Greg Fidler Form Review & Via Penland At Rebus Works

December, 05, 2008 , by Tim

Via Penland is an annual exhibition of artists who are current or past students, teachers, or residents of the internationally recognized Penland School of Crafts, the creative community nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Spruce Pine, NC. For the sixth annual exhibit, Rebus Works has chosen Greg Fidler as the 2008 featured artist, showcasing his glass art in Form Review. Fidler, a widely collected glass and installation artist working out of Bakersville, NC, was formerly a resident artist at Penland and earned his MFA at the University of Illinois. In addition to Penland, Fidler has attended Haystack School of Crafts in Maine and Pilchuck Glass School in Washington. Several of Fidler’s signature large sculptural pieces from his Bowing Series will be on display as well as pieces from his production glass line, Ipso Facto. Additionally, two works are featured from his Outline Studies, each a dazzling arrangement of sand-blasted white forms mounted on a dark wooden shelf in front of textured copper. You can meet Greg Fidler at the opening reception Friday, December 5, from 6-10.

Penland CORE student Kreh Mellick, who has a show at Rebus Works next October and November, has commemorated the Via Penland exhibition series with T-shirts and tote bags donning the image to the left.

Via Penland will also feature works by the following artists, as described on the Rebus Works website:

William Bernstein is a Celo, NC glass artist who has been a resident artist and teacher at Penland, and currently sits on the board of the school.

Meredith Brickell, a ceramic artist, currently teaches at Depauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. She has been both a teacher and Core student at Penland, and hold a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Nebraska- Lincoln, and a Bachelor of Art and Design from NCSU.

Thor Bueno, a glass artist, has been a resident artist and teacher at Penland. He holds a Masters of Fine Arts from Alfred University, and has attended and taught at the Pilchuck School of Glass.

Phoebe Briley is a Raleigh artist, who received her Masters of Fine Arts from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and has attended classes at Penland.

Margaret Couch Cogswell is a resident artist at Penland, where she makes books, and mixed- media sculpture. She has studied at the Rhode Island School of Design and the Arrowmont School of Arts.

Erin Considine is a Brooklyn-based metalsmith who has taken several classes at Penland. She graduated from Evergreen College in Olympia, Washington.

Marianne Dages is a first year Core student at Penland. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in photography from the University of the Arts, and is contributing handmade journals and letterpress work to this exhibition.

Shane Darwent is a photographer, printmaker, and Core student at Penland. He is in his first year in the program, having previously resided and worked in Brooklyn, NY. He holds a BFA from Maryland College Institute of Art.

Ben Galata makes iron sculpture and architectural pieces in his studio in Raleigh. He has taken and assisted classes at Penland, and holds a degree in Industrial Design from NCSU.

Celia Gray is a Asheville studio artist working primarily in encaustic painting and sculpture. She has been a Core student and assistant at Penland, and contributes a collection of encaustics to Via Penland.

Abie Harris is contributing pastel drawings. He is an architect and artist in Raleigh, NC. He currently sits on the Board at Penland, and is the North Carolina State University Architect Emeritus.

Andrew Hayes is a second-year Core student at Penland. He is a 2005 BFA in sculpture at the Northern Arizona University. Andrew is presenting landscape sculpture in the exhibition.

Kreh Mellick, a second-year Core student at Penland, contributes goache and ink drawings to Via Penland. Kreh holds a BFA from Maine College of Art in Drawing and Illustration.

Carrie Knowles, a Raleigh artist and writer, completed her first class at Penland this summer. She is contributing mixed-media works on paper.

Alison Overton is exhibiting hand-tinted medium format photographs. She holds a Bachelor of Environmental Design from North Carolina State University, and is an Artspace artist.

Sylvie Rosenthal has taken and assisted classes at Penland. She is studio furniture maker who lives in Asheville, NC who received her BFA from Rochester Institute of Technology.

Staci Sawyer is a Raleigh metalsmith and arts educator. She received her BFA from East Carolina University, and has attended Penland as a student.

Jon Shearin crafts sculptural and functional works from iron, and is a second-year Core student at Penland. He holds a Bachelor of Art + Design from NCSU’s College of Design.

Jerilyn Virden works in clay. She was a resident artist at Penland and now makes her functional and sculptural pieces in her studio in Bakersville, NC. She holds an MFA from Meadows School of the Arts, Southern Methodist University.

Anthony Ulinski has taught several courses at Penland. A self-taught studio furniture maker, Anthony contributes two tables to Via Penland.

December 5 through January 31, 2008

Opening Reception: Friday, December 5, 6-10 p.m.

Greg Fidler lecture on Saturday, January 31st at 4:30 p.m.

You can also see the exhibit plus additional artists at Rebus Works during the annual Boylan Heights ArtWalk.

Boylan Heights ArtWalk: Sunday, December 7, 1-5 p.m.
ArtWalk featured artists:
Leanne Pizio (ceramics)
Bill Hickman (sculpture)
Gabriella Corter (painting and mixed media)
Kim Moore (handbags)
Emily Soldin Howard (fibers and mixed media)
Two Sisters Designs - Jessie Brinkley and Margaret Couch Cogswell (cards and calendars)
David Walser (painting)
Johanna Ely (jewelry)
Greg Burton (sculpture)

Images courtesy of Rebus Works unless noted otherwise