The Communique

Issue date: 3/13/08 Section: A&E

Media Credit: Scott Kintzel John Dilg sits inside the gallery with his paintings surrounding the room.

The atmosphere is relaxed with paintings on every wall. A gray-haired man in glasses makes his way around the room making sure to greet every one of the people admiring his work. The man's name is John Dilg and his paintings are currently being displayed in the Iowa Hall gallery.

Dilg's paintings are oil on canvas. Dilg said the process usually takes a day or two of under-painting and then another 10 days to finish the final product. Dilg's paintings are small and contain earth tones such as pea green and light brown.

"What really inspires me is how we think and look at nature today. It's such a mythic event. I just want to mirror how I see it," Dilg replied when asked about his inspiration for his paintings. "There's a slight subtext to my paintings like the metaphysical paintings from the 20s. Iconic is what I'm going for. I consider myself a real modernist."

Dilg's paintings focus on nature with subjects ranging from a mermaid to a squirrel running up a tree. His work is simple yet shows exactly what he wants one to see, sometimes requiring one to look a little closer to get the full meaning.

Kirkwood held a reception for Dilg's work on March. 8 in the Iowa Hall gallery.

Dilg said he is pleased to have his work on display at Kirkwood. "Kirkwood is really neat. Arbe Bareis invited me and I'm impressed with everything here…the campus, the buildings, the environment. I teach at the University of Iowa and when I come here, I am just blown away."

Dilg's works will be on display in the Iowa Hall gallery until March. 31.

Photos of his work can be found here.

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