Poised At The Art Scene's Door

One year ago, Ian Henrikson was managing a Bruegger’s and providing for his family. For the Southwest Minneapolis native and father of four, art was a hobby too often neglected. 

“The more time I devoted to work, the less time I devoted to art and the more miserable I watched myself become as a person,” Henrikson said. 

A twist of fate in a shaky economy was all the impetus he needed to try to make a go of it as an artist. When his position became a casualty of the recession, Henrikson chose to see it as a sign rather than a setback. 

“I could have just gone back to standing in a restaurant telling people what to do, but I took that as an opportunity to say I’m free,” Henrikson said. “It was the big kick in the pants that said go, go do it.” 

For Henrikson, who has been making art for the past two decades, art has often been a coping mechanism, a way of putting his internal turmoil on paper and canvas. Having struggled with depression in the past, and divorced with two children by age 24, Henrikson said the art was simply “what came out.” 

He describes himself as living in a funk for nearly a decade, but now, at 36 years old, Henrikson is a remarried father of four, pursuing his dream. 

“I just sort of reassessed my life and said if I’m going to have to rewrite my life, I’m going to rewrite it the way I want it to be, the way I always intended it to be,” Henrikson said. 

Today, Henrikson has a part time job and a newfound focus on his art, which he showcases and sells online. He works primarily in acrylic and paint pens on paper collages or hand-stretched canvas. 

While he says he’d love to have his work shown at galleries, for now Henrikson is promoting his work online, with a blog, Facebook page and mnartists.org profile. He has also begun selling t-shirts and hats featuring iron-on prints of his work. The approach has started to generate limited results: through a Facebook connection, the husband of the Marcy Arts Partnership Gala's organizer was introduced to Henrikson's work, and the artist found himself invited to participate. 

Tamara Schierkolk, Marcy Arts Partnership coordinator for the Marcy Open School, organizes the Marcy Arts Partnership Gala, an annual event at the Soap Factory which auctions off art pieces donated by local artists to benefit the arts-integrated programs at Marcy Open School. 

“When I first saw Ian’s work with its whimsical, edgy nature, I knew that anything he donated would be a wonderful addition to the Marcy Arts Partnership Gala. Ian’s donation to the gala’s collection, 'Technicolor Garlic,' an acrylic on canvas done with all reclaimed materials, was a punchy piece that was quickly snapped up. We were proud to have his name in our gala’s gallery,” Schierkolk said. 

Participation in the event could be evidence of a career moving in the right direction, and Henrikson hopes it might not be long before you hear his name again. 

“My biggest and really my one and only dream has ever been to be a successful artist, and it’ll never happen if I don’t do anything about it,” Henrikson said. 

So he’s doing something about it — and more and more people are noticing. The passion for the art was always there, Henrikson said, but the passion to pursue it has only gotten stronger with time. 

“When I was younger it was sort of a crisis of confidence that I never took it anywhere,” Henrikson said. “I like to say now I’m a little older and maybe a little wiser, [but] probably not. As a young kid I just wasn’t hungry enough. I’m starving now.”