Believing by Yuri Kobayashi. This large wooden sculpture is featured in the Penland Gallery exhibition “Makers Without Borders.”

Penland Gallery Show Has No Borders

 The new exhibition at the Penland Gallery starts with wood and travels a long way. Titled “Makers Without Borders,” the show features work by furniture makers, sculptors, and artists who have contributed to their creative lives. Planned to coincide with the June conference of the Furniture Society in Boone, it was curated by Gail Fredell, a prominent member of the society. Fredell invited twelve artists who work in wood to send work for the show, and she also asked each of them to invite another artist whose work and/or support has been important to them. The result is an eclectic exhibition that celebrates excellent and original work and the importance of artistic relationships. The show is open through July 12 with a reception on Friday, May 29 from 7:15 - 9:00 PM. The reception will begin with a short talk by Gail Fredell.

In explaining her intention for the show, Fredell said, “The artists were selected for their dedication to the pursuit of truly singular and authentic paths of discovery throughout their careers. Their work varies in scale, form, materials, and content. They have in common technical excellence, richness of personal expression, determination, and experimentation.” Most of the work in the show includes wood and represents an incredible range of approaches to this material. However the artists selected by Fredell were given no restrictions on what sort of artist they could invite into the show, and the exhibition also includes work in music, film, metals, textiles, drawing, mixed media, and children’s books.  Among the artists are some well known names including furniture makers James Krenov, Mira Nakashima, Thomas Hucker, and Wendy Maruyama along with sculptors David Nash, Howard Werner, and Jon Brooks.

Kristina Madsen, who makes elaborately carved furniture did not choose a specific artist who had inspired her, but  instead sent an assortment of antique lace and textiles made by several generations of her family. Yuri Kobayashi, who created an astonishing and elaborate sculpture for the show, cited the work of children’s author and illustrator Leo Lionni whose book “Swimmy” has long been a source of inspiration for her.

Japanese-American artists Wendy Maruyama and Mira Nakashima both made work for the show that reflects their families’ experience with the Japanese internment camps during World War II. Maruyama’s wall cabinet holds rice bowls on one side, while a door covering the other half of the cabinet opens to reveal an image of a prison watchtower. Nakashima’s piece is a beautiful table lamp crafted from a maple burl that came from Oregon, where her grandparents once lived, and a piece of bitterbrush collected by her father (the woodworker George Nakashima) during her family’s imprisonment.

African-American sculptor Fo Wilson is represented in by a face-like box that sports a head of pine needle hair, a braidlike tassel, and three lenses on the front. It sits on an antique wooden tripod and through the lenses viewers can see a tiny video of the artist’s hands at work. The video was created by her son, Dayo Harewood, who is a filmmaker. Two of the artists, Howard Werner and David Nash, create compelling, minimalist forms with the most unlikely of artist tools: the chainsaw.

The exhibition includes many more examples of artistic excellence, originality, and mutual inspiration. In summarizing her intent for the exhibition, Fredell said, “Our hope is that the viewer of this exhibition will be inspired to follow their own intution in pursuit of their authentic artistic voice and embrace the richness of ideas and support so readily available in their respective communities.”

In addition to this special exhibition, the Penland Gallery has a sales area featuring work in all media by artists affiliated with Penland School of Crafts. The gallery is located on the Penland School campus, just off Penland Road in Mitchell County. Gallery hours are 10 - 5, Monday through Saturday; 12 - 5 on Sunday; closed on Mondays. For more information call 828-765-6211 or visit www.penland.org. 

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