November Issue 1999
Metal + Wood + Paper + Stone at gallery W.D.O. in Charlotte
Four artists working in four different materials will be showing at gallery W.D.O. in Charlotte, NC, from Nov. 2 through Nov. 30, 1999. The exhibit entitled, Metal + Wood + Paper + Stone, features works by John Andrew, Tom Rice, Joanne Schiavone and John Skau.
North Carolina artist, John Skau, has been exploring the sculptural possibilities of contemporary basketry over the last six years. He has developed a series of limited-production forms: the "stre-e-e-etch" basket, the classic urn, the swollen plane and the tricorn. Cut to precise widths, lengths and taper, wooden strips are dyed, then woven seamlessly into cones, tubes and bulging planes. Bold color, pattern and structural relationships are integral to Skau's work. His baskets were recently featured in American Craft magazine.
JoAnne Schiavone is a Pennsylvania bookmaker whose interest in handmade and decorative paper has lead her into large scale sculptural screens. Her work ranges from the intimately held one-of-a-kind book to the architectural scale of screens that divide a room into tactile space.
Tom Rice is a sculptor working in limestone. The work of this Tennessee stonecarver ranges from photo-realistic to simplified sculptural forms and utilitarian vessels embellished with designs influenced by American Indian baskets. Stone stock troughts of restored 17th and 18th century farmhouses seen in Gutach, Germany impelled him to consider increasingly simpler forms that explore contrast: mass appears fluid, hard feels soft, and heavy seems lightweight.
Rice's most recent commission, a fountain for Arrowmont School in Gatlinburg, TN, consists of three carved and sculpted limestone vessels in a circular pool that is filled with river rock from Gatlinburg. Entitled Woven Stone Vessels each vessel is textured with a woven design.
In response to one of Rice's pieces, David McFadden, Chief Curator and Vice President of Programs and Collections fo the American Craft Council, stated "Tom Rice's strong carved limestone vessels held my attention. Idea and execution were gracefully united in the works." Andrew Glasgow, Director of Programs and Collections for the Southern Highland Craft Guild, selected one of Rice's vessels Best of Show at the 1999 Tennesse Crafts Fair.
John Andrew is a core student at the Penland School of Crafts. Dynamic forms of wood bound by metal chains give his sculpture a tension that is resolved with elegant power.
Gallery W.D.O., a fine contemporary craft gallery, is located in an historically important 1920's cotton mill. Within the simple space of what was the packing room, concrete floors, brick walls and a ceiling of wood supported by steel beams enclose a collection which has been reviewed as " sublime craftwork in a sensitive setting... transcending both art and craft to reach an uncommon level".
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