(1932–2018) Wendell Castle has been a sculptor, designer, and educator for over five decades. He is known throughout the world for his innovative designs in wood, plastic, and bronze. Castle’s work is represented in many major museum collections throughout the United States, Europe, and the Far East. These include the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution, the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), and the Brooklyn Museum in New York; the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum and the Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C.; The Art Institute of Chicago; The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Detroit Art Institute; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX; the Victoria & Albert Museum, London; and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO.
Castle has been recognized many times over for his contributions to the arts and design fields in the United States, having received numerous awards, grants, and honors for his accomplishments. These include three honorary doctoral degrees, several grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Gold Medal Award and being named a Fellow by the American Craft Council, listing in Who’s Who in American Art, the Golden Plate award from the American Academy of Achievement, the Visionaries award from the Museum of Art & Design, the Distinguished Achievement Award from the University of Kansas School of Fine Arts, the Award of Distinction from the Furniture Society, the Outstanding Achievement Award from the National Association of Schools of Art and Design, and the Lifetime Achievement Award For Excellence in Design from the Brooklyn Museum.
In addition to having a strong career as an artist, Wendell Castle has contributed to the education of others who aspire to be artists. He began teaching in 1960 at Kansas University and would later move to Rochester, New York, to teach at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and the State University of New York at Brockport. From 1980 to 1988, Castle operated his own art school at his studio in Scottsville, New York. Many of his students have gone on to teach and have successful careers in the arts and in the design fields. He is currently on the staff of RIT as artist-in-residence and is asked to exhibit, lecture, and teach at many educational institutions throughout the world.
Announcements
Total Armageddon: A Slanted Reader on Design edited by Ian Lynam
Total Armageddon: A Slanted Reader on Design
Edited by Ian Lynam
Publisher: Slanted Publishers
Published: March 2019
Total Armageddon is about design. And culture. And complexity, notably how we, as a global civilization, deal with science fiction, taste, social media, the cities we live in, aesthetics, PowerPoint, burkas, Big Tech, full-contact sports, and other thorny topics. The book celebrates 15 years of independent publishing and brings together a who’s who of authors and essays from 32 issues of Slanted Magazine.
A Field Guide to Color by Lisa Solomon
A Field Guide to Color: A Watercolor Workbook
By Lisa Solomon
Publisher: Roost Books
Published: August 2019
In this creative workbook you’ll discover fresh ways to connect with color in your art and life. Using watercolors, gouache, or any other water-based medium, explore color theory while playing with paint through a balanced blend of color experiments and loose color meditations. This inspiring workbook will change the way you relate to color
Five Oceans in a Teaspoon by Dennis Bernstein and Warren Lehrer
Five Oceans in a Teaspoon
Poems by Dennis Bernstein
Visualizations by Warren Lehrer
Introduction by Steven Heller
Publisher: Paper Crown Press
Published: September 19, 2019
“From a kidnap note for a world held hostage by an A-bomb, to a Holocaust survivor’s tattooed arms where the numbers just don’t add up, Five Oceans in a Teaspoon re-envisions a poetry memoir via a textual kaleidoscope... Bernstein and Lehrer are the Rodgers and Hart of Visual Poetry.” — Bob Holman, poet, poetry activist and chronicler, and founder of the Bowery Poetry Club
Ballpark: Baseball in the American City by Paul Goldberger
Ballpark: Baseball in the American City
By Paul Goldberger
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Published: May 2019
An illustrated, entirely new look at the history of baseball: told through the stories of the vibrant and ever-changing ballparks where the game was and is staged, by the Pulitzer Prize-winning architectural critic.
Charleston Fancy by Witold Rybczynski
Charleston Fancy: Little Houses and Big Dreams in the Holy City
By Witold Rybczynski
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: May 2019
Charleston, South Carolina, which boasts America’s first historic district, is known for its palmetto-lined streets and picturesque houses. The Holy City, named for its profusion of churches, exudes an irresistible charm. Award-winning author and cultural critic Witold Rybczynski unfolds a series of stories about a group of youthful architects, builders, and developers based in Charleston: a self-taught home builder, an Air Force pilot, a fledgling architect, and a bluegrass mandolin player.
Teaching Graphic Design History by Steven Heller
Teaching Graphic Design History
By Steven Heller
Publisher: Allworth Press
Published: June 2019
An examination of the concerted efforts, happy accidents, and key influences of the practice throughout the years, Teaching Graphic Design History is an illuminating resource for students, practitioners, and future teachers of the subject.
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