather conditions of the prairie. It is made of stainless steel and Lexan and turns in the wind.
Tim Adams is a 1985 Landscape Architecture graduate of Iowa State University and is a Registered Professional Landscape Architect. Tim is a lifelong student of the arts. His career has been built around creating and installing "One Off" sculptures and designs for gardens, entry features, parks, churches, municipalities, and schools. Tim's primary medium is weathered steel, stainless steel, aluminum, acrylic sheet/Lexan, and native limestone.
Tim's inspiration comes from his professional training in Landscape Architecture and Horticulture plus his frequent skiing trips. Natural landforms and native plants are the starting points for Tim's sculpture concepts. To foster sustainability Tim strives to incorporate recycled metals and repurposed materials when practical. His works are designed and constructed to be stout, long-term installations with little or no maintenance needed.
Tim’s website is: www.timadamsartist.net.
Tim Adams, artist from Webster City, Iowa
Open Arms on exhibit at Riverfront Crossings Park
Open Arms is two curved abstract figures in two sizes positioned to show flow and openness. Like the waters of a river, flow and openness implies an ability to change and adapt to circumstances with resiliency. The sculpture’s calm, quiet, and agile qualities meet each day to take on new challenges, ideas, and perspectives. It is made of weathered Steel.
Hilde DeBruyne, artist from Cumming, Iowa
Circle of Trust on exhibit on Iowa River Trail
“Circle of Trust” is a contemporary sculpture in metal, consisting of a simple yet powerful composition of circles .The artist has a fascination for this geometric form. Circles are universal symbols in so many cultures, religions and traditions, such as mandalas, Stonehenge, crop circles, etc.
Circle of Trust is symbolically not a perfect circle: just like in nature, it is about building and rebuilding trust to form an almost perfect balance. It is made of 1/4 inch steel, painted in an attractive blue and yellow.
Hilde DeBruyne is a Belgian-American artist living in Cumming, Iowa. She is a sculptor and designer in clay, metal, and bronze. Her work has been exhibited internationally and is included in public and private collections. She has successfully completed multiple public art installations throughout Iowa, California, Minnesota, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Belgium. She uses mild steel, Corten steel, stainless or aluminum and usually enriches the work with the use of bold, attractive colors. Overall, her artwork has an authentic, energetic, warm, and welcoming feel to it. She usually works around a certain theme and explores this theme throughout a series of works.
Hilde’s website is: www.hildedebruyne.com.
Kristin Garnant, artist from Camanche, Iowa
Coleoptile on exhibit on Iowa River Trail near Hwy 6 bridge
The work is named for the first leaf, the sheath that protects the primary bud. Gradually expanding to an opening that beckons to the space beyond, it catches the skies many variations on its surface. The reflection of sunlight, moonlight and storm cloud continually transforms this piece. Constructed of 12 gauge stainless steel, the piece slowly rises from an overlapped fold at the base which is neatly held in place with exposed button welds. Made of stainless steel.
With a background in graphic arts, Kristin Garnant has dealt with the design and construction of books, black and white photography, letterpress and offset printing. They use their design background to create pieces in metal. The distinct quality of steel and the combinations of textures reveal unique compositions much like the layering of fine handmade papers. Reinterpreting ideas in metal can turn the most ordinary form on its head and give it a distinctly new identity.
Contact Kristin at krgarnant@gmail.com
Kristin Garnant, artist from Camanche, Iowa
Shadow Ship on exhibit In River Front Crossings
The sweeping lines of ground stainless steel and oxidizing cortenized steel juxtapose in this piece to offer a composition of textures. Boats and their design have always the artist. Primarily the fluidity of their shape, be they tanker or dinghy. In this piece, Kristin only suggests the outline, though the sail appears to be caught by the passing breeze. Materials for this piece are steel and stainless steel.
Dan Perry, artist from Waterloo
Architrave on display at Terry Trueblood Recreation Area
Architrave is a part of a series of artworks where Dan explore's architectural details and composition. They take various architectural details and rescale and recontextualize them into sculptural artworks. Architrave is fabricated with 14g and 16g 304 stainless steel and 3/8" 5052 aluminum. All seams are full welded and finished.
Dan Perry is an award-winning interdisciplinary artist based in Waterloo, Iowa who works in a variety of media and scales from gallery-sized sculptures to monumental public artworks. He maintains a robust studio practice exhibiting his artwork in museums and arts centers across the United States in over 50 group exhibitions as well as 10 solo shows. Notable venues include the Des Moines Art Center, Waterloo Center for the Arts, and the Spartanburg Art Museum. His work has been featured in national outdoor exhibitions across the country including the Chicago Sculpture Exhibit, SculptureWalk Sioux Falls, and Art on the Beltline in Atlanta. Dan has also completed 12 large-scale public sculpture commissions throughout the region most recently at the Clive Public Safety Building in Clive, Iowa.
Currently, Dan teaches sculpture and is the Coordinator of the Public Art Incubator (PAI) at the University of Northern Iowa, a unique program where students can engage with professional artists in the production of their commissioned public art projects. Students are hired to assist in the fabrication of the artwork and work alongside of professional artists – providing a professional experience before they graduate.
Dan’s website is www.danperrysculpture.com.
v.skip Willits
Three Pods on display at Riverfront Crossings Park
The artist’s intention is to conjure the ideas of new beginnings and growth. The piece is made with Cortenized steel.
The things that v.skip make are integral parts of who the artist is. The welding technique used to create their work was taught to them by their father who was a shop welder for 40 years. In 1983, they created their first large scale public sculpture. Yearly, v.skip participates in numerous outdoor public exhibitions and produces commissioned work across the USA, Canada and Europe. v.skip lives and works, happily, on the banks of the Mississippi River. Their work contains the strands of my identity and directly reflect my experiences so far.
Skip’s contact is: artistskip@aol.com
Aidar Ishemgulov
Upside Down on display at Scott Park, near the dog park
Aidar Ishemgulov is a wood sculptor (wood carver), who works in the traditional style of wooden sculpture (figurative composition, animals) using modern electric tools and manual tools (axe, chisel, etc). Born in 1976 in the family of an artist, Aidar graduated from the Ufa Institute of Arts in 2000, majoring in painting. After moving to Saint Petersburg, since 2002, Aidar has been working with sculpture. Aidar’s sculptures have been exhibited at multiple exhibitions and symposiums in museums, galleries, and private collections in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Russia, and the USA. Since 2019, Aidar has been living and working in Iowa City.
Materials used in the piece: Oak, oil. Technique: carving. Tools: chainsaw, grinder, cutter, chisels, axe.
Follow Aidar on Instagram at ishemgul_wood_pecker