Wendell Castle (Nov 6, 1932) is an American furniture artist and a leading figure in American craft. He is often credited with being the father of the art furniture movement.
In 1958, he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in industrial design, and in 1961, he received a Master of Fine Arts, both from the University of Kansas.
From 1962-1969, he taught at Rochester Institute of Technology, School for American Craftsmen, in Rochester, NY, and is now an Artist in Residence. In 1980, he opened the Wendell Castle School in Scottsville, NY.
Originally trained as a sculptor, Wendell Castle emerged as a leader of American Studio Craft in the 1960s. In his upstate New York studio, he sculpted exquisitely crafted, wholly original organic forms from large blocks of laminated hardwoods. In 1976 he began producing historically inspired furniture, playfully augmented with carved trompe l'oeil (fool-the-eye) objects.
Castle's earliest influence was American woodworker and sculptor Wharton Esherick, whose technical skills and aesthetics, as well as forms and approach to wood, Castle sought to emulate. Soon, Castle would incorporate lamination techniques to achieve what he called a more expressive, ahistorical, and organic approach to furniture. This development was inspired, in part, by his friendship with British furniture maker John Makepeace, who had revived traditional cabinetmaking skills and paired them with a contemporary aesthetic.
Ultimately, Castle developed his own sculptural language that he has employed to great effect in wood, fiberglass, metal, and plastic. He continues to create innovative, dynamic furniture, including 2007's Dem Bones, also in the MFAH collection of decorative arts.
He has garnered a number of awards, including a 1994 'Visionaries of the American Craft Movement' award sponsored by the American Craft Museum, a 1997 Gold Medal from the American Craft Council and a 1998 Artist of the Year Award from the Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester. He has also received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Comfort Tiffany Foundation. In 2001 he received the Award of Distinction from The Furniture Society.
http://hisour.com/artist/wendell-castle/
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