SculptureWalk: Sculpture Talks
Sunday, May 3 2:00 to 3:00pm
MarketBeat Theater
at StartUp Sioux Falls
Artist Features:
Luke Achterberg from La Crosse, WI
Nathan Johansen from Provo, Utah
Sunghee Min from Roseville, MN
About Luke Achterberg:
Luke Achterberg explores the subcultures of Americana found in automotive customizing, style writing, graffiti, comics, snow/skateboarding and street art—all of which display extremely high technical skills developed outside of academia.
Working to overturn the standardization of mass production, he is continually playing with balance, both physical and aesthetic, to create a pronounced visual sleekness.
Luke received his undergraduate degree at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in 2004, then obtained a Welding Technical Diploma from Western Technical College in La Crosse the following year. After spending time as a certified welder at a custom job shop, he attended graduate school at the University of Kentucky, completing his Master of Fine Art.
Luke has received many prestigious awards from institutions such as the International Sculpture Center in New Jersey, and Art-St-Urban in Switzerland.
He currently lives and works in La Crosse, WI.
About Nathan Johansen:
Nathan Johansen looks to nature for the forms he uses in his work. Plants with their seeds, in all their various stages of development, are rich in symbols and patterns that repeat in all life. His deep sensitivity to the natural world is embodied in his depictions of the cycles of plants and seeds, birds, insects and all of their relationship to mankind.
A lifelong resident of Utah, Nathan graduated with a BA in Fine Art from Brigham Young University. Nate has worked in the Art Casting field for over 36 years, coordinating Fine Art Casting at Metal Arts Foundry in Lehi, Utah. He is now working as Johansen Studios, producing his own art full time.
About Sunghee Min:
Sunghee Min is a public artist based in Roseville, Minnesota. Originally from rural South Korea, she studied sculpture and installation art at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Since relocating to Minnesota in 2016, Min has focused on creating outdoor public sculptures that engage diverse audiences throughout the Midwest.
Working primarily with metal—especially manufactured steel sheets, bars, and structural forms—her sculptures explore geometric shapes such as triangles and squares. These simple, universal forms reflect Min’s interest in the relationships between structure, nature, and community. Her work is driven by the potential of public art to transcend individual experience and resonate with a broad public in shared spaces.
Min’s sculptures have been exhibited widely in outdoor sculpture walks and exhibitions across Minnesota, South Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Illinois. She has received several awards and grants, including the 2024–2025 Artists’ Future Grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council and the 2024 Creative Support for Individuals Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. Her public commissions include works for the City of Madison, Wisconsin; the City of Rochester, Minnesota; and Silverwood Park Sculpture Trail in Saint Anthony, Minnesota.
Through her work, Sunghee Min continues to explore themes of connectivity, simplicity, and the power of geometric form to invite reflection and dialogue in public space.
