Nathen Cantwell, Aberdeen, will present his senior art exhibition featuring work created during his four years at Northern State University.  Nathen’s exhibition, entitled “A Blackbird Entangled,” will be on display in the NSU Student Center Gallery from December 8-15.  There will be an artist’s reception in the gallery on Monday December 11, from 7-9 p.m.  The reception is free and open to the public.

While studying at NSU, Cantwell has received much recognition for his work including a second place finish in the oil/acrylic category for, "Nature of Change," from his “Death of the Land series” at the Granary Rural Cultural Center this past summer and "The Success and Failure of Barnard" which was juried into the South Dakota Second Biennial Governors Art Show: “Endless Possibilities.” 

Each year Easter Seals holds a worldwide competition to design their seals, and in 2005 his pastel image of a red lily was selected, along with art from five other artists, to be included in the final pick for the holiday seals. The original work is now part of the Easter Seals Headquarters permanent collection.

His exhibition, “A Blackbird Entangled,” is a series consisting of three main oil paintings and one intaglio series. Intaglio is a process in which a design, text, etc., is engraved into the surface of a plate so that when ink is applied and the excess is wiped off, ink remains in the grooves and is transferred to paper in printing.

Cantwell is the son of Kevin and Kathy Cantwell of Aberdeen and a 2002 graduate of Roncalli High School.  He will receive his degree in fine art with an emphasis in painting and advertising design during commencement ceremonies on Saturday, Dec. 16.

“I have been very fortunate to study under many well-versed professors while at Northern, especially my painting professors, Mark McGinnis and Peter Kilian,” said Cantwell. “I have been able to develop my work more than I would have ever wished thanks to the help of these two professors who stress the importance of craftsmanship along with aesthetics and design. They push their students to create works that exceed their students own expectations.”

Cantwell is currently an advertising designer at McQuillen Design Associates in Aberdeen. He serves on the Aberdeen Area Arts Council board and is a member and the marketing coordinator of the ArtWorks Cooperative Gallery. He plans to attend graduate school in the future.