Junk (Ship Series)
Artist Statement:
This piece is an homage to the ancient workhorses of merchant shipping used throughout Southeast Asia and China. I admire the design of their unique sails and by mounting them on a modern cargo/tanker ship hull I reference how many of our goods come to us by way of a long and ancient mariner tradition.
About Kyle Fokken
Kyle Fokken is the first in his family to attend college, graduating Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in ceramics and an emphasis in business from St. Cloud State University in Minnesota. He apprenticed with Rock Hard Stoneware and Foster Willey Jr. Sculpture and interned with the Minnesota Museum of American Art. Fokken served on the Minnesota Crafts Council, the North-East Minneapolis Arts Association Board, and the No Name Exhibitions at the Soap Factory.
Fokken has shown in multiple museums and art centers throughout the United States and China. A number of his artworks have been purchased for public art collections. In Minnesota – the Minnesota Museum of American Art, the Hennepin County Library System, the Union Depot Railroad Station in St. Paul, The City of Minneapolis Permanent Public Art Collection, the City of Mankato, and the cities of Hopkins, Eagan, and Sartell Minn.. Fokken has pieces in West Des Moines, Iowa and Sioux Falls, S.D. He is also in public art collections like West Des Moines Public Art Collection, Iowa, Sioux Falls, S.D., and the South Dakota Art Museum.
Fokken has designed a mini golf hole for the Walker Art Center Sculpture Garden and has been awarded four Minnesota State Arts Board ‘Artist Initiative’ Grants and has been featured in Twin Cities Public Televisions’ Minnesota Originals program about prominent regional artists. Fokken has artwork in Traveling Device, a collection of internationally renowned mixed media sculptors published by DEVICE Gallery, Los Angeles.