OurStage

Caleb Engstrom has been working hard to find his place, to speak to an audience of both visual and aural interest. Generally using an acoustic guitar to create “songs that capture elements of alt. country and intelligent 60’s pop song craft” (Sean Moeller – Daytrotter.com), Engstrom has presented over two hundred shows in the past three years. 2007 marked the release of “A Mountain or a Bird, and”, an assemblage of songs “featuring mellow folk with heartfelt melodies, spare beauty and surprising turns” (NPR), released with the venerated Undertow Music Collective. The past few years have led him to share stages with some of his musical mentors and contemporaries, most notably, Phil Evelrum, Jose Gonzalez, Dave Bazan, and Bon Iver.

In addition to performing songs; video, performance/installation, painting, and drawing projects also compel him. “Forty Balls, Sixteen Miles, or Four Hours”, a site specific performance (consequently documented with video), has gathered international attention. This piece particularly has informed his current projects, work that deals with concepts of ephemerality, tests of will, and time space perspective; ideas not unfamiliar to the work of influences such as Tom Marioni, Bruce Nauman, and John Baldessari.

Engstrom completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Studio Art, concentrating on sculpture, ceramics, and intermedia art at The University of Iowa where he studied with Isabel Barbuzza and Jon Winet.