We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kiaan Van Dusseldorp a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kiaan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

Much of my learning has been following what is naturally interesting to me and what I grew up tinkering with! Being from a rural community falling into sculpture as a practice was incredibly natural, like another limb I didn’t know I had. I have had the privilege of being able to attend an art school in Minneapolis and everything that I know I have to thank the professors for. Being able to fully experiment with so many different mediums has been a blessing that has led me to where I am within my practice.

I attended my school during the height of the pandemic and due to that, I went down some other paths before I finally landed on sculpture and painting. I started out with being interested in illustration and I feel like a large part of that was out of being scared, and trying to pick the “safe” option in the art world. My heart just wasn’t in it. I think following what ultimately made me excited from the beginning would have put me on the right track sooner. Even though I am graduating soon I still feel as if I have so much to learn!! It’s really exciting!

While of course, the technical skills are important I think what has been the most useful is learning to trust my own intuition while also being skeptical of it. Confidently being critical of yourself is such a hard skill to learn. Not letting your own self get in the way, and learning that it is just as important to experiment as it is to have a beautiful finished piece is something I am still learning. Again I think I was the biggest thing that stood in my way, getting over myself and my own perfectionism was one of the hardest creative things I’ve had to do.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am an interdisciplinary artist with a focus in sculpture and painting. As spoken about previously I am from a rural community, the need to create and experiment with my environment is influenced from that. From my inclinations being raised in that environment I fell into the realm of sculpture and painting. Growing up I always made art mainly through painting and drawing, it wasn’t until I came to Minneapolis that I was really introduced to the art world and sculpture! Through my practice I work with natural elements and its realtionship with its environment in coorelation to familial ties. By using natural relationships for example a roots relationship to the dirt I am able to explore and understand personal relationships and their connections. These ideas physically come through in making sculptural installations and painting! Through my sculpture practice my tendency is to rework environmental patterns such as river systems, roots, and the prairie. I am able to delve into this exploration through wood and metal working. Through my paintings I am more literal, depicting representational matter. Right now this is coming through by composing scenes with wild life in comparison with the environment I grew up in or very literally with scenes of my brothers and I. `

What I am most proud of is honestly how much I’ve grown and where my art is now compared to four years ago. It is truly a night and day difference. Coming from a background where art was only to be considered a hobby I am so fortunate to be in a position that I am and to be able to fully dedicate myself to my community and my practice! I honestly never thought I would be able to be at this place I am now.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My biggest motivator is my community and also through my art being able to understand my community and my place in it better. I feel due to how I was brought up that sometimes I don’t fully understand how a community is supposed to work. By creating the work that I do I personally feel as if each piece is trying to understand my surroundings and connect it to what I know. Everything is connected, I want to figure out how it’s connected and how to place myself within that. Through my art I feel as if I have been learning how to talk and communicate with others, I think I’m still figuring it out but I’m getting there!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I know I keep going on about community but I sincerely feel as if that is the most important thing in a creative community. So much of this is the support and space that we are able to provide each other. Being a part of a community where everyone has so much to offer the creative world and their own specific voice is so wonderful, also getting to know people from all walks of life is really beautiful. The people I have met through being part of a creative community has been the best experience of my life, also I just love Minneapolis. It feels like home.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kiaanvand.wixsite.com/mysite
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andgemarts/

Image Credits
Benji Salinas and Shane Kolstad