JUNE 23 – SEPTEMBER 4

The Foothills Art Center is pleased to present a group exhibition of Fine Craft featuring outstanding American artists working in clay, fiber, glass, metals, and wood. The “Fine Craft Invitational” will run from June 24 – September 4, 2016 with a member preview Thursday, June 23, 2016 from 6:00-8:00 p.m.

Fine Craft is known for high quality artworks created with time-honored processes.  The techniques have been passed down throughout history from one artist to the next. Originally many of these creations were functional, which set them apart from so-called fine art works. However, in recent years, many practitioners of Fine Craft have blurred this division by using traditional craft media to express concepts or explore ideas. As a result, the line dividing Contemporary Fine Craft and Fine Art has become obscured. Form no longer needs to follow function.

Fine Craft Invitational at Foothills Art Center

Mastering craft techniques takes years of formal training followed my many more years to develop a personal aesthetic. Whether educated in a University or as an apprentice, those techniques are taught with a focus on fundamentals.  Most clay students are first taught how to throw a bowl, most metal students to form a ring.  Many contemporary craftspeople continue to create functional pieces. Even so, more and more students emerging from craft programs are creating conceptual, or idea-based, forms while continuing to display a reverence for the media and technique by creating work with the highest level of craftsmanship.

In recent years many craft artists have begun using traditional craft techniques to create concept based sculptural forms rather than functional objects.  This exhibition seeks to showcase some of the finest examples of this exciting change in the Fine Craft movement.  Six Artists will be featured in the show: Cleveland glass artist Brent Kee Young, San Francisco clay artist Bean Finneran, Washington State wood turner Ron Gerton, basketry artist Carol Eckert, Denver metalsmith-sculptor Ira Sherman, and Fort Collins textile artist Jan R. Carson.  Each artist will be exhibiting major bodies of their work.

Fine Craft Invitational is on view through September 4, 2016.