Austin Swearengin
Visual Arts Residency

Austin Swearengin’s sculptural practice focuses on understanding design and how it is implemented through a relationship between objects and linguistics. As an artist, he is interested in the way an object relates to its environment both spatially and structurally. Familiar objects are positioned in a space between utilitarian purpose and poetic intention, much as a billboard can be seen as both an architectural body and a space for communication. The design and functionality of these objects also become platforms for poetic inscription and potential audience participation. Swearengin recently received a Minnesota State Arts Board grant, which resulted in an exhibition titled CARPÉ DUMB, and was awarded an exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Art through the Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program, which will be hosted next summer. He is also an organizer and co-curator for Detroit, an exhibition space in Minneapolis. He received his BFA in sculpture from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.