Simon Huelsbeck - Painter

Simon Huelsbeck

Name: Simon Huelsbeck
City/State: Rochester, MN
Email: Simon@simonhuelsbeck.net
Website: Simonhuelsbeck.net
MNartist.org profile: Simon Huelsbeck
Facebook page: Simon Huelsbeck

Bio~
I currently live in Rochester MN with my wife and two year old son. I teach painting and classes at the local college.

Tell me about your work? What are you currently working on? How is this different from past projects?

I’m currently working on a winter show that will be opening at the SooVAC on Nov 5th. The work has a great deal of lovingly rendered winter landscapes frequently with twists. The paintings have violations in the space and on the surface. There are also images that are integrated into the landscapes: stray parade floats, balloons, my son etc. Most of the work is really small just a few inches in either direction. I have also used, wood, rubber, and resin to make these lush white almost sculptural frames.

"What is Art?" is certainly too big of a question to ask here, but what do you hope your audience takes away from your art? What statement do you hope to make?

I hope the audience gets a sense for the preciousness of the simple and everyday moments that make up our lives. My life is passing and guaranteed to end. I want to preserve little bits of it and make it sacred

What was the best advice given to you as an artist?

Work hard and often.

Tell me about your work space and your creative process.

By far my favorite space to work in is the outdoors. I am a visual person and the world stirs my imagination and my. When the work comes inside I twist it and violate it, and labor over it. At the moment my basement studio is covered in resin, rubber, and white paint. Its incredibly inadequate- as is my garage/shop.

Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy?
Roxanne Jackson http://www.roxannejackson.com/
Sara Belleau http://www.sarabelleau.com/
Ruben Nusz http://www.rubennusz.com/Art/rubennusz.html
Joe Sinness http://joesinness.com/
Michael Kareken http://www.michaelkareken.com/Michael_Kareken/Welcome.html

He’s not an artist but I do love the work done by our local curator Kris Douglas:
http://www.rochesterartcenter.org/ (Rochester Art Center)

If I were to follow you around to see art in Minnesota, which places would we go? What would we see?

Minneapolis Institute of Art http://www2.artsmia.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
Midway Art Gallery http://www.midwayart.org/
SooVac Gallery http://www.soovac.org/
Rochester Art Center http://www.rochesterartcenter.org/
Franklin Art Works http://www.franklinartworks.org/
Walker Art CEnter http://www.walkerart.org/


Where do you go online for good art resources, whether to find a new artist, or to see what is going on in the art world locally and otherwise?

http://www.mnartists.org/
http://www.artinfo.com/
http://www.contemporaryartdaily.com/
http://www.artnews.com/
http://www.artnet.com/
http://www.artslant.com/
http://www.artinamericamagazine.com/
http://artobserved.com/

Do you have any exhibits to promote in the near future?

"Point of Roughness" at the SooVac Gallery in Uptown, Mpls, MN From 11/5/2011 through 12/3/2011. Opening Reception 11/5/11 from 6-9pm.

I will be doing an ambitious and comprehensive installation at the James Wegner Gallery in the Spring and and a sabbatical show at the University Center Rochester Art Gallery in Fall of 2012.