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Penland School of Crafts 27th Annual Benefit Auction
August 10-11, 2012
Here's the next in an ongoing series of Penland Benefit Auction newsletters, featuring artists whose work will be a part of this year's auction. We have invited trustees, staff members, collectors and friends to write about pieces that will be included in the summer 2012 benefit event and to comment on living with the works they have purchased in past auctions.
A few words about auction artist Richard Prisco...
Richard Prisco is a studio furniture maker, industrial designer, and educator who received his M.F.A. in Furniture Design and Woodworking from the Rochester Institute of Technology. A frequent Penland instructor, auction contributor, and visitor to the area, he relocated to Boone in 2010, from Savannah, GA, where he taught at the Savannah College of Art and Design, to join the Department of Technology at Appalachian State University as Professor of Industrial/Furniture Design. Richard is a board member of the Furniture Society, and exhibits his work nationally and internationally, including a piece in the traveling exhibition Traditions/Innovations: American Masterpieces of Southern Craft.
Richard's friend and student, book artist (and Penland instructor) Cathy Adelman volunteered to share her thoughts about the lamp that he is currently constructing for this year's auction. The pictures below are representative of Richard's sculptural lighting aesthetic; his actual auction piece is a work in progress.
"I signed up for Richard Prisco's alternative wood joinery class, Just Screw It! in August, 2001 (FYI - it's on the schedule again this summer). I immediately fell in love with his design aesthetic. His lines are simple, sensuous, and seductive. His ability to merge opposing materials in such a seamless way speaks to his mastery of the craft. Richard comes from a long line of artists. I had the pleasure of attending the opening of the exhibition Padre e Figlio (Father and Son): Works by Mario and Richard Prisco, at the Turchin Center for the Arts this spring and was impressed with his connection to both his father and son, as artisans and men.
Richard's connection with his multiple materials goes beyond a simple "one plus one." His talent shines when he is able to make tough stuff like concrete and steel cable elegant. That is how I would describe Richard's design aesthetic - elegant; his work is both strong and graceful at the same time.
The lamps that he creates have personalities. They appear to dance and illuminate at the same time. The fine attention to detail throughout is a hallmark of Richard's craftsmanship; nothing you see is an accident.
Richard cast the blue glass shade for his auction lamp at the Community of Education, an instructors' retreat at Penland this fall. The later addition in his own studio of mahogany, steel, and blue gun steel will result, in his hands, in a lamp that is equally sculptural and functional."
- Cathy Adelman
"Structure possesses an aesthetic all its own, unadulterated and unassuming. Tension, compression, shear, and torsion are within the fabric of all structures. My work explores these forces and investigates their potential for expression. Civil and mechanical structures provide influence and inspiration. In addition to wood and traditional joinery techniques much of my work incorporates finely machined metal components, stainless steel cable, and concrete. The connection, conversion, and interaction of one material to the next is fundamental to the development of this aesthetic. By exploring structural solutions the resulting form is one of transformation, movement, and balance."
- Richard Prisco
________________________________________________________ Join us... Auction Weekend Tickets $375 Includes all Friday and Saturday activities Friday, August 10
Friday-only tickets $200 Cocktail party, exhibition preview and silent auction, dinner, live auction, dessert party, live music, and dancing Saturday, August 11 Saturday only tickets $250 Coffee at the studios with Penland's resident artists, silent auction, lunch, live auction, and a reception at the Penland Gallery The Penland School of Crafts Annual Benefit Auction is a gala weekend in the North Carolina mountains featuring the sale of more than 240 works in books, clay, drawing, glass, iron, letterpress, metals, painting, photography, printmaking, textiles, and wood. The Penland auction is one of the most important craft collecting events in the Southeast and a perfect opportunity to support Penland's educational programs, which have helped thousands of people live creative lives.
An illustrated auction catalog and online preview will be available in July.
Absentee bids are accepted with a $25 bidder fee. All proceeds benefit Penland School of Crafts. Penland School is located 52 miles northeast of Asheville, NC. _______________________________________________________ Quick Links Penland Website Penland Blog Classes Support for Penland Art for Penland Facebook YouTube Pinterest Penland School of Crafts is a national center for craft education dedicated to helping people live creative lives. Located in North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains, Penland offers workshops, artist residencies, a gallery, and community collaboration programs. Penland School is a nonprofit, tax-exempt institution that receives support for its programs from the North Carolina Arts Council, an agency funded by the State of North Carolina and the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art. |
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