BILL LUCHSINGER
Karen Strohbeen and Bill Luchsinger, two of the Midwest ‘s most successful fine artists, have graced the world with their innovative artwork for more than 30 years. Creating their first prints in 1970, they were among the originators of the digital printmaking art form and continue to push the limits of the genre. Strohbeen and Luchsinger have melded their lifelong love of gardening with their expertise in photography and computer processes to create sculpture, photos, and prints on paper, canvas and ceramic tile. Their artwork can be found in residential and corporate collections around the world. They also the host and produce“The Perennial Gardener with Karen Strohbeen,” on PBS. The television program showcases the beautiful gardens of their impressive 80 acre farm, often the inspiration for their artwork. Both Strohbeen and Luchsinger graduated from Drake University. In 1996, they received the Garden Club of America’s Eloise Payne Luquer Medal for special achievement in the field of botany. Luchsinger is a Member at Large of the Garden Club of America. Both artists also continue to create art individually in their various mediums.
JACOB SHARP
Jacob Sharp is the son of an architect and began studying architecture at an early age. In 2002 while attending the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, CA Jacob Sharp began photographing projects for local architects and builders. After graduating in 2004 Jacob moved to Denver, CO and began Jacob Sharp Photo. In 2009 he moved to Des Moines, IA and continued to grow the company. Since the beginning Jacob Sharp Photo has been nationally recognized for excellence in photography and service.
JUSTIN ROGERS
What started out as a hobby in 2013, photography has now turned into a passion for Fort Dodge, Iowa native Justin Rogers. Currently residing in Ankeny, Iowa with his wife Jonah, son Jameson and daughters June and Jersie, Justin is self-employed as a web developer by day and a photographer by night. His somewhat flexible schedule allows him to depart at a moment’s notice anytime a photographic opportunity presents itself. “It’s all about chasing the light”, says Justin. “You could sit in one spot all day long and capture entirely different moods of the same scene due to the constantly changing light. The light can make or break an image.”
Most of Justin’s work consists of rural Iowa landscapes or Des Moines cityscapes but given the right time of year you can also find him photographing wildlife. When he isn’t out making new images, he enjoys leading or assisting in the teaching of local photography workshops. “A friend of mine jumpstarted my career as a photographer and I now enjoy sharing my passion with others. My only regret is that I didn’t start photography sooner but fortunately this is something I can do the rest of my life as well as teach my children about it as well as the great outdoors.”
CHRIS BOEKE
Having been born in Des Moines, IA, the Midwestern values of humility, respect, and consideration taught the importance of authentic relationships and genuine connections, with both people and the physical world around us. I became captivated by architecture, intrigued with not only the materials and means of the buildings, but in how it culturally shapes our experiences. Art in its own right, architecture influences the way in which we inhabit and interact with each other daily. These ideas molded my career in the architectural profession and further inspired my style of photography.
I use photography as my voice, my camera as a tool of expression to capture the shapes, forms, and light of architectural design. As a freelance photographer for over 15 years, I have used this voice to tell the story of life in space, structure, and building. Going beyond simple documentary to find creative vignettes and discover the intimate, distinctive details. I aim to inspire an appreciation for the subtle yet crucial cultural impact that architecture has on our society by collaborating with and mentoring other professionals and photographers alike.
– Chris Boeke
GOIZANE ESAIN
Goizane Esain was born in San Sebastian, Spain, and grew up in Venezuela and Colombia. After graduating high school in Bogotá, she moved to Denver, Colorado, and began her art and design studies at Denver Community College. She then moved to Des Moines, Iowa, where she graduated from Drake University with a degree in communications and graphic design.
Inspired by Brutalist architecture, and interested in deconstruction, Esain’s work explores the relationships between artistic expression, design and shape. Her large-scale sliced photographic images (or slices) intersperse colors and forms found in land- and cityscapes. She rearranges compositions into new and unexpected views, which result in both real and imagined gradients. These works are interactive – they offer the viewer opportunities to fill in literal formal gaps with spatial and visual sensory connections. Her new series of botanical splices envision floral, foliage, and cloud, as beautifully puzzled sprays. Perfectly-spliced sections appear, within them, to have been grafted, yet the symmetry of each artwork brings the wild of nature into a carefully tended germination.