Pete Driessen

Born: Hopkins, MN, USA, 1961 Resides: Minneapolis, MN, USA Education MFA, Vermont College of Fine Art, 1998 BFA, University of St. Thomas, 1985 My aim is to develop a sculptural site with a hybridic combination of Midwestern found boats in dry dock as a potential public art. I am particularly interested in creating and curating a sculptural boat tower site within the often-hidden oculi of prairie of cornfield pathways and using them as pivotal axis points for asymmetrical viewing. Pete Driessen is a Minneapolis based multipractice visual artist, sculptor, curator and cultural producer who creates abstract paintings, found object installations, conceptual art statements, interdisciplinary sculpture projects, and participatory public art that explore the visceral connections of social, spatial and material dynamics. Driessen received his MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts, Montpelier, VT, and BA from the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN. He has been awarded regional grants and awards, including a 2019 Forecast Public Art Mid Career Project grant for his Pivotal Turntable Projects initiative at the Northern Pacific Railway Yard, Brainerd, MN, a 2017 The Soap Factory/ReThinking Public Space in MN grant for his Trestle Support Systems project, a 2015 Jerome/FSP Fellowship at Franconia Sculpture Park for his Franconia Boat Tower sculpture, a 2014 MRAC Next Step grant for his Silverwood Park project, and three MSAB Artist Initiative grants (2019, 2017, 2013). Pete’s exhibition record includes national and regional solo and group exhibitions at a wide range of venues and was recently named Minneapolis City Pages 2015 Artist of the Year. His work has been regionally reviewed and his conceptual statement, The Gist of Ist, was recently published by Node Center for Curation, Berlin, Germany. He currently directs and curates a hybridic, experimental duo-site gallery known as TuckUnder Projects & Pavilion that specializes in emerging and midcareer artists focusing on conceptual visual arts practice, curatorial projects, and institutional critique.