Charles City Arts Center to exhibit work by Assistant Director Haglund in May

To The Press

The Charles City Art Center will show the work of its own assistant director, Karl Haglund, for the month of May.

The exhibit, titled “Game Plans etc.: Through The Fog, Then Down,” will kick off with an opening reception on Friday, May 3, from 5 to 7 p.m. The event is sponsored by Jeremy Rogstad State Farm and is free and open to the public.

Haglund dropped out of grad school at UNI in 2012 to pursue art full time with his series of guitar paintings. Finding this art niche led him to work with a few well-known musicians like Jason Isbell and Gary Clark Jr., something he said he is proud of.

“It was a great experience doing posters and work for those guys and I got to see some great concerts for free, but I am also much more into work that lets me express myself a bit more than the guitars allowed me,” Haglund said.

His current exhibit will focus on his work incorporating heavy mark-making into abstract ideas and a more creative approach to the medium.

“For the last month I have been working almost entirely on raw canvas. It’s a much more freeing way to work than with a pre-existing white gesso canvas. It creates it’s own challenges and requires a different approach to the work that I really like,” he said.

Haglund said he tends to work through an idea right up until an exhibit starts, with all work being very recent. The approach lends itself toward a greater sense of immediacy in the show, he said.

It’s an approach that Arts Center Director Emily Kiewel likes.

“It’s interesting to see how Karl’s work changes,” Kiewel said. “And seeing a whole body of recent work is especially interesting, almost like seeing a mind work through an idea or issue from one canvas to the next.”

Kiewel, also an artist, said it is important to exhibit staff work and tie into the Arts Center’s mission of encouraging and promoting art and artists in the community.

“Most people know Karl is also an artist, but not everyone. This month we get the chance to see Karl as not only a staff member and co-worker, but also as an artist,” Kiewel said.

The exhibit will be on display through May.

The Charles City Arts Center is located at 301 N. Jackson across from Central Park in Charles City.

More more information contact 641-228-6284 or charlescityarts@gmail.com.