GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — If you walk past Dynamic Sunset, a regal painting of the Grand Haven lakeshore, its brass canvas shimmers from beneath fiery brushstrokes, reflecting light from all angles. John Katerberg, a Jenison artist, calls it the "wow effect."
“I pulled out all the stops and did my best," Katerberg said. "I really thought I had a chance of winning this time."
He was right.
In September, Dynamic Sunset won the Public Vote Grand Prize at ArtPrize 2024, the top award at the annual art festival with a $125,000 purse to boot. Katerberg, a Purple Heart veteran, in part credits his military service for the win.
"At the time, I had no idea that repairing damaged military vehicles was preparing me to create my greatest works," reads his artist's statement.
READ MORE: Purple Heart veteran wins top award at ArtPrize 2024
During Operation Desert Storm, Katerberg learned how to weld and wield a grinder, skills he found useful in the construction of Dynamic Sunset, as its 90-pound polished brass canvas is mounted on a welded steel frame.
While deployed in Afghanistan, though, Katerberg's vehicle was destroyed by an IED. He suffered a mild traumatic brain injury, a lung injury and other "various things." He was medically retired from the military.
"A lot of adversity. God saw me through a lot of bad things," said Katerberg, who, a time later, was hospitalized multiple times for "breathing issues" and a broken leg.
"If you have a dream and a vision, you might get knocked down 100 times," Katerberg said. "You just got to keep getting back up, and you will succeed if you are determined."
After the military, Katerberg returned to school at Kendall College of Art and Design, where he had been taking classes part time before his first deployment.
An art degree and several ArtPrize entries later (14, Katerberg estimates) he found a winner with Dynamic Sunset. The lakeshore landscape is a soothing one for the veteran, who would imagine similar scenes when overwhelmed by the "nasty environment" of war.
"[This is] my happy place," Katerberg said. "I think people connected with the painting and my story of overcoming a lot of adversity."
A man of Christian faith, he also considers his paintings an act of praise. "When I was in college, we would study the masters. Being an artist, when I see things and I appreciate things, I feel like I'm studying the great creator, the master creator," Katerberg said.
To view Katerberg's gallery, click here: Art4Eternity
A few weeks after Katerberg's big win at ArtPrize, Dynamic Sunset hangs on display in his living room. He would like to sell it so it can be seen by many.
"If you'll notice, in the painting, there's a gull flying on the wind. That's what I feel like," Katerberg said. "I feel like I've overcome."
