David Platter is a working studio artist and educator. He has taught studio art at the University of Kansas, Emporia State University, MidAmerica Nazarene University, Southwest Baptist University and currently serves as Associate Professor of Art and Design as well as Art Gallery Director and University Art Collection Curator at Dordt University in NW Iowa. David earned an MFA degree from the University of Kansas with distinction as an Outstanding Achievement award recipient from the International Sculpture Center.

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Platter has an extensive national and international exhibit record that includes exhibiting work at Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ, Art St Urban and Art Basel in Switzerland, the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, and the Missoula Museum of Art in Missoula, MT.         

 

His work is represented in over 40 public and private collections. Notable Public Works include the “Embracing Heart” at Knox Presbyterian in Overland Park, KS, “Holding On”, the William Inge Memorial in Independence, KS, and “Smoke Cloud” in St. Urban, Switzerland. Performance and installation works include many locations around the United States and several International locations including, Versailles, France; Trasadingen, Switzerland and Silwan, Israel.

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Affiliated with the Hilliard Gallery in Kansas City, MO, Platter’s most recent projects include public sculpture for The University of Kansas Hospital, Indian Creek Campus, and “Love Lived”, a large scale interactive multimedia -sculpture to be installed in Kansas City, MO, and Phoenix, AZ, in February and July of 2019 respectively.

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Platter enjoys participating in socially engaging projects that have included the Living Legacy Award project where Platter created a series of portraits of the social and civil rights activist, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He also co-created Epic Arts, a community art center in Kansas City, KS, where he served as Director of Operations and taught a variety of art and theory classes with students from the Kansas School for the Blind. Platter’s travels have led him to deeply appreciate the ranging dynamics of visual creativity among diverse people groups and has subsequently worked to further promote cultural inclusion and autonomy. Platter has collaborated with various civic and religious leaders from across the United States, Switzerland, France, Egypt, and Israel/Palestine in efforts to foster meaningful discourse and cross cultural activity. Platter says, “Art has been a fantastic diffuser that enables what some consider polemic belief systems to be discussed and even united under common values.” Promoting cultural diversity through art has provided Platter and his students numerous opportunities to grow and develop new avenues for living enriched lives.