Artist Profile: Don Kerr
Published January 1, 2017 by Nicole Webb
Don Kerr
1930 - 2017
"During classes, I remember how Don would circulate between our easels so calmly and unobtrusively, offering encouragement and technical insight with a warm smile. He was quick with an art historical reference or a joke, and kind even with his criticisms...He seemed to know everything about painting, and just as impressively, he knew how to gracefully handle every sort of student. He was just a class act, an amalgam of professionalism and warm humanism most of us can only aspire to. I feel truly grateful for the model he provided me as an artist and teacher." - GVSU Professor of Drawing, Printmaking, and Foundations and a former student of Kerr's, Brett Colley
Born in Saginaw, Michigan, local artist Don Kerr served as a U.S. Army Intelligence Officer stationed in Germany during the Korean War. After his service, he dedicated over thirty years of his life to art education. Kerr first taught at Ohio State University and the University of Nevada, Reno, until he accepted a position at GVSU in 1970. During his tenure, Kerr played a major role in developing the GVSU art department, including serving as the department chair and teaching until he retired in 1999. He also taught internationally in London and Japan.
Kerr’s artwork was heavily influenced by his travels, with landscapes near and far from his West Michigan home dominating his portfolio. His images were often slightly abstract and full of rich, bright colors. Throughout his career, Kerr was influenced by a variety of art movements, including pointillism, the practice of applying small strokes or dots of colors to the canvas. In many of his paintings, Kerr’s brush strokes are visible, adding depth and perspective to his landscapes. His paintings aimed to explore human perception of the world around them. For Kerr, art was essential to human awareness and the spurring of individual cultivation of the soul.
Don Kerr, Stonehenge, oil on canvas, 1990, 1998.050.1.
Don Kerr, Grand Valley Suite: Sunset, oil on canvas, 1988, 1998.081.1a.
Don Kerr, Sweepers: The Au Sable River Study #1, gouache, 1995, 1998.093.1a.