26th Annual Penland Auction

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>The 26th Penland School of Crafts Benefit Auction takes place August 12-13, 2011. This gala weekend in the North Carolina mountains featuring the sale of more than 200 works in books, clay, drawing, glass, iron, letterpress, metals, painting, photography, printmaking, textiles, and wood. The Penland auction is one of the most important craft collecting events in the Southeast and a perfect opportunity to support Penland’s educational programs, which have helped thousands of people to live creative lives. Work by WGS Director Tim Tate is featured in the auction – and one of the works is previewed below.

Focus on Materials: Glass in This Year’s Auction

Glass is an wonderfully versatile material that has a long been a part of functional craft and decorative art and, in the past half-century, has become increasingly important as a sculptural material. Although glass is rigid and unyielding, it is worked as a liquid or a semi-solid, making it receptive to almost any form. It can be transparent, translucent, or opaque, and it can be made virtually any color. Naturally shiny, it can be sandblasted or acid etched to produce a matte or frosted surface. Glass can be manipulated directly with tools or well-insulated hands; it can be poured, blown, or melted into molds; it can be shaped after being selectively heated over a torch. It is a material capable of seducing both the maker and the viewer.


Tim Tate Four Seasons
Blown and cast glass, electronic components, original video
18 x 36 x 8 in.
For some years, Tim Tate has been developing a unique sculptural form that combines intricate glass castings and continuous video loops (displayed on tiny monitors) enclosed in glass bell jars to create what he calls “electronic reliquaries.” Through these pieces Tim has explored social issues, autobiography, cultural artifacts, and his observations of life. In this suite, he has created gentle evocations of each of the four seasons. “The piece works as a crossover between 20th and 21st century aesthetics,” he says. “The lost-wax casting is very intricate and complex, using hundreds of individually cast components. This is contrasted by the very direct and compelling video selections.”

Click HERE to jump to the full Auction Catalog.

For More info: call 828-765-2359, ext. 40 or email: auction@penland.org

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