Michigan born and raised mulimedia artist Iggy Sumnik creates ceramics, sculptures, prints, and more. His technique focuses on texture and balance and includes an intricacy and depth that permeate his work.
Iggy's art is aimed at provoking thought about the environmental impact of modern culture. Hand building identifiable objects, life size or larger, connects him to our culture and the natural world. Manipulating these objects and ideas represents the human tendency to alter our environment. Through the use of pattern, bright color and familiar objects, Iggy is able to connect with the past while documenting the present for the future.
The artist's work has been shown in numerous regional galleries. Iggy's work, which has been said to share a similar visual aesthetic to that of Tim Burton and Dr. Seuss, has been described as "archaic and fantastical, rife with balance and harmony."
Iggy received his BFA with a dual concentration in ceramics and scupture from Detroit's Wayne State University in 2004. He was a sculpture instructor with Detroit's historic Pewabic Pottery, Camp Tamakwa in Algonquin Povincial Park, and Youthville Detroit, the largest and most comprehensive youth development center in the midwest. In 2008, Iggy completed a three-year apprenticeship at Jun Kaneko Studio in Omaha.
Iggy continues to support young people in their artistic explorations and has taught at the Joslyn Art Museum, the College of St. Mary and at WhyArts in Omaha. He maintains a studio, exhibits work and teaches the art of ceramics to youth in both Omaha and Detroit.