WENDELL CASTLE
Wendell Castle is an American designer who created “art furniture” that contains the artist’s concepts and philosophy. He is called the father of the American studio furniture movement, challenging the border between sculpture and furniture. He has been recognized since the outset of his career for his outstanding craftsmanship, quirky organic forms beyond the limit of traditional furniture, and the development of ingenious techniques to create solid, laminated wood.
After studying industrial design and sculpture in the University of Kansas, he became a lecturer at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, where he established his permanent studio. He soon gained international fame by participating in major exhibitions, including the Milan Triennale (1964) and the tour show Objects USA (1969). His works made of wood or technicolor gel-coated fiberglass from the 1960s to 1970s became iconic examples of 20th-century design. He further pioneered the use of the lamination stacks to overcome the limitation of wood. His design embodies his own way of creating organic forms with understated beauty and lifelike curves.
Over his 60-year career, Wendell Castle has devised groundbreaking ways to see, think and create furniture. In his last decade, he applied digital technology to the laminating process and achieved his lifelong desire to create bronze casting works.
Wendell Castle has received the National Endowment for the Arts, Visionaries of the American Craft Movement Award, and the Museum’s Lifetime Achievement Award from the Brooklyn Museum of Art. His work is included in the permanent collections of more than 40 museums and cultural institutions worldwide.
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